Sewing 101 - week one THE PIN CUSHION

for the past few years, i've been faking my way through sewing. sure i could get my spool of thread on the machine. i could thread the bobbin. heck, i could even put more thread on the bobbin all by myself it was needed. i've even made some quality items.....i made an advent calendar, some decorative bunting for parties, skirts for georgia, curtains for the twins room, pillow cases and even crib skirts for the twins. but really, i was faking it all. i really didn't know what i was doing. it was always just good enough....not REALLY good. and since i genuinely like sewing and since georgia has taken an interest in sewing, i thought that i should take a class and really learn what i was doing instead of winging it all the time. 

now, i did take 8th grade home ec, which was sewing. i made a stuffed animal...a monkey if i recall correctly. and then i was supposed to make my clothing item. i chose a skirt. and then....towards the end of the semester, i got the chicken pox. not only was it humiliating getting the chicken pox when i was like 13, but i also couldn't finish my skirt. and since i couldn't finish my project, i received an F. a big fat ol' F in sewing. and my home ec teacher took sewing very seriously....she would not let me take my project home to finish.....she thought that my mom might do it for me. little did she know that my mom couldn't sew either!! 

i've been looking online at some places here in indy where i could take a sewing class. i had been to crimson tate modern quilter and adored their selection of fabric and the super cute store. it seemed like a great place to take a class. it seemed like every time they offered a new class schedule, i was busy! grrr! but this time it worked out! and they were offering a 6 week class! bonus! so i snagged the last spot in the class and started to dream about all the things that i would be sewing soon. 

wednesday night, i met for the first time with my sewing 101 class. i walked in and was immediately greeted by the warm and friend folks at crimson tate. it was one of those meeting where you feel like you are instantly friends. 

we started off by sharing our names and sewing stories...yes i shared my tragic home ec story from 8th grade. it still stings when i talk about it :)

we then learned some basic sewing stuff....stuff that i already knew. that was ok. i knew that there was going to be some stuff that i already knew. i mean, i had been doing a great job faking my way through sewing and asking my mother in-law, who is a sewing expert, what to do. 

then we got to the real stuff...we were making a pin cushion! yea! we had already picked out our fat quarter so we were ready to begin cutting our pieces. let the sewing begin!

and there she is...my pin cushion. i made this people! really, i could have made this pin cushion on my own, it was pretty basic. and that's fine. next week we will make pillow cases. after that it's the zippered pouch and a tote bag! i'm looking forward to all of those classes for sure! and i can use my little pin cushion for every single one of them :)

if you are in the indy area and want to take a sewing or quilting class, you should check out crimson tate: modern quilter.