sewing sewing

I'm not the most creative person in the world, but this year I decided to make Christmas presents. I can't say what I'm making but it has to do with sewing. The last time I sewed something, I was in elementary school I think. My oldest friend and I decided to take a sewing class at a local store. I never finished my shirt and shorts, I think I got bored. So what made me decide to try to sew something now? I have no idea. I started out writing a list of all the people I wanted to make something for, and its a pretty long list. Good thing its October. Last Monday night I sat down with my first pattern, cut it out, and started HAND sewing my project. It took about 5 hours to complete. My hand literally hurt for two days afterwards, I think I should have started this project last December as it takes 3 days to complete one them (including hand recovery time) Maybe I should cut down my list, as this is a hefty task and my sewing skills would make June Cleaver blush.

My first finished project looks great from far away but VERY homemade when up close. This one will be for my own personal use, I'm too embarassed to give it away. New idea, let's try a sewing machine. Luckily I have some very crafty friends who own sewing machines and that were willing to let me borrow one. I finally got it to my house on Thursday night and was really excited to start whipping through my projects. I sat down and realized, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO USE A SEWING MACHINE! I don't even know how to thread it. What's this bobbin thing? How does it work? Thanks to you tube I found instructional videos that taught me how to thread the machine and use the bobbin. For part of the project I need a zigzag stitch and I have now realized that this is a little too advanced for me, the sewing machine wont cooperate. Sorry people, you'll have to settle with chain stitches for now!