christmas in august

when santa gave me my very own sewing machine for christmas [nine months ago], i was beyond thrilled. i have been wanting to get my feet wet with a new hobby and seamstress seemed to have a nice ring to it. then i became overwhelmed. as per usual, i didn't want to start anything if i couldn't be good at it from the beginning. and history has shown [seventh grade home economics class] that i'm not good at this. so, the sewing machine sat in the corner for a very long time. but, when i found this simple project that was not too terribly ugly, i knew i could give it a whirl. here's what happened.

 1. cut out all the pieces you will need. i chose to use a monogram initial, a heart, two circles and hanging ribbon.

 2. sew the monogram to one circle cutout and the ribbon to the other.

 3. pin the two pieces together to ensure straight edges during hand sewing.

 4. hand sew pieces together with embroidery floss. add cotton stuffing and sew closed.

5. hang on christmas tree or use as gift wrap tags and enjoy.

not great. not bad. nothing has fallen apart [so far]. made with love [and tears]. i had a little personal battle with the felt and a big throw down with the machine, but in the end we all said our peace and got along well. i have already started on another project. [don't get excited. it's a pillow. i can do nothing but straight lines.] and i'm pretty sure i could get into this...  quilts, curtains, table runners... oh my! but, as everything else, it's gonna take a lot of time. and patience. oh how i wish i could just sit and watch my grandma's nimble fingers run fabric after fabric through her machine! perhaps her spirit will come upon me and i'll be sewing curved lines in no time... fat chance.