Finding my Groove...

...my sewing groove, that is! What you're about to see will seem quite elementary to all of you seasoned seamstresses, but this is truly an accomplishment for me. You see, I am an early beginner. I have been for a couple years now. The biggest obstacle to my progress beyond this stage has been my impatience and my tendency to cut corners or eliminate steps (something I have learned you cannot do with sewing). Also, I'm the type who usually gets more of a thrill from social interaction than from working alone. But alas, I am learning and growing! I have to say, this is my first successful project. Actually, my true first project is something I made the day before I made these, but that is to be a gift for someone special, so mums the word right now. I will post a picture of it after Wednesday (it was slightly more difficult of a project than these).

I chose a simple project. It is this skirt. My oldest requested that it be made longer for her. The younger two are a length more appropriate for their running, crawling, and playing (they wear shorts underneath).

I cannot take full credit for these without first thanking my husband who, amidst his intense graduate studies and work obligations, kept the baby occupied and out of the dining sewing room pretty much the entire weekend. My hope is, now that I've discovered the joy in this work, that I can discipline myself to work on projects after the kids go to bed (instead of being a lazy beached whale on the couch, watching Netflix films). As such, my new found hobby would not be a cause of any stress on the rest of the family. Also, my oldest wants, and I believe is ready, to learn a basic use of the sewing machine, so we can work on projects together during nap times.

Next on the list:
Cloth napkins (to reduce the waist of paper ones we fly through each day).

My goal:
To challenge myself with a slightly more difficult pattern (more difficult than this anyway). Dresses, maybe?

The biggest accomplishment, however, wasn't the physical result. For the first time ever, this weekend I discovered that sewing can be relaxing. Imagine that! I truly had forgotten the joy of having a goal, working for it, failing, trying again, and accomplishing it. By the end of these skirts, I was no longer becoming frustrated with simple obstacles, and was joyfully able to address whatever lay before me in a calm and peaceful fashion. Maybe such virtue will sort of carry over into my every day life! I could sure use that.