Last night while uploading these photos of my new pillow I started thinking about how magical all of this is. Not just being able to share my handmades or how passionate and completely in love with sewing I am, but the magic of sewing itself. It's amazing, isn't it? Just think of how much pleasure sewing gives us all and how it has connected us. Sewing is such a creative meditation and a joy, but just think of all the folks who were and are forced to work all hours behind a sewing machine or stitching by hand. Their experience is so very different. Honestly, it's a privilege to be able to sew for pleasure!
How in one moment we can have an idea.
Reach for a beautiful stack of fabrics, designed by someone we can actually connect with and share with.
Then turn those fabrics into something beautiful and completely unique to each of us.
That we can love and share and use to inspire someone else to do the same.
At the end of a project sometimes it's nice to think about just how lucky we are!
This month marks my two year Sew-iversary and my love for sewing just grows more and more. I hope you can tell! I'm so grateful to have my go-to happy places -- this blog, to share and my own sewing room, both are filled with so much beautiful threads and fabrics, handmade things, art, peace, togetherness, and love. It's amazing!! And, honestly, it's a privilege! I love it.
For two years now, I've been teaching myself as I go. And I'm just a bit curious today, if you have a minute please comment here, and share your sewing story! Do you sew? If you do, what age did you start? Who taught you? What do you love to make right now? I'd love to know!
what a gorgeous pillow! I can't believe you have only been sewing for two years! I learnt when I was tiny. My mum made a lot of our clothes and we learned emboidery and dressmaking at primary (elementary) school. I find it so relaxing, and I love to have handmade things around the house. So cosy!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pillow!! I learned to sew in 8th grade home ec class, but my mom and gramma sewed all of my life and made us clothes when we were little. I always remember them having projects going on! I re-discovered sewing when I was expecting my first daughter. Ever since I have been a maniac :o) Right now, my love affair is for quilting, but I love all sewing projects!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute pillow. I started sewing about five years ago. It's such a fun hobby.
ReplyDeleteDarling pillow! I learned to sew when I was a teenager, but really didn't feel like I was good at it. Then when I was pregnant with my first, I decided to take a quilting class. That was nearly 9 years ago, and I haven't stopped! My first love is making quilts, but I also love to make little bags and table runners.
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful post! spectacular pillow too. :)
ReplyDeletei grew up watching both my grandmothers and several great aunts sew & quilt. i thought they were magicians! i still treasure their gorgeous quilts and cut my own fabric with their beautiful, heavy, always-sharp scissors. i finally started sewing on my own about two years ago (not bad - only 30 years later!), and absolutely love it. your blog is a never-ending source of inspiration... i'm so glad YOU started sewing & sharing too!
I learned to sew when I was 10, and started with sewing clothes sporadically through high school. 5 years ago or so I discovered designer quilting cottons and started crafting and quilting to my heart's content!
ReplyDeleteCute pillow and great post! I am teaching myself too and it really has helped to have so many great blogs to follow like yours!! =D
ReplyDeleteThis pillow rocks! Have you seen the adorable chickadee plates at Crate and Barrel? So cute! I'm jealous at how precise everything that you make looks. I started sewing about 4 years ago when my dog passed. It was a very tough time mentally for me and one day I just decided I wanted to make a quilt. I had no real experience besides home ec class way back when. I went out and bought the first machine that was in my price range and I have been sewing ever since. Best decision ever! It is good mental therapy for me even now. Thankfully my mom has been helpful in giving me pointers along the way, but I have pretty much taught myself. My first quilt that I finished was based on a video game from the 80s called Q*bert. Right now that quilt is used to keep my current dog, Q*bert (can you tell I like that video game?), warm in the winters. He likes to burrow under it (which is so cute) and I like that he loves my first quilt as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sweet post! Thank you Maureen!! You have come such a long way in two years!!
ReplyDeleteI started sewing at 4 years old sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table. She was a brave woman allowing me to use her Little Black Singer Featherweight Sewing Machine. I still have the doll clothes I made for my doll Gloria that day...very primative, yet clothes all the same. :) My grandmothers and mom knew how to sew but were never passionate or enjoyed sewing, sewing for them was more of something to be done. [Thankfully they granted me the freedom to create and cheerfully empted their sewing cabinets for my creations.] I on the other hand, fell in love with fibers. Something wonderful and delightful to consider a small fiber twisted and wound tightly with others, woven together creating fabric which is in turn, cut, snipped, stitched into yet another equally fabulous creation is mind boggling upon disection of the process of sewing. I have strayed from sewing time to time over the last 46 years, yet I always return with more ideas than time...How I long for the day to create everything that is spinning within my head!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with me(us), Carol! What you wrote is perfectly and beautifully put! I'm glad they gave you such freedoms! I don't have a single sewing relative, and I have a stack of projects for and from my family members to prove it! LOL I can only hope that I pass this passion on to my own children. I often think about how all this creating is impacting them and I'm excited to see who they will become because of it all! They are such creative little beings already.
DeleteI hope you find that time!!
xo,
Maureen
I reluctantly learned the basics of sewing from my mom while I was an early teen, but had no passion or desire to develop any skill. But when my daughter was born 7 years ago, I decided to make those cute little rompers for her. Sewing has since become my passion. Though I find I still love making clothes and odds and ends for my family and friends, quilting has become my latest obsession. Which positively thrills my mom. :)
ReplyDeleteI am a quilter... I have been quilting since I was 18 years old... I am now 36. My mom and grandmother have always sewn or done some type of needlework so I was exposed to it my whole life. I approached my mom at 18 and told her I was ready to make a quilt. I simply wanted a pattern, some fabric and her to teach me how to use the tools properly. I made a lap quilt and fell in love! I now share a lot of my quilting ideas with my mom and we just finished a quilt we made together... it took 14 years but we finally got it done! I love that we can share all of these wonderful things through our blogs now and have made quite a few new quilting friends that way. Thank you for sharing your story and letting us share ours! You are right, it is wonderful that we get to do this for fun!
ReplyDeleteMy mother taught me to embroider when I was 6 (I begged and begged her), my aunt taught me to do counted cross stitch when I was 9, and then I took any sewing class I could take until I found a quilting class when I was 19. It isn't a good day when I don't get to do at least 15 minutes of some sort of stitching. I started making a quilt block a day (or more) and blogging about it. I love it so, and it is so relaxing to work on something that makes me happy. Congratulations on your 2-year sewiversary!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were such a new sewer! Everything you make is just plain pretty. I've been seeing about four years now.
ReplyDeleteI began sewing in 4-H Club at age 7 with lots of encouragement, help and instruction from my mom. That means I have been sewing and loving everything thread for almost 60 years. I sew clothing, special dresses for my granddaughters, quilt, craft sewing, bags,---as I said, anything thread!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 5 I got one of those kiddie plastic sewing machines, it didn't work well but I think it started my love of sewing. Starting in grade 7, I took Home Ec every year in school and loved the sewing part. After that I sewed on and off, but for the past 3 or 4 years I've sewn steady and sell at craft shows and farmers markets, I love it!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your birdie pillow. You are so talented. Since Pinterest, I've discovered I really love birds and owls among other things. I've been sewing since I was in 7th or 8th grade. I took HomeEc in Junior High and sewing was one of them. I got my first sewing machine for Christmas and made all my nieces and nephews presents, such as Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, puppets, and a stuffed telephone. :-) I've loved it ever since. I have two teenage girls who have no interest in it ;) I have a sewing machine I'm saving just in case.
ReplyDeleteI started dewing as a young child and had one of those teeny sewing crank machine that were marketed in the 50's. Of course, I started making my own doll clothes. When I was 12 I learned how to really sew and made a jumper-and the rest, as they say, is history. (i even made my own wedding dress and 2 of my bridesmaids' dresses!)
ReplyDeleteNow I love sewing for my 8 (almost 10) grandchildren, and love to quilt!
Your birdie pillow is just adorable! Love how you coordinated your fabrics! Great job!
That would be "sewing"----sorry!
DeleteBeautiful pillow! I'm self-taught, and started a few years ago when I couldn't find "old school" turtleneck bibs for my babies, and decided I'd have to make 'em! Have since learned to sew lots of clothing, and a few household things. And have acquired a crazy stash of fabrics. So nice that a sewing hobbie combines a love of crafting AND shopping!!! I am so intrigued by the thread sketching you've been showing on your blog lately - very inspired to try it myself!!!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother and Mother both sewed as I grew up. I took it up for a bit in 4-H then again in Jr. High School in home ec class. I made a bag in home ec that I still have and use! I then a few years go got an old Singer sewing machine in a sewing table for free on freecycle. So I went searching out for ideas of what to make. I have two young girls and they basically took over any ideas I needed. They love everything I make for them and I have even won ribbons at the local fairs! This started just two years ago and now I sew all the time. I follow free tutorials I find online or patterns I find for under $1 at the stores. I just made my very first real quilt and I fell in love with quilting now too. So I make anything really..doll clothing, doll bedding, girls clothing, toys, quilts, bags, purses..it really is never ending! I am so glad that you decided to start sewing and share with the rest of us! You are such an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I did take home ec class in jr high, and I remember us spending one quarter on sewing. I had to make a pillow from a book, and I chose a basketball made out of furry orange polyester fabric. It turned out terrible!! (of course it did, all curves for my first project ever! LOL) I didn't even walk away knowing the very basic of sewing skills. Isn't that sad? I'm so glad I decided to give it another try!!
DeleteThanks for sharing with me!
Maureen
That pillow is just darling. I love your fabrics! I agree that sewing has been one of the greatest pleasures and a true stress reliever for me. My mom turned me loose on the sewing machine when I was four and was a hyperactive child. I sewed clothing for many years before switching over to quilting in the 70s, but I still love to sew clothing.
ReplyDeleteYou are so artistic. And always busy sewing and creating.
ReplyDeleteAmazing!!
Thank you Sherry! :)
DeleteI love that bird pillow, really wonderful piece and was thinking, wouldn't it be fun to do one in a long pillow or even for a draft stopper. I have always loved art and creating and did simple sewing when I was younger. I do all types of crafts, so it all depends on my mood, for what I make, but I do want to do more quilting and art quilts, just need to sit down and start practicing.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
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ReplyDeleteI like this pillow!
ReplyDeleteIt´s good that you remember the date you started sewing... when i was a little girl i use to hand-sew little bags... about two years ago I was given my mother´s old sewing machine and i discovered that there was a whole world out there!! I´ve learned by myself, my mother and my mother in law have given me a lot of snippets and advices, but I keep on learning every day. I´m in love with bags, purses, wallets and all of their possibilities. My only regret is that I wish I had started before and been able to make sewing a career.
I´m a big fan of your blog!
Thank you Monica! I am only just getting into sewing bags and they are so much fun! Lots of possibilities, I agree!!
DeleteThank you for sharing! I'm so glad you found me!!
I learned to cross-stitch around the age of 12 w/grandma, she was from the WWII time and real conservative, I use to play with her carefully cut squares, they were cut from sheets, our clothes, nothing was wasted, She use to make my moms Ball gowns and most of it was hand sewn silks, satins and taffeta. I picked up sewing about 4 yrs ago thinking my first gbaby was a girl, to my surprise it was a boy but since then I have no 5 due in July, but mostly I sew to channel my chronic pain into something creative and if I get excited about a project, I cant quit until its over, with Quilting I am learning its a process and fun, but if you want your gandbaby to have it when they are older its got to be done sturdy with the right materials and thread and LOVE..
ReplyDeleteYou've only been sewing for 2 years!? That is some amazing talent you have been blessed with.
ReplyDeleteMy first sewing adventure was 7th grade home ec - a lovely telephone-shaped pillow. Definitely a FAIL! About 15 years ago (!), I moved into an apartment with my best friend, who had inherited her grandma's high end Husqvarna Viking sewing machine. I sewed & sewed. As long as the project had right angles & straight lines, I was on it! When I got married I bought my own machine (not high end Husqvarna by any means), and kept sewing straight lines & right angles, once or twice a year. Then I discovered the wealth of information in the blogosphere! After lurking for a few months, I finally got up the nerve to attempt a purse, and never looked back! Bags of all kinds are still my favorite thing to sew, but I have also dabbled in applique & clothing.
You know, it's more than sewing here, you've got creativity and innate talent. I don't have that. Or maybe I haven't figured out how to tap into that. Ha. Maybe it's just courage. courage to try and make a mistake or have something turn out like crap! I started seriously quilting in 2009 because I realized that I needed a 'physical manifestation of creativity" (my phrase) in an effort to achieve a sense of balance in my life and work. I'm still not where I want to be because I don't have as much time to sew as I really need. But I follow you because i see your creativity and I'm always inspired by not only your work, but your thought processes about life, kids, marriage, and health. You're a very metacognitive person and you're not afraid to share it--I love that!
ReplyDeleteI learned to sew when I was 30 after I had my first baby...the nesting instinct was strong! I took a Parks and Rec class to learn how to use my machine. Just reading the manual I would have never understood how to insert the bobbin. I read blogs (thank you Crazy Mom Quilts and Cluck Cluck Sew) to learn everything else. I only like to sew for a purpose. I'm not really into purely decorative stuff but I bet as my kids get older and I'm done having babies I will appreciate that kind of thing more.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you have only been sewing for 2yrs…and on top of that have such a successful blog already too. Wow! Your Awesome! Well I purchased my first sewing machine about 6 years ago and made my wedding vail. I did a few other projects and eventually the sewing machine ended up in the closet then about 4 months ago I decided to make a quilt for my daughter and for my son whom I was pregnant with. And I haven't stopped since! Quilting is amazing, I absolutely love it. I am a Web and Graphic Designer and it has been so much fun to design ideas and create them. Im hoping to combine my web skills and love for quilting and create a really awesome online tool. Its in the works, hopefully I can be successful too, got any advice? :D
ReplyDeleteI started sewing at age 8, I'm 67. I taught myself; my first project was a pair of shorty PJ's. I've made all kinds of things, but I started quilting less than 3 years ago, and love it. (I also love these bird pillows!)
ReplyDeleteThese are just too adorable! I have been sewing since June of '08 according to my blog archive, so about 4 years. My mom bought me a Hello Kitty sewing machine for my birthday... and asked my permission first, to see if I'd be interested. I said, "Sure!" because it sounds so adorable. Then I got the machine and couldn't quite get the sewing bug. It sat dormant for about a year, and then after I made my first shirt-dress and first quilt (just learned through trial and error), I was hooked!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pillow -
ReplyDeleteI learned to sew when I was probably about 7 - my sister taught me. I sewed mostly clothing when I was young- 4H projects, school projects, alterations of hand-me-downs. Then I did a stint of household sewing - curtains, slipcovers - that type of thing. And then that same sister taught me to quilt - and my heart sang! I also like making totes and bags and small little fabric gifties - but I don't enjoy sewing clothing anymore.
My grandmother and mom sewed a lot...they couldn't afford store bought clothing. I did a little hand sewing, but I don,t remember using a machine ( the classic black Singer) until grade 6 Home Economics. I still use the pincushion I made. I started sewing clothing for myself in high school, I was an odd size in pants and found them really hard to buy..my mom had taken a night school class and gotten a lot more confident and passed on her learnings.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm into a variety of things for fun...cute dresses for my daughter, a little bit of quilting as a creative outlet, and the never ending pile of mending and hemming.
I took sewing in grade 9 home ec and did not like it at all (could have been the teacher) Fast forward a 'few' years (haha, a few more than I care to admit) when my youngest daughter was just a couple months old and the domestic bug bit me. I wanted to make cute things for my baby, fun things for my preschooler and whatever my teenage daughter would allow me to make for her. My mom bought me a sewing machine for Christmas and I signed up for a class at a local sewing machine store and fell in love. I love creating new things and unique clothing. I love how proud my son is when I make something for him. I love that my teenage daughter wanted me to make her Hallowe'en costume. I have now been sewing for a little over a year, and can't get enough of it. My next goal is to tackle the serger.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your Sew-iversary!
My mom has been sewing as long as I can remember; she used to make clothes for my sister and I all the time. She had us take classes right before I started college, but at the time I found it difficult and tedious...probably because I was only sewing clothes. Last fall when she had to replace her broken machine with a new one, I asked her to teach me how to use it again, and I was hooked. I haven't looked back since.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a lot of different things in 2012, and it's been fun. My sewing is exclusively for family and friends right now -- nothing professional. I blog about everything I make at http://fabricmutt.blogspot.com/. Since I'm at home full time with three little girls (ages 5, 2 & 1) while my husband teaches middle school history during the day, I feel like sewing and blogging have really saved my sanity. I'm truly thankful for the opportunity to create, write, and meet amazing people -- like you! -- through this hobby. It's such a blessing.
I enjoyed your pillow, reminds me of things I would find in my Aunts houses.
ReplyDeleteI do not remember learning how to sew, I do remember sitting on my mother's and her mother's lap as they sewed. My Nani had a whole (magical) room just filled with fabric (everywhere!) My Nani taught crafts for the KY Extension Office and I remember tagging along during my Summers. I feel my grandmother with me as I sew, smiling down on me.
When I was 5 my aunt nanny put a needle and thread and piece of fabric in my hands and taught me how to do a running stitch. That was my first and only lesson. But with that lesson, it gave me the confidence, and dilution that I "knew how to see". In 3rd grade I made a hand stitched doll for myself. It was VERY rustic looking. In 8th grade, we had a play and had to dress like an Indian. I dyed an old sheet brown. I cut out a top and pants(no pattern) and hand stitched it together, inside out so I could cut fringe. I guess I didn't look to bad, haha. That's about the extint of my sewing until I was 21 when my grandma gave me a vintage sewing machine for my birthday. From then on I am self taught. At this point I can safely say I "know how to sew" but that not to say"I still have a lot to learn". Thank God for YouTube!
ReplyDeleteOh I love that pillow. I started (properly) when i was 15, and have been sewing for two years now (:
ReplyDeleteMy two year Sew-iversary will be in May! Seriously, I can't believe you've been sewing for such a short amount of time only.
ReplyDeleteI had half a year of lessons teaching us girls to embroider, sew on buttons, crochet and knit in primary school, in year four, I think, but I forgot about most of it immediately after. For years I'd pondered learning to sew because I'd be frustrated about fit. Then a friend of mine took up sewing sometime in January 2010 and posted about her exploits on facebook. This was all the incentive I needed to finally take the plunge. I took an introductory class, six three hour sessions, during which I learned machine basics and started sewing my first skirt. I immediately started to work on a second skirt on the side and bought a machine to be able to finish them both at home. Haven't regretted it a single day and can absolutely relate to the feeling of gratitude at being able to do it for pleasure. I've now ventured into everything home dec and bags and quilts and will soon try to make my first dress. I'd been an exciting two yours. Just like yours in many ways, I assume. Congrats! :)
Sorry for writing a book about myself! Haha. And I forgot to say, for only sewing for 2 years, you sure had me fooled! All of your work is exquisite!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen. Congratulations on your sew-versary. Just two years??? Wow. Your talent is amazing and you inspire so many of us. I appreciate your thankfulness and the fact that you shared with us. I was just reading a letter written by a farmer's wife in the 1930's about how, with the stock market crash and all the hard times that people were experiencing, she was thankful to have a wonderful family, nutritious food and a farm that allowed them to reap the rewards of their hard labor. It inspired me so. There's just not enough thankfulness and gratitude going around these days. P.S. I just started sewing a few months ago and it's become so much to me. It's my happy place for certain. Have a lovely day. :)
ReplyDeleteMaureen: I love the birdies and Pillow! Did you make it up? Is the pattern available?
ReplyDeletei just love you maureen! i started sewing in high school and would sew a quilt here and there, always tying it. i made a pieced quilt top for the first time in 2004, i think, and i was hooked. but honestly, my quilting really amped up about two years ago. i started following blogs and joined flickr. i was soo inspired to sew new and different things, things i hadn't tried and wanted to much to learn.. i love to sew and i agree with you, it is such a blessing to sew for pleasure!
ReplyDeleteYour newest pillow is wonderfully fun! I learned to sew when I was under ten. My grandmother taught me to make some amazing scrunchies. I won't lie, they were pretty awesome! I dabbled in sewing clothes while I was in college, but never gave it my full attention. Then, four or five years ago, I started making bags and pillows. I only finished my first quilt last year. I'm hooked, and I still hope to improve on my garment-making skills, but I love it all!
ReplyDeleteOh, how sweet and adorable pillow! x Teje
ReplyDeleteI love the birds!
ReplyDeleteI started sewing aged around 7 - I was taught by a teacher at my primary school called Mrs Ellis who encouraged me because I was the only child who showed any interest! I made most of my own clothes in my teens and twenties but these day I rarely sew clothes! mostly quilts and bags!!
Your pillow is gorgeous. I don't think there is another project out there that has made me want to buy this line of fabric more!
ReplyDeleteI started sewing when I was in 7th grade. My grandma made my costume for the musical I was in and as she did, she taught me all about how the machine worked and how to work a pattern. After, she let me choose two fabrics and a pattern and helped me sew my very own dresses. These were my favorite for a long time.
My grandma was an artist, so we were always jumping around from technique to technique. Shortly after she taught me to sew, we took up painting ceramics and creating porcelain dolls and we left the sewing machine behind.
When she died a few years back, I wanted to be close to her; I yearned for those nights spent painting on her porch... So my husband bought me a cheap little sewing machine. I stumbled through for months, re-learning to thread the machine, to sew a straight line, to smooth talk the bobbin and curse it when it messed up. I made myself a couple skirts. Made some friends burp cloths. Piddly stuff, really. Then, I met the head of psychology at the local university and she mentioned her love for quilting and how she makes quilts for people with cancer. Immediately, I knew that's what I wanted to do. What better way to remember my favorite person in the world than to make something that would ease people through their struggle with the same disease that took her out of this world?? That's when I started quilting, and life has not been the same since. I've learned immensely and through blogging, have found an entire community of friends who encourage me as I learn new skills and allow me to take part in their fun bees and swaps.
So that's how I started, and as far as what I'm making now, still lots of quilts for Comfort Quilters and all my bees and swaps, but I've really been trying to make some things that will stay home with us and my little girl Clara, who I named after my grandma.
I just have to tell you that I LOVE those birds!!! love, Love, LOVE them :) I find your work so inspiring! Makes me hope that someday, I might have a fraction of the talent that you do! Thank you for being you :)
ReplyDeleteI don't sew, but I LOVE this pillow! I would love to buy it!!! =) Do you plan to sell these?
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Your birds are so cute and cleverly cut! I learned to sew as a girl in 4-H, but I only picked it back up again when my dad died 4 years ago. I sewed his shirts into patchwork zippered pouches for me and my siblings. Then, my sewing just took off! I got the bug. My favorite thing to sew is any kind of bag, but I love trying all manner of new projects. I just started on a medallion quilt I'm really excited about. Happy Sewversary to you! You are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew how to sew on a machine. I know a tiny bit. But I still have to look at the directions everytime I want to thread the needle with the bobbin!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute pillows!
When I was a little girl, probably 6, I got a toy sewing machine for Christmas and loved playing on it. In 4th or 5th grade, the girls made aprons to give to their mothers as Valentine's gifts. I enjoyed that (blue gingham with red ricrac; I still remember; I'm sure my mother had to go back over all the seams to keep it from falling apart ;>) My mother sewed many of our clothes so I'd always been around sewing. I'll hint at my age by telling this, but when I was in high school, Home Ec was basically mandatory for the girls. Don't know if they still even have Home Ec. One half of the year involved cooking stuff and one half of the year involved sewing stuff; we had to make several garments. I did really well on them and enjoyed it, I think more so than the cooking. I used to make a lot of my own clothes but haven't done that in many, many years. However, I do enjoy making quilts, especially baby quilts to give as gifts and that accounts for almost all of my sewing nowadays.
ReplyDeletei have always sewed my mother and school[home ec] and sewed for my children when they were little. now its quilts
ReplyDeleteI started sewing on appliques about 2 years ago. I graduate to bags and then clothes over the past year and a half. I'm self (or, rather, blog) taught. My mom sewed when we were young, but mostly clothing as gifts for us so we weren't a part of the process. I am addicted to sewing my and my kids' clothes right now. I can't stop making and upcycling our wardrobes. It's fun. I've also got my 5 year old working on a machine (she got it for her 4th birthday). She has a Singer from CostCo. My 3 year old son is handstitching randomly with a real needle and an embroidery hoop and thread. I hope they'll grow up with the skills to modify, alter and make what they like.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Maureen, making it so far in 2 years. I'm impressed!
Hi, It's hard to believe you have only been sewing two years and able to turn out things like this.My grand mother taught me when I was around 7 or 8 yrs old. She taught me a lot of needle work. I have never had a class or been taught anything since she past away. That is when I stopped doing any sewing or embroidery until I became disabled and had a lot of time on my hands.
ReplyDeleteLove the pillow!!
ReplyDeleteI started sewing properly at the end of February actually! I'm only 22. My Grandma sews and used to make dresses and things for me (mother informed me I hardly wore them!) I didn't really watch her sewing as we lived and hour away and then she moved to Jamaica. I think I must have inherited it from her though! I love sewing and being creative. Right now I'm into making blocks! Changing up styles and creating some new ones =D
Oh, I love that. And now feel slightly insecure, as I've been quilting for about 10 years now. Of course, it just became an obsession for the past two....
ReplyDeleteI might have to make one of those pillows for myself.
I learned to use a machine in middle school home ec (how lousy that those classes are growing extinct!) and have since then been self-taught. Right now I mostly stick to a pattern or learn-by-looking but I'd love to try and come up with designs of my own one day.
ReplyDeleteI love this pillow and hope you will be providing a tutorial soon! Like so many others, I first learned to sew in Jr. High home ec(1976). I enjoyed it but didn't do anything beyond that since I didn't have any one close to me to guide me. When I was a young mother of two(1987), I tried my hand at sewing again, making a couple of pairs of shorts and pj's, and a twin size quilt top. Again, I didn't stick wiith it and that quilt didn't get completed until my oldest son got married in 2006 when I asked a friend to finish it for me to give as their wedding gift. That same friend has helped me do a few projects over the past couple of years and when she got a new machine she gave me hers. Unfortunately, I moved 1500 miles away from her but her encouragement has done a lot to help me. I just finished a throw size quilt this past week. I did all of it except the quilting. I plan try quilting the next one. I have material for two more quilts and kitchen curtians. I have loved your blog and others and have "pinned" so many things I want to do! (Now I just need to figure out how to pay for this new hobby!)
ReplyDeleteI love that pillow! I probably won't be making one, doesn't really fit in our place, as we don't use cushions and the kids love their pillowcases they coloured in with fabric crayons too much to use anything else.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you found me, too Sandy! I didn't know about the popularity of blogs or how many wonderful sewing/crafty blogs there were until after I started my own. It has opened up a whole new world for me, full of people just like me! It's amazing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks again!!!
i learned when i was about 8yo. I was in 4H, my grandmother made lots of my clothes as a child and my aunt was a jr high home ec teacher. I loved to sew. Going to the fabric store and looking through the pattern books was a favorite past time. I later worked at the fabric store while i was in high school, making many of my own clothes. I was the only young girl working there. All the other ladies were my mothers age, or older :). I studied fashion design in college. After graduation i worked for several years in retail. I later moved to NYC, returned to fashion school and studied patternmaking. I now work in the industry as a technical designer. Once i started working i stopped sewing for myself. I recently took up sewing again in the the last year or so. I love to make things for my 2 daughters. I have also took up quilting last year and made 7 quilts!!! I am lucky to be surrounded by so many creative people at work there is no problem they cant help solve
ReplyDeleteMy mom is an excellent seamstress and taught me some. When I was 20 my hubby gave me my first machine and I took a basic class. Since then I've learned as I've gone. Now a quilter and love to sew for my 7 grands! Grateful I found something I love to do and share! Want to make a pillow like yours! Will you share the birdie designs? Love it!
ReplyDeleteYour pillow is beautiful! I have only been sewing for a year and a half. I decided I wanted to learn so my mum showed me the basics (she only does functional sewing - curtains, repairs etc) and then I taught myself through trial and error, books and blogs. I couldn't live without sewing now!
ReplyDeleteHappy 2 years of your Sew-iversary! You are AMAZING for only having learned two years ago!! I've been sewing maybe 4 years although I remember as a little girl trying to stitch together some doll clothes. Mostly I like to make quilts and don't tackle the garments or tote bags.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your birdie pillow!! It's great and the birds have cute personalities!! Question...I see that you stitched around the borders...will the outer edge ravel? Or are you thinking it's a decorative pillow and the edge won't really need stitching down? Right now I'm working on some applique so raveling is on my mind.
Love the birdie pillow - very original. I HATED sewing when I was in middle school and didn't actually start to quilt until 1999. My MIL and her mother, are quilters, have been since the 70's or earlier. I started spending time with them while they quilted and my MIL taught me the basics...and from there it's become a very expensive hobby, but it's truly my passion now. Honestly, I feel like quilting has become my life saver. I've struggled with depression issues for MANY years and after starting quilting, it's not been nearly as tramatic as in past years. When I start to get in down in the dumps, just head to my sewing room and sew away...takes my mind off of the everyday problems and by being creative I've got a finished product that can be used for many years when I'm finished. So, in my mind it's well worth the price of material.
ReplyDeleteLove the cushion, great fabric combo.
ReplyDeleteAs for sewing, well my mum taught me embroidery when I was about 6 or 7 to make presents for my grandmothers for Christmas. I did some clothes making at uni, pretty much exclusively with fleece, and I've been making teddy bears for a few years. I found the whole online quilting/bag making world about 10 months ago, and leapt into the quilting last August/September time. It's my relaxation from work, and at times my sanity saver in there when I have down time, just thinking of the next project!
My Mom sewed for me all my life (even now, she still makes me little things), in high school I sewed in Home Ec. and have sewn ever since. I think a lot of it I picked up from my Mom just by osmosis. I taught myself embroidery when I was just 11 or 12. My embroidery branched out to counted thread needlework and I designed & taught for several years. Got a little burned out on the business part of it. I made 1 quilt a long time ago-all embroidered & tied. My cousin got me started on quilting. Coming from a sewing background, I have always loved fabric, so it was a natural progression. I have been quilting for about 3 or 4 years now & am starting to branch out into more modern quilts and have discovered that I love paper piecing and hand applique (no surprise there since I still love handwork). Hand stitching the binding down is my favorite part of the quilt!
ReplyDeleteMy mother knitted a lot and occasionally made dresses for me as a child but I was not interested then.
ReplyDeleteI only took an interest in sewing after my son was born (actually there were some ham fisted attempts at hand sewing whilst I was pregnant). I wanted to make him a real treasure to keep. When he was 6 months old I got a sewing machine for my birthday and it all started there really. He is two and a half now , so nearly two years learning and stitching. The first thing I made was a fabric book with numbers 1 to 5, it was pretty misshapen but I was hooked! I don't think my efforts compare to yours but I love finding new projects to make , I find it completely exhilarating.
I love your cushion - is it OK to Pin it? x
My accomplice and I really loved reading this weblog post, I was just itching to know do you commerce featured posts? I'm always trying to find somebody to make trades with and merely thought I might ask.
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Maureen! I pinned your pillow(hope that's ok) and have had 103 others repin or like it! You are onto something lovely there! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen, I am one of 12 children and the only one i am sure who used to sit beside her grandma and watch her sew. She mainly mended and made beautiful bed linen. I think i started to sew when she allowed me to have a play one day on the machine and have dabbled all my life. Three children and working full time later..a lot of sewing has not really happened along the way, however...now i have the most beautiful space to sew with a wonderful table and loads of natural light...i am really grateful for this. I may even do a post on this later this week.
ReplyDeleteI mainly quilt and all sorts of quilty treats....for the family..there always seems to be a gift needed for someone.
I noticed you are a felter. I too have done a lot of felting and taught my two daughters, who have made some exquisitve pieces. Children love felting too...so tactile.
You have many beautiful things in your creative career....drooling!!
I started sewing in home ec class in high school. The first thing I sewed was my first prom dress. Then I made the double breasted suit that my husband wore in our wedding. I take sewing classes as often as I can because I want to learn how to do it all. I currently sew mostly quiltsmwith some clothing mixed in. I am currently sewing some clothes for my grandson.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, really, just 2 years? You make me think I claim to be a sewist but you put me to shame young lady. I am embarrassed to even lay claim to that title now. My mom tried to teach me to sew, but I was obstinate and spent time with my Dad out in the fields and in the cattle rather then with my mom. Eleanor Burns is the responsible party for making me love quilts and love them I do. I am a terrible procrastinator but I do get things done. I do long-arm quilting for a living and my clients are always pleased and come back time after time. Imagine what I could have attained if I had only listened to my mother. Mom and Dad, you were the best and I miss you dearly.
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for these magical words. Every time I think about sewing I feel the same way. Well said girl! How much love one can feel spread throughout your blog, it's amazing! I'm over the moon with your pillow!! Pinning it on Pinterest :)
That pillow is beautiful! I started sewing a few years ago because of my oldest daughter. She started making clothes out of paper and tape when she was I think 3 or 4 years old and then graduated to fabric and yarn when she received some as a gift. I can't exactly remember the progression but at some point, she encouraged (and inspired) me to get out our mostly unused sewing machine that I had received years before as a gift and together we started "figuring it out" which we still do today (she's 9 now.) I just got a new machine in December so she uses my old one and we sit in the tiny sewing room creating and working on our own projects for hours. My 6 year old has gotten in on the action as well. We also spend lots of time embroidering (and they are trying to learn crochet) and recently my 9 year old and I have been loving Free Motion Sketching but we are nowhere close to the wonderment of yours. I'm in total awe every time you share pictures of your sketch stitching.
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