When I was a kid my father signed me up for a sewing class. I remember going fabric shopping with him to a neat little store in the small town we lived in. I picked out a white terrycloth, some thread and some elastic for the bottom. 

I vaguely remember the class itself but I certainly remember the feeling of pride I had with the creation of my new shirt. It had short sleeves and a collar and elastic in the bottom. 

I couldn't wear it tho as I had made the elastic far to tight in the bottom and it cut off my circulation! I could not fix it because I didn't have a machine at home and the class was done! 

Over the years I have often thought about getting a machine and making another shirt but have never really given into the craving.  

This year I got a new sewing machine from my beautiful Prey. 

I am now on a mission to teach myself how to sew using the various sites online. I hope to be able to hone my skills so I can eventually offer a variety of items for sale. I believe I wish to cater to the plus size person and those in wheel chairs. 

I am ambitious and positive.  Heading to the store this afternoon to fetch cord for my third project!

I had the machine for over two weeks, only taking it out of the box to briefly go over the  different parts it came with. I put it back away when it came time to learn how to thread the bobbin as it was close to xmas and I didn't want to get in the middle of anything and then have to put it away. I went through the entire holiday with it still in the box and only after new years eve did I finally break it free and start to learn more about her. 

I spent a evening threading her and learning her different stitches and only got stuck with the automatic button hole maker!

Once those tasks were accomplished I set forth to create my very first project.  We were attending a gathering where the theme was "Animals". My prey needed ears and a tail and it was my mission to create those for her. 

I must say using fur for my first outing with my new machine was lofty! 

It was then that the fur started to fly!!

I cut and glued the ears and then folded the tail to make the two straight lines required.

It all happened so fast and effortlessly that I felt slightly cheated until I turned the tail right side out and stuffed it. Then I felt that same feeling of pride I did when I held up my gut busting white terrycloth shirt so many years ago.

The ears could have been way better if I wrapped them differently but we only bought a  2" strip of fur that wasn't to long so I improvised to make sure I had lots of fur left for her tail. 

I have signed up for an online sewing class.. http://sewing.about.com/library/lessons/bllessonindex.htm

the first actual project is the envelope pillowcase. 

I went and got material needed and decided I wasn't gonna use the pillow form and sizes they recommended yet make pillowcases for our small sleeping pillows as they live in cases that are 10x to big for them.

After reading through the first lesson I learned it was wise to wash your new fabric before using it to avoid shrinkage. 

I know from experience most types of shrinkage is a bad deal  so into the cleaner my material went and out of the dryer it came in a tight little ball.  

I also learned from reading and hearing my buddy tell me that this sewing gig requires a shit ton of ironing, I had already got myself a top notch ironing board to go with the awesome iron we already have so I set it up to begin the process of deballing my material.

Three meters is a lot when you are trying to iron it. 

I "Thought" I could make my own pattern and did exactly that. Cut out the material for both pillowcases thinking I would be a smarty pants and get them both done at once. 

So.. off I went following all the steps towards creating a successful pillowcase and once I was done I ran into the bedroom to see about stuffing them. Once there I realized my  pillowcases were to small for their intended pillows. So the one for preys pillow fits my little pillow and the one for my pillow will have its own brand new pillow created for it! 

Now after discovering this  I did come back to my handy dandy table and promptly took out the seams of the bigger case which took a while cuz they were both double stitched. Then I redid the seams in hopes that the alterations would help the pillow fit better but alas I was mistaken yet again and in the end neither of the damn cases fit but both are done correctly and look not so bad!

My second project!

Now I have spent a few days away from sewing but did go to the store and pick up the material and a few patterns for the next big project.. pillow with cable. I need to go get two 16" forms cuz I will be giving these beauties away as the material was bought with a friend in mind.. its horrid pink! lol

After that it is a robe to try to teach me about different fabrics but I am holding out as I have put out a call for any sewing stuff people may wish to donate .. fabric is expensive and if i can gather  some resources then the learning curve wont cost so much. 

I will be going to the unemployment office on monday to see if I can get them to cover the online course I wish to take .. it is certified dressmaker/design course that is designed to teach me everything.. That is what I would like to know.. everything and I know from my tattooing that if I take a class and learn properly that I can then hone my skills knowing I have the right information. That information in combination with the wise advice of my sewing friends will assist me to be awesome at this so my eventual mission can be accomplished. 

Goals are important.. I have a few!!