Beginners Sewing...

Sewing is not something that I was ever really taught to do but have always been amazed with what other people are able to do. Other than a home economics class I took my sophomore year of high school I have had very little experience with sewing, and really I learned nothing in that class. (my friend Amy says it's because I never bothered showing up for class, so maybe that had something to do with it. haha) Recently though I have taken a huge interest in wanting to learn how to sew so I can make cute things for my girls. I so excited when I opened my birthday present from my MIL to find that she had gotten me the sewing machine I wanted! I was determined that I was going to learn how to actually use it but I wanted to start out with something simple. I found this idea on Pinterest to make these roll up beach/picnic mats. They are made from two towels, batting, 1/2 yard of material, and some Velcro. I thought that sounded simple enough so off I went. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I actually really enjoyed myself. I find myself looking for projects to sew now so I can keep improving. I ended up making two of the towel mats which I donated to the young womens auction at church to help them raise money for girls camp.

While I was sewing (on my first day of ever even using the machine) I was sewing along and when I got to the end of what I wanted to sew I lifted my foot up off the peddle but the machine didn't stop. I didn't know what was going on, but the needle just kept on going no matter how much I yelled "STOP!" After as second I looked under the table to see if maybe my peddle was stuck only to discover that I had a little helper under there holding my peddle down for me. I guess I should have explained to Brooklyn ahead of time that sewing is really just a one person job. :)

Here is what the mats look like when they are unrolled. The girls said they are very comfortable, and now they want me to make some for them. I'll have to work on that before the baby comes because I have a feeling I won't get much sewing done for awhile after he gets here. :)

 Here is what they look like when they are all rolled up like a duffel bag. I put three pockets on the front to hold things like a book, sun block, water bottle, sun glasses, etc... whatever else you may need for the beach or park.