oh brother

I had the idea that i wanted to take some sewing classes last february. I called the local colleges and the art institute nearby to see if they had any classes for non-degree seeking students (i already have a BA in another field). and then in march i got engaged (YAY) and then put all of my nonexistent free time into wedding planning. and now the wedding is over, we were married in April. (and it was beautiful!) so i decided to start looking into sewing classes again. …when i was little i used to sew complete outfits (little felt shoes and hats included) for my favorite stuffed animals. i think i once cut up one of my nightgowns to use the blue floral fabric to make an outfit for my stuffed rabbit, what a great idea… 


i had been hoping for a sewing machine this past christmas or my birthday, but no luck. As a wedding gift my grandmother wrote me a check and in the space where it said "for" she wrote "sewing machine."She had also talked about it with her sister (my great aunt), who also wrote me a check as a wedding gift that said "sewing machine" under the spot that said "for." The wedding was the last time I got to see my great aunt, she passed away recently.   I followed their wishes and put the 2 checks toward buying a sewing machine. and i think it will always remind me of both of them.

Here it is! It's a Brother XR-7700. I got it on sale at costo. I think it will be a good starter. There's a photo of a dog on the right side, who came up with that idea? it says you can put a photo of something else there. it's like a little frame. kind of cheesy. i could put a little picture of tim gunn in there with a quote bubble saying "make it work." ha. did you catch last night's project runway? i did! husband said he was not going to watch this time because he did not want to get caught up in another one of my shows (so you think you can dance, etc.) he was going to sit and read. he totally watched it all. 


where was i? so i have my new sewing machine. and i bought a new desk off craigslist for it. still working on arranging the space. but here it is so far.

This is in our middle bedroom, where i also have my old computer and my elliptical and the closet is full of paint and canvases. Soon it will be full of fabric too, i'm sure. I painted the walls blue. it was dark wood paneling. heavy duty primer and 3 coats of paint did the trick. the moulding was also dark brown and i painted that white. it looks a million times better. i came across the curtains long after i had finished painting and the blue matches perfectly. they're from world market and i LOVE them.

so fun. i have my sewing machine all set up and i found a new store not to far from me that has sewing classes! yay! I've already taken one class, and now i'm in the middle of a multi-week class. it's great fun. i also love how now when my mind wanders i start thinking about sewing projects; whereas i used to just stress about work stuff. Does that happen to you?


Hope you have a great weekend and can fit in some sewing time! I'm going to try to!