This past week I have had the urge to start a project and create something.  I like sewing so I thought that was a possibility but then I remembered that I had sent my sewing machine back to England with my mother.  Our (mine and my mother’s) thinking was that come December when we move to France I won’t want to lug or ship that kind of thing over.  However, I failed to consider that maybe I would want to use it between now and December.  But alas, then I remembered my good friend Beth had been sewing baby slings a few months ago when her daughter was born so maybe she would lend me her machine for a few days.  She did!  And it now sits on my dining room table ready to start (see photos).  And notice the word SIMPLE, I love that, its everything I want this project to be.

But what to sew?

Don’t you hate it when you start a project and don’t finish it, I find that more frustrating than the urge to actually begin something. Hence why I want this project to be as simple as possible and very unstressful cuz I don’t have room in my life for stress anymore.

I have always really LOVED the thought of making clothes and now that I have a little girl even better!  Because the clothes don’t have to be so big and I can make sweet little dresses with matching dresses for her baby dolls!!  So that is what I intend to do.

Today I intensely searched the pattern magazines at Joann fabrics for the simplest summer dress that could be developed once I had it down pretty well.  Eventually I have dreams of adding buttons, pockets and embellishment!  And isn’t that typical, once you have an idea it runs away with you and gets totally out of hand.  I do that all the time and that is 95% of the reason that I don’t finish anything because my expectations are way too high for reality.  Thats why SIMPLE. has become my word, I’m going to own it for this project.

Once I had found the pattern I then had to decipher the instructions so I could get the right amount of material etc.  I hadn’t considered how hard it would be and felt way out of my depth all of a sudden, but I was so determined that I plunged in and tried to use my common sense.  Thankfully I’m better at being a nurse than reading the back of a dress pattern because I ended up getting way too much material.  LOL. So now I’ll be making matching dresses for all 4 baby dolls that Poppy owns!  That wasn’t all.  On the way home while looking at my goodies in anticipation of sitting at the sewing machine tonight with some music playing and surrounded by the atmosphere of creativity I noticed an issue.  Oh no this dress has two buttons!  Button holes!!!  How in the world do you create button holes I thought.   And then a flash back came to me, it was a memory from high school, in my textiles class and an ah-ha moment to be sure.  It was the day my teacher showed us how to make button holes and I was so impressed by the process, because it wasn’t that the machine had to physically cut the hole (I honestly had no idea), no it was the concept of sewing the place for the button hole first then cutting the hole with a pair of scissors!  Genius I thought, and I’ve never forgotten it.

After my panic had subsided I decided to take on the challenge and if worst came to worst I would consult some experts.

So all is ready to begin.  I picked out some awesome fabric, matched up some buttons and bought some neutral thread.  So watch this space for the finished product because it will finished!  Buttons holes and all.