My First Sewing Lesson and Project

So, I have this pretty nifty Husqvarna Rose sewing machine that my mother-in-law is letting me borrow as she had acquired a beast of an embroidery machine a few years back and has not use for it. (Borrowing because she wants my niece Kamala to have it, but Kamala is not very interested in it at present. I lucked out!) Up until today the sewing machine has done little more than collect dust in my craft room.

Previously my sewing machine skills were limited to basic functions such as: turning it on, adjusting stitch lengths, sewing straight stitches, sewing zig-zag stitches and turning the machine off. (My sewing experience was limited to paper...never used it on fabric.) Given lessons by my friend Kerry today I added to my repertoire the abilities: to create a seam, create a top stitch, wind bobbin thread, pin fabric and create rounded corners. As a result of this great lesson, I was able to make a double-sided baby blanket. Woohoo! I actually did something productive on my first time out! (Of course it is not the best specimen of blanketry, but I'm not complaining.)

My only frustration is that I was not able to learn how to properly zig-zag stitch edges because the tension (that I paid $90 to have repaired MONTHS ago!!!) on my machine is completely out of wack. Looking back at the blanket, it is pretty obvious that something was wrong with the tension at that point. (Or I would prefer to think something is wrong with the machine as I would like to have something to blame my sewing imperfections.)

Anyhew, I'll be giving Kerry's sewing machine repair guy a call on Monday to see if things can be repaired or if I am a dunce and need to simply press one of the bizillion buttons on my machine to fix it. I will be sooo antsy until it is working properly. I can't wait to get my hands on more fabric for my cards and other projects!!

Kerry - Thank you for being such a patient and encouraging teacher. I tend to be a bit of an anxious student and your instruction made it easy for me to remain calm and confident!