Owl...

I decided to do a bit of sewing this weekend, and I am really realising what a beginner I am...what a messy sewer. I have been cross stitching for soooooo long, and have started learning other stitches such as hardanger, crewel and so on. I am meticulous when I do this, both on the front and the back...any mistake I will frog and redo. But, when it comes to sewing I am just NO GOOD!!! I blame space...feel like I have not got the table space or storage space to have things in order. I know my husband would NOT agree with me as he has a tiny little box room whilst I have a craft room bigger than our bedroom, and I have a lot of drawer space plus a double wardrobe, and I have a desk (his reject) which is very narrow.

So, I took my sewing machine and two bags with fabric and ribbons and threads and things down to the living room...moved the kitchen table (after clearing it of course) so I could still watch telly (to keep focus) whilst working. I cut out the pattern for the owl...and then I made my first mistake...I chose satin for fabric...how stupid can a person be!!! Satin is flowy, it does not lie down properly on the table...it is not easy to use pins in, it keeps moving around, and when sewing it keeps catching and that of course shows up...just have a look at the finished product.

I think he is still kinda cute...but because I did not have enough filling or backing, I have only put backing on the eyes and the "bib", whilst the front and back are just sewn together as they are. The wings and feet are velvet fabric from my discarded soft pants...and the beak is felt...and I have sewn it so the bottom third is open...so you COULD put something in as if he caught something...not that I have any plans to do it...

Now, I need to hem my new trousers as they are way too long...wish me luck...

I have done things like changing a zip, and that looks really nice. And I have made a pillow (which I posted some time ago) from an embroidery and some jeans fabric. I LOVE it!! It took me some time to figure out how to keep the inner pillow inside. I tried to do like the pillow cases are made with a "flap" on the inside, but the first time I did it, the flap ended up on the outside...so the frog visited...I got it on the inside, but it was just too loose (the cushion cover is bigger than the pillow) so I then put ribbons on the side and tied in bows after putting the inner cusion in...it turned out really cute, although not very professional! lol

I soooo want to do patchwork and quilting as it looks so much fun, but I just don't have the space at the moment...I may finish the cusion cover I started for my mum...feel silly about sending it to her though as my older sister (who still lives very close to mum) is VERY VERY VERY good at sewing, making ball gowns at the moment, plus sewing clothes, but she used to do quilts. I know she would not be saying anything to me, but I know she'd see all the silly mistakes...

I love her to bits, and I know that if I still lived in Sweden I would be going to her to learn a lot about sewing, but unfortunately I live too far away.

Ah well, that is life. I will just have to learn from my mistakes, from the Internet, and hopefully going on a course or two when I have the money and time. I just want to learn to do things properly...and then have a nice big craft room with large tables for projects, and a door shutting all animals out...if I want that of course...lol