My New Toy - a re-post

I did it. After how many years of hemming and hawing and saying I didn't need one and feeling intimidated at the thought of having one, I bought a sewing machine.

I'm really glad it came with a how to use DVD because the whole idea of this really intimidated me.  I walk into fabric stores and get a feeling that the people working there are looking at me and thinking "what is SHE doing here?  SHE doesn't belong".  But I also look at the beautiful things my mom and a few of my friends have made and long to be able to do that.  It irks me spending money to have Stitch It hem my husband's pants because I know it's probably a very easy thing to do yourself. 

Once I got past all that and dove in, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  And I really enjoyed it.  I can see how some people become addicted.  I made a little quilt from a quilt kit.  Here it is:

I know it isn't perfect, not even close really.  But I had fun.  I can see the mistakes and take from them all because this was my first project and the whole point was to learn.  And I learned a lot.  Here's a few things that came up:

-always put the presser foot down - that was a bit of a mess
-watch out for pins coming up the line (I broke a needle because of this)
-a rotary cutter is necessary if I want to make more quilts - I hand cut all the pieces and they were a bit of a mishmash
-check the piecing together part over - one row of blocks is backwards and the rows aren't straight

I actually didn't intend to make a quilt, I wanted to make O. some leggings, but I saw this kit and thought it would be a good little project for me. I really like how there are so many different textures in it for her little hands to explore. I think she likes it too.

Side note: The back is the green stripe flannel.  I just didn't take a picture of that.