A few blogs ago, I talked about how I wanted to spend more time being productive rather than just sitting and watching television. I mean, what’s really going to matter 10 years from now, the shows on television, or the things I was able to accomplish?
This year Joel and I are trying to save as much money as possible. We make our own laundry soap, cut out the cable, have basic cell phone plans and even are doing without texting (and we’re still alive!). I make bread for us rather than buying loafs every week (which actually leads to us eating less bread because sometimes I’m just now in the mood to make it). We are spending very little on each other for Christmas this year. Another thing we are doing is making Christmas presents for everyone rather than getting the store bought ones. I’ve been perfecting my ornament decorating over the months of November and December, and have actually gotten pretty creative with them. When trying to figure out how I wanted to wrap them, I got the idea of making some bags to put them in that could double as something else for the gift receivers. I’ve wanted to learn how to sew for about 6 months now and after my mom passed her sewing machine to me, which I am so thankful for, I was one step closer to starting to acquire this skill. After learning the basics at a sewing class, I thought I would be able to make anything set before me.
After looking at several different ideas, I decided on a small drawstring tote bag. I searched for a video online and found one that explained everything well and went through the steps towards a simple tote bag. I customized it to fit my ornaments rather than making the large one the lady was making. I watched the video twice, and then got all my supplies ready to work with on the kitchen table. I started cutting the fabric, leaving lots of extra room for mistakes. I lined it up, pinned it, and starting the sewing process. Something was not quite right. One side of the sewed fabric looked great, but flipping it on the other side was a different story. It looked like a hot mess and as if someone decided to wad up a bunch of thread and glue it to the fabric. I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. I went back to computer and look at how to thread the bobbin and it looked like everything was right. I tried sewing two more times, and twice got the same results. I knew my mom was capable at sewing a hem, which is where I was on the project. After me trying to figure it out for two hours on my own, I called her to rescue the fabric. After she looked at it for about 10 seconds, she placed the foot down and started sewing. Magically, both sides were looking great! Silly me, I was sewing without the foot down. My first tote bag I made was….special….unique….and will need to be in the hands of someone who can love those things not so perfect. After that, I was on my way to making what I thought would become a masterpiece. I’m not sure the end product is a masterpiece, but it is recognizable as a tote bag.
The second bag I made only took about 40 minutes and looked much better. I was so happy with myself and my bags that I drove over to my parent’s house at 10:30 at night to show my parents the bags. So far, I have made four tote bags and each one is a little better than the last. With each one, I am learning something new. I have now remembered each time to put the foot down and am learning to do other things with each bag. I am getting a feeling I will be making tote bags for lots of things.
Some ideas I have as of now:
·
O Ornament holder
· Jewelry bag for traveling
· Putting a loaf of homemade bread in it to give to someone
· Camera lens holder (dad came up with that one)
· Spare change holder
Let me know if you have other ideas!
And I only have about 12 more to go!
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