Dear Sewing Machine

Dear Sewing Machine,

Oh, how I've missed you.  I'm sorry I've left you alone on the shelf for so long.  I've just been busy with life.  Time is whizzing past me and I have been frantic to keep up with it.  

Thank you for waiting for me.  I knew I'd be back eventually.  

Sincerely,

Girl who really likes the tedious, quiet activities of life

And so it goes:  I'm back at the sewing machine.  Since it's been soooo loooonngg I decided I should start with a project that is "B".  That's what I call it when it's past beginner skills but not all the way to Vera Wang.  You know what I mean? 

Napkins for our Thanksgiving Table.  Perfecto.  I found the tutorial here

1.  I went to Hobby Lobby.  There are fabric stores near me but I like Hobby Lobby.  The ladies that work in the fabric department let you browse.  I like that.  If I need assistance, I'll come find you.   Otherwise, I'm enjoying the looking.  Maybe fabric stores need those bracelets like the Clinique Counter at Macy's.  Slip on a green one if you are just looking.  Slip on a white one if you have a question.  But I digress……….here is the fabric I chose.

 I couldn't find a sateen cotton fabric.  And I didn't want bright white.  So I just browsed and touched all the cotton fabric until I found a bolt that felt like a napkin.  You know?  Not too thin, not too stark white.  I thought I'd want some kind of Thanksgiving trim.  In fact, I considered picking out personalized trim for each family member.  But in the end I changed my mind and went with what you see above.  I couldn't decide between the two……so I bought a 1/2 yard of each!!  I knew I needed to find something with an overall pattern.  AND something that didn't have stripes.  I don't always sew a straight line.  :)

Next:  Load up everything I need.  I learned that from cooking shows.  Gather all needed stuff.  Nothing more frustrating than having to stop……….go hunt for straight pins…or cornstarch (if you're cooking)  Just make sure you have everything ready.  OK?

Fabric - check
Iron - check
Scissors - by the way, these are MY scissors.  I never leave them out when I'm not there to guard them. I HIDE THEM.  That's right.  I'd tell you where, but then I'd have to kill you.

It may seem easy, and it is easy, but the slowest part for me was the cutting out of the fabric squares.  I KNOW!  Why did it take me so long?  I honestly don't know…….. it just did.  But whew.  Finally did it.  I cut out 6 squares for the white part of the napkin and 6 rectangles for the trim.  3 out of the green and 3 out of the brown.  Oh, I bought MORE than the tutorial says you need to buy because, well, sometimes I have to start over.

 Finally, fabric is cut and ironed and prepared.  I'm ready to go. 

Here is my workstation.  My handy dandy sewing machine that I LOVE.  And listen, it's an inexpensive one.  I like it because it's smarter than I am.  Easy to use and never let's me down.  See those scissors?  My decoy scissors.  My cell phone is near because I was home alone.  I have 3 children and 1 husband and you never know when I'll be called back to duty.

I followed the tutorial and pinned the trim to the napkin and that's where I began to second guess myself.  I was concerned that the raw edge of the white square would ravel if I didn't hem it before adding the trim.  I thought and thought and checked the tutorial and thought some more.  Pinned it and decided the napkin police will just have to come and get me.  Because I just HAD To hem that white edge.

Here is the raw edge pinned:

And here is the raw edge hemmed:

After all that cutting and thinking, the final sewing was a snap.  I sewed on the trim.  Then I sewed a hem around the whole project with a contrasting colored thread and……..

SO PRETTY!!!!  THANK YOU FOR THE TUTORIAL!!!  I will post a photo of my final table setting when I finish the whole thing.