Josephine Sews

I believe I volunteered for this one and boy did I pay.  For the past 2 weeks I have had minimal sleep trying to have these items completed before August 22, 2016 - the first day of preschool. My Great niece needed a backpack, blanket, and a pillow for preschool.  I wanted her to have something that was different and unique.  I did not want her to have the cookie cutter supplies when I knew I had the ability to make her something special. I volunteered my services and her parents paid for the materials. How I Did It The pattern I used for the backpack "The Toddler Friendly Backpack" came from the book " A bag for all reasons " by Lisa Lam.  If you don't already have this book in your sewing room I highly recommend it.  I have sewn several items from this book and her detail and construction techniques are wonderful. The one surprise for me was the backpack was a little smaller than I expected but other than that it went together fairly easy.  I w...

My schedule has changed and my body and mind is struggling to keep up.  Gone are the days of leisurely sewing when I want - now I have to purposely schedule it in. I have been sewing but always rushed now and it is no fun.  I screw up a lot in this state of mind.  I have created several UFO's now. Not a lot of  detail this time mostly pictures.  The items below were created for a mom who recently had a new little one.  This wasn't my best work but it is still decent.  The designs are from Adorable Ideas "Adorable Bugs Applique" . I don't necessarily like applique embroidery because it takes more time than regular embroider.  I have a lot of scrap good quality cotton that I paid too much money for so I am forcing myself to use applique embroidery designs to utilize these scraps rather than throw them away. Back of quilt On to the next project.

Sewing is normally my "hiding" place but the last few weeks it has become my achilles heel - more fabric waste and more sewing screw ups.  I started thinking I needed a break from sewing to decide if it was something I really wanted to continue (momentary insanity). For some reason I am always in a rush - got to finish it now at any cost.  I have no time to fix mistakes - WHY?  Giving up sewing was not an option.  Later I had a revelation of sorts. My sewing revelation - if it is worth sewing then it is worth slowing down and doing it right.  Doing it right requires a muslin for me at this stage in my life (too many bumps and curves in the wrong places).  I hate hate hate doing a muslin.  I just want to cut it out, sew it up, then wear it.  A pattern muslin is a necessary evil! My spiritual revelation -I was listening to "The Collection" cd by Daryl Coley as I was sewing when the song " Sovereign " played.  When you are going thru a sto...

My word for me today comes from Proverbs 3:5-6 which says " Trust in the  Lord  with all thine heart; and  lean   not  unto thine  own  understanding . In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ". This week brought the death and burial of another friend.  She is no longer suffering in her body but resting in the Lord now.  I was able to visit with her the day before she died and I have a new appreciation for the family members, friends, and hospice workers tasked with their day to day care. Sewing is one of my "hiding" places - I use it to "hide" from the stress and frustration that comes in this life.  As of late it has been adding to my stress. I have finally decided to make shorts/pants and because of the "extra" adjustments that are needed it gives me a headache and drastically increase my frustration and disappointment level.  With skirts and dresses I really only have the worry about the waist and h...