The principal girls of the USA
Pattern: Knitting needle/crochet hook roll-up case (5006) by Butterick
Fabric: Cotton print from Hancock Fabrics
Machine: Singer Featherweight 221-I
Carol got me started.
She helped me see that my sixty-year-old sewing machine wasn’t a mysterious, malevolent, impenetrable device.
We figured out the bobbin. I threaded it. Then I threaded it again.
She got me part way. Most importantly, she gave me the confidence to bring it home.
I made a needle and hook roll for Cady Gray. I sewed it together on my machine.
Sometimes I sewed it wrong. Then I ripped it out and did it again.
There were layers. Many layers. There was basting. I used my iron more often that I did all of last year combined.
I changed bobbins. White thread for the seams, red for the contrast stitching. That means I threaded the machine several times. All by myself.
It’s far from perfect. But with every stitch, I learned — about my machine, about the pattern, about the fabric.
A simple pattern, with no fancy stuff. The basics. With the basics, though, I think I can tackle the next thing — whatever that may be.
Now Cady Gray has a place to keep her very own needles and hooks (yes, she’s started crochet). And I have the beginnings of a new skill. Thanks for the machine, Mom. Thanks for the tutoring, Carol. Thanks for a new world of possibility, sewing.
Explore posts in the same categories: SewingTags: featherweight, fo's, needle case, singer
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Toxophily 
February 20, 2011 at 9:34 am
Woo hoo! It’s gorgeous! I’m so glad you took this step into the next part of your crafting life. It was a joy to take it with you!
December 28, 2011 at 7:46 pm
[…] year. Every time I sew, I have the voice of The Sensible Seamstress in my head, my dear friend who taught me the basics. A new craft is a new ability. And a new ability is growth. That’s the most important […]