25 Days of Thanks - Day 11

Christmas came early for me this year. In fact, it came before Halloween and Thanksgiving. When I was back in Nebraska a few months ago, my mom and I went sewing machine shopping. For me, it was pretty comparable to car shopping. I had no clue what the guy was trying to sell us. Instead of cylinders and all-wheel drives, the salesman was talking about presser foots and winding bobbins. All I seemed to hear was Charlie Brown's teacher..."wah, wah, wah, wah." Which is exactly why trusty old Mom was in tow. After about an hour of comparing this model to that model, I made a somewhat blind purchase, completely relying on my mom's advice.

And so my sewing journey began. Since I didn't know how to sew, my mom became my teacher. It was like having Martha Stewart watching you bake or craft. Intimidating to say the least and not very enjoyable. But when I got my beauty home and I was on my own, it was a different story. I had no one to mess up in front of, no one to compare myself to. I could finally relax and enjoy sewing.

Not wanting to spend money on fabric and patterns that more than likely would end up in the trash, I looked to my closet for my materials. I grabbed all my old t-shirts that I had been hoarding for way too long and went to work. I should point out that the reason I wanted to learn to sew in the first place was for Kennedy's sake. I read all these blogs of women who make their kids the most adorable clothes and I wanted to jump on that bandwagon a.s.a.p. Anyway, the first couple shirts I made her weren't quite what I would call "adorable" or wearable for that matter, but by the third try, I had myself a keeper. It's completely homemade, completely made from scratch and it completely looks like it. Regardless, I was tickled the first time she wore it (in public!) and proud that I had accomplished what I set out to do.

So on this 11th day of thanks, I not only want to thank my sewing machine for putting up with this amateur, but I'd also like to thank Brandon for the perfect Christmas present.

Third time's a charm: