"i made this!"

until last night, i'd only used a machine to sew one thing in my life, and it was a pair of shorts for the husband right after we got married...  in 1998.  and i didn't realize that i was supposed to fold the hem, so they were all frayed at the legs.  he loved them, though, and wore them until they fell apart.  such a supportive man.
<3 <3 <3

anyway, last night i attended a Singer "Sew Very Easy" house party at my friend Tara's house.  the house party was to demo Singer's Confidence Stylist machine, which Tara says is a decent mid-range model.  i should probably point out that Tara is a sewing guru.  i've joked that she has been my personal seamstress for a few years now, having done a number of projects for me.  one of the main projects has been upcycling wool sweaters i'd bought at Goodwill into cloth diaper coverings (mostly longies) for the younger son and baby girl.

Tara still had a couple of the sweaters that she had yet to work with, so after we made our own goodie bags out of old t-shirts, she encouraged me to make a wool soaker instead of the "assigned" party project.  she printed off a pattern and instructions, and cut the pieces, then i pinned and did the sewing.

i have to say, i am so very proud of myself~  check it:

finished product

modeled by baby girl~ it FITS!

i still need to lanolize it before putting it into the cover rotation, but i am really happy with how well it turned out.  every time i look at it, i think:

now i'm inspired to actually pull out the hand-me-down machine from MIL and try whipping up a few more soakers (maybe trying this pattern), then eventually some skirts and dresses (with matching capris?), and maybe even a pair or two of shorts for the husband.