Adventures in Sewing

Many people will not find my recent adventures in sewing impressive at all - so many people can sew, knit and crochet brilliantly. But not me. Until recently, I had never sewed anything in my life, save for a button which was dubiously sewn on to say the least. A few years ago, my mom bought me a learn to knit kit, and I couldn't even get the wool 'cast on' (I know the terms, just not how to do it!). So, for me, sewing anything is a huge achievement.
You may remember it was one of my new year's resolutions to learn to sew. This came off the back of a toy box revamp I wanted to do, which involved making a little cushion for the top of the toy box, to turn it into a bench. And, I thought, if I am doing that, some cushion covers to match would just make the playroom look much nicer! Simon and I decided to get some fabric from Ikea and, of course, we needed a sewing machine to help us out - also bought from Ikea. It's not a great one, but it does the job.
Simon totally showed me up by whipping up a cover for the foam top to the toy box in one evening. He knew everything - how to set up the sewing machine, how to sort out all the fabric - the works! I was suitably impressed, but not at all surprised given he comes from one of the most talented families on earth. What the Jay family cannot knit or sew isn't worth having!
So, when I sat down to try and make the cushion covers, I needed him to walk me through everything; how to set up the sewing machine, and how the heck to use it. I was able to work out the pattern for the cushion cover myself and I knew I wanted it to have a 'flap over' section rather than a zip - I thought that would be pushing things. Once I had the fabric cut and had been shown how to use the sewing machines, I set off.
I have to say, the whole thing was pretty quick, once I got over my fear of getting my fingers trapped and I managed to work out how to feed the material through. Once finished, I popped the cushion into it's brand new cover, and was ridiculously proud of myself. The pattern on the fabric happened to fall perfectly for the cushion cover (total accident!) and, even though it's far from perfect, I think I did a pretty great job and am very pleased with myself!
So yes, just a cushion cover - but everyone must start somewhere!