Apron & Chef Hat, Part 1...

I haven't sewn many things in my lifetime, and those few things were generally pretty awful. I mean, I could mend things like a hole in a shirt and sew on Boy Scout patches. But true sewing, no way.

Because if I’m being honest with you, I am afraid of sewing machines. Seriously, what’s not to be afraid of? In my middle school Home Ec. class three kids ran the needle through their fingers, people! Let’s read that again: RAN A NEEDLE THROUGH THEIR FINGER. So I pretty much said goodbye to sewing machines after that.

Fast forward (mumble, mumble) years later, and Lovely L gets a sewing machine for Christmas. I realize that I either have to learn to use the thing to teach her how, or just let her go at it and hope I don’t have to make a trip to the E.R. to have the needle removed from one of her fingers.

The first project I decided to tackle were pillow covers for our couch.

I was so astonished that they turned out great (my exact thought when I finished them was, ‘holy schnikes, these aren’t crappy!’) that I set about finding other projects I could sew. I knew Lovely L was having a cooking themed birthday party and thought how cool it would be to make her an apron and chef hat to wear for her party.

In the meantime, I sewed the top of these curtains together. The red part and the stripy bit had been hanging for a year held together by just sewing pins.

And still enthralled with my pillows, I pretty much barraged the Master Chef with my constant insistence that he look at my amazing creations.
‘I made these! Sweetie, can you believe that I MADE these???’ I don’t do ‘amazing’ all that often, so apparently I have to beat it to death when I do.

Full circle to Lovely L’s apron. Even after finishing my (angels singing) amazing pillows, I found I was still hesitant to sit back down and sew again. My head was filled with all the various ways the needle could stab and attack me.
And so on our dining room table the machine sat, with its giant man-eating needle, mocking me and forcing our family of five to sit at the dinette table, where only four of us fit. This was getting ridiculous. I was just going to have to bite the bullet and do this.

Next time: How I overcame my fear of sewing machines and a how-to make your very own apron : )