Granny School: Learning to Sew

I have always wanted to learn how to sew. I have vague memories of my mum trying to teach me how to use her sewing machine but other than really wanting to press that foot pedal I never quite got into it. Cut to a couple decades later and my desire to make my own throw-pillows instead of paying $75 for one has lead to me create a "Sewing" heading on my blog without actually knowing how to sew anything. At all.

Well, I am proud to say that instead of deleting said heading and replacing it with "Macaroni Crafts", I have taken my very first sewing class - and it was AMAZING!!! My friend Lorena and I signed up for a class offered by this awesome little place called "Sew L.A.", located in a part of town called Atwater Village. Another thing I love is discovering new areas of Los Angeles and this particular street is wonderful. Not only does it host this beautiful sewing studio, but it also has a coffee shop, a bakery, a second-hand bookstore, a dance studio, a record shop AND a place called "The Little Knittery" that also offers classes! Pretty much everything you could ever want.

The class we signed up for was called "Machine Intro" and we learned how to set up our machine, wind a bobbin, measure & cut fabric, sew some basic stitches and in the end we each wound up with our very own handmade tote-bag to hold our sewing supplies. Learning about all the different parts of the sewing machine wasn't very exciting (though I'm guessing essential) but let me tell you, I got my foot on that pedal and I was sold. I felt like I was driving a sewing-machine-racecar and I wanted to cross the tote-bag finish line. It was just me and my cat fabric and I was in heaven. Lorena loved it too and I think we were maybe a little too proud of our square sacks, but we didn't care. We were winners.

Needless to say, I'm in love and am already designing the logo for my clothing label (you think I'm kidding). We've both signed up for our first garment class where we will each be making a skirt and I can't wait to be able to wear something I made myself. I foresee many handmade gifts in my (your?) future and I'm happy to announce that the "Sewing" heading is here to stay.