A little purse.
Literally. A little purse. My great niece has a birthday party coming up on Saturday, and I was wracking my brain trying to decide what to make for her. I did the obligatory Pinterest and Google search, and came across this little purse tutorial. I had everything needed, and read through the directions. I admittedly made a few changes to the pattern, but it turned out SO cute.
I texted my niece to ask if her daughter would like a purse and she said she would love it. Having a stocked sewing room is a pleasure, for sure!
As a child, I remember getting my very first "sewing" item. It was a knitting machine. It was small and plastic. My Mom got me some yarn and I would knit miles and miles of yarn tubes. Barbie had a lot of tube dresses. I didn't understand how or what to do with the tubes other than that, but I was CREATING something and the feeling was exhilarating.
Next my Mom bought me a tiny little wooden "thing". Pic below - I had NO idea how to use it. The directions were in German (we lived in Germany), and at that time I couldn't speak a word of the language. There were some pictures, but I never really figured out how to use it. I think I made a few things with it, but I don't really remember. I wish I still had it, but it pushed me to learn as much as I could about sewing. I would make Barbie clothes, and eventually started altering my own clothes. Yes, a really well cut pair of cut off jeans counts!
Also, my Mother was really into Latch hook and cross stitch. She actually had a "side hustle" making Latch hook samples for the local Base Exchange (it's like a department store on a military base). She once made an owl - it was the most stunning thing my little eye's had ever seen! She brushed the fiber to make his wings look realistic. (I've looked for a photo online that would be similar, but evidently this was a one of a kind magical creation). I was fascinated, and Latch hook and cross stitch replaced my little knitting machine!
As I moved into my teenage years, my clothing alterations became more intricate, but I still didn't really do anything but hand sew. I took a Home Ec class and they taught us some sewing basics, but I wasn't really in to the sewing machine. It was intimidating to me, but I could hand sew my alterations and that was enough. I hadn't done any cross stitch in a long time, and it would remain one of those things I didn't do for many, many years.
When we moved back to the States, when I was 16, my Nanny came to visit and she had a sewing project with her. She was crocheting the most beautiful lace doilies. I was enthralled. I asked her to teach me, and she did. I quickly lost interest, because, boys, but I remember how it made me feel to be able to create with that little hook and thread.
Fast forward to after babies and new Mommy and moving and starting life, and all those things. I was visiting my Sister In Law. She was crocheting the MOST BEAUTIFUL blankets. I had been starting to collect some sewing notions, so I asked her to teach me. She has the patience of a Saint! My stitches were so tight, I could barely get the crochet needle into them, but I was doing it and LOVING it.
I made a few little blankets and started collecting even more sewing notions, crochet hooks and mounds of yarn and cross stich kits. I would play around and make things every now and then. For our first Christmas together, I cross stitched a little mouse in a stocking, and "Our First Christmas" on an ornament. It still hangs on our tree.
I wouldn't get into using a sewing machine until our kids were in their early teenage years. I started small, mending clothes and making little items for around the house. I was learning about quilting, but hadn't gotten the bug yet. The kids were growing up and Jason and I were starting to plan what would happen after he retired from the Military, and I knew that making things would be a big part of the next chapter. (I was doing tons of other crafts too - candle making, soap making, getting into essential oils, etc., but that's for another time).
During that time, we moved my Grandma to live with my parents. My Grandma was an avid quilter. People would pay her hundreds of dollars to make quilts for them. She started out as a hand quilter, but moved to machine quilting as she got older and hand quilting had become harder. When we moved her, I got all of her quilting notions, unfinished quilt tops, finished quilt tops, various quilting squares and the like. Shortly before we retired and moved to WV, my Nanny was moved to assisted living due to a surgery. We packed up her house, (after recovery, she was going to live with my parents - Grandma had passed on.), and I received even more sewing projects! Candlewicking, crochet, cross stitch and the like. My Mom took a few things, but the bulk of her sewing things came to me! Everything I had collected was put in boxes, awaiting the "Great Retirement Move" to WV.
When we moved to WV, I set up the top floor of our house as my Craft Room. I had so many interests, and the list was continuing to grow. I wanted to make everything I could and stop buying things for the house. I bought books, and searched the internet and educated myself on healthy alternatives to toxic cleaning chemicals. I was overrun with projects!
The kids were in college, and I had a big box of my daughters old band t-shirts, and other clothes she had as a child / teenager. I decided it was time to dip my toe into quilting, with a T-shirt quilt for her. I had an embroidery function on my sewing machine and I was off! I embroidered two of the squares, and the rest of the quilt was made from her old t-shirts. It was thrilling and fun and beautiful! I machine quilted it and I was in love with the whole process!
The quilt turned out well, and I started making and selling sewn and crocheted items on Etsy. I sold a pair of cross stitched pillow cases to a lovely woman in England, made a memory bear from a onsie for a man in the town we lived in, sold lots of stuffed animals (crochet) and little animal blankets on Etsy, and was living my best, fun life!
During this time, I also started pulling out Grandma's unfinished quilt tops and started making them into completed quilts. I don't LOVE putting together a quilt top, but I love hand quilting. The first one I did, was a completed quilt top that just needed to be quilted. Jason bought me a collapsible quilting frame and off I went. The perfectionist in me looked up the number of stitches per inch that is considered a "professional" quilting job, and I made sure I accomplished it! The first one was just a stitch in the ditch - what that means is, I just quilted along the edges of each square. It was wonderful! Where had this been my whole life?
The next quilt was actually an unfinished quilt top from my Nanny (my Mother's Mom) - the fabric in it included some of my Great Nanny's apron fabric. I knew I had to complete this quilt for my Mother. She loved it and I was permanently hooked on hand quilting!
I've made hundreds of projects over the years, with my interests moving from craft to craft, and I continue to learn all the time. Now that we are settled onto our Dream Farm, I am setting up my new craft room, content in the knowledge that I can make what we need (fiber wise) and when the urge hits, I can sew a gift for my grand niece and know that she will love it!
Here is a link to the original project for her little purse: LINK - as I said, I changed it up a bit, and if you're interested, let me know in the comments and I'll write out the instructions that I used. In the meantime - Here's a couple of pictures of the adorable little purse she'll receive at her birthday party!
Have a Wonderful Day!
Best Wishes!
