goodbye my friend

I love my little machine that I bought over the summer. It was the very first sewing machine I ever owned, and it has served me well over the last few months, especially when you take into consideration that I only paid $25 for it:) But it is time to say goodbye. The foot pedal has died and I think I need a machine that has more features and stitch selection. Plus it would be nice to have a machine that is heavy enough that it didn't creep across the table as I sew! While I'm still learning as I go along, I am doing enough sewing to know that this little guy isn't gonna cut it anymore:(

I searched for quite some time to find the right machine. With the help of Julie over at elliven studio, and the sew, mama, sew meme, I have chosen the Brother CE-5000. It is a great machine for beginners, and comes with a wide variety of stitches and features (some of which I'm sure I'll never use). I believe the American version is dubbed the 'Project Runway' model. I had considered some better brands, but they were a little too pricey for me, seeing as I'm not sure how much sewing I'll be doing once I have time to do artwork again. But this machine was quite affordable and offered a lot more features than some of the other basic models.

I've been using my new Brother for about 2 weeks now, and I LOVE it!!! I've been sewing like a crazy woman, and while I adored my little machine, I cannot believe I used it for as long as I did. I have to admit, when I first bought my new machine, I was a bit intimidated, and it sat in the box on my kitchen table for about a week. But since opening it, I've made 2 dresses, 1 top and a jacket for the mini papercut! Yes, pics will follow shortly, and I'm still learning as I go along, but today I say farewell to a good friend.

I will miss you, it was fun while it lasted, but it's time to move on ;)

sew, sew, sew

I finally got around to sewing up all of those beautiful fabrics I had purchased last month. I still have a lot of things I'd like to make, and enough leftover fabric to do so, but for now I thought I'd give you a look at my new lovelies:)
















I haven't had a chance to get a new sewing machine yet (Thank you Julie for all the advice!), so considering that I made all of these with my little toy sewing machine, I'm pretty happy with the finished products.





















Thus far I've made 2 reversible changing pad covers that double as portable change mats, a crib blanket, 4 reversible bibs, a pacifier clip and a light-weight blanket, not to mention the crib bumper, crib skirt, duvet cover and pink pillows I made while pregnant. I was able to get more sewing done this past weekend and made a cute little pinafore for the mini papercut. I have a couple patterns for more baby clothes that I'm eager to try out, but I think I'll wait for my new sewing machine before attempting them.
















I never thought I'd enjoy sewing as much as I have. I was never all that fond of Home-EC class, but now that I have little people to sew for I'm having lots of fun!