lindsy griffis.: My very FIRST sewing project!!

I have had the crafting itch for quite awhile. I love being creative, but just didn't really feel like I had a creative outlet. But I've been fascinated lately with the home-made items I see on Etsy all the time... and started thinking that I could make some stuff of my own. Being creative, but able to make stuff that is useful. So - a couple of weeks ago I bought some fabric and was going to start sewing (what - I don't know!) only to find out that my grandmother's sewing machine that I have no longer works... or at least needs repair that costs more than I was willing to spend on a 40 year old machine. So I was in the market for a new sewing machine. After some research, I finally decided on the Brother CS-6000i. This does WAY more than I need right now, but I hope to get better at this sewing thing and want a machine that I can learn and grow with. This seemed to be the perfect fit.

My machine came in on Thursday and I was so eager to start using it! I love this little guy. It is computerized, which seems high-tech, but I think it has made the learning curve easier for me. It is very straight forward to use and because it is digital, it has already *beeped* at me to warn me of my errors that could potentially mess up my machine (whoops). It has different error codes for different problems, so that takes out a lot of the guess work as to what I am doing wrong... which really helps a beginner sewer like myself. It has 60 stitches and came with a walking foot for quilting and other quilting accessories. Quilting is really what I want to do, so I was thrilled with this.

I started my first project on Saturday and just finished it up this afternoon!! I have NEVER really sewn before and I have a HUGE learning curve, but I am proud of this little guy and how much I have learned in the process of making it.

I made a quilted place mat or whatever you want to call it. :-) I figure if I want to quilt, I should start small. No use messing up a big project. Haha. So this is my first project. I learned a ton and messed up a lot and used my seam ripper more than I have in the rest of my life combined, but I am happy with the finished product - considering this is my first time sewing almost ever (with the exception of a poorly made dog bed for Macy).

I did not use my walking foot for this project, but just a regular stitch that is on my sewing machine. I used a VERY low loft batting, because I didn't want to overwhelm myself and make it difficult to manage. So it isn't very thick, but it is still nice.

Quilting in straight lines was hard for me... but I know that just takes practice. Also, the binding was difficult for me. I have never done a slip stitch before, so I did some googling and taught myself. I need practice a this too, especially the mitered corners, but am happy with how this turned out.