hello pineapples: My first solo project on the sewing machine

My first solo project on the sewing machine

I've attempted to use a sewing machine in the past, but always with limited success. I made stockings as a gift for my bro and his ladyfriend this past Christmas, and they turned out a little wonky and puckery. I also had to call on my friend (and owner of the machine) to rescue me from bobbin troubles a number of times. Bobbins are not my friend. I really want to own a machine with a drop-in bobbin so that I don't have to figure out how to load them properly. I'm also a little bit terrified of the machine and often go too slow. And I have a knack for breaking needles. I broke two on this project.

But, despite the fact that I was on my own for this and that I had to wind and load a bobbin and change the needle twice, the project was (mostly) a success:

(you can see all the dangly threads on it. That's after I cut off most of them).

The project involved sewing a piece of fabric onto the top of an old pillow sham. I then used stuffing from an old pillow and stuffed it so it was still thin and flat and blanket like. The idea was to create a bed/pillow for my cat to take to the vet. He's hyper-thyroid and getting treated with radioactive iodine. It's the same treatment that people get for the same problem, but since it is for an animal, the nuclear safety people say that he has to be quarantined for at least seven days and that anything in the cage with him for that week has to be incinerated. That meant I couldn't send him over with anything that I wanted back.

The fabric I used is the same as what I used when I re-covered a blanket (known at chez Pinapples as the "sick blanket") that is a favourite of the cat. I knew it would be a hit when he decided to lie down on it while I was still trying to pin it to the sham.

My stitches got tighter and neater as I moved around the edge of the blanket.

Start:

Finish:

I've still got a ways to go before I can consider myself to be a competent or even mediocre seamstress, but for now, I'm happy with sewing things that don't fall apart.

and the cat seems pretty happy with my skills as well.