About that fear...

Well, here it is Friday, and I have not touched my sewing machine yet.  It just sits there on the table, mocking my fear of it.  I think I'll find some time this weekend to work on that!

In the meantime, I have continued to be crafty with other projects that do not involve my fearful sewing machine!  I completed a custom order for an infant pumpkin hat.

I found a free pattern here.  This hat is unique in that it is crocheted in straight rows, and then joined.  It is the first one I have ever made that way.  Generally, hats are made in rounds, usually starting on the top.  I really like this pattern, as it is quick, and rather easy.  It only took me a few hours to complete, while also managing children and waiting in the carpool line to pick up my daughter from school.

Is this not adorable?! 

I had a sweet visit with a friend who also likes to craft.  While we chatted away, I completed a bunting/garland made from strips of vintage bed sheets.  This is a fun, no-sew way to create a simple addition to any little shabby chic decor.  A tutorial will be up for that soon!

I am becoming aware of a new trend in the crafting world.  They are exchanges, such as a garland exchange, which I am currently participating in, or a hoop exchange.  The one I am a part of is a fund raiser for a family adoption, so there was a $5 charge to participate, but there are others that are just for fun.  You sign up, and then are given a recipient for whom you create your item and send it off.  Its is exciting to bless someone else with a surprise and so fun to get happy mail in this world these days!  The idea is to keep your recipient a secret, so they are completely surprised when their happy mail arrives.

If you like the thought of an exchange, you should check out ShopAlt3.  Marquia is creating a sort of crafting pen pal exchange!  How fun would it be to get a new craft or gift from a friend every month?!  You can find more details on her website.  The exchange is called threaded together.


How have you been creative this week?  Leave a comment and let me know so I can have more ideas for things I do not have time to do!

So Scary!

This thing scares me.

I've had this exact machine for 11 years.  I've made a set of curtain panels, a pillow, less than 5 baby blankets, and repaired the velcro and elastic on a dozen cloth diapers.  In 11 years. 

ELEVEN years!

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I thought it might be a good idea last week to try to find someone who could give me a couple lessons.  Apparently, sewing is becoming a lost art, because I could find only one person, whom I know, in the metro area who would consider it, and our time schedules did not work out.  My friend over at A Romantic Porch volunteered to help as much as possible, but our geographical locations do not lend themselves to making that possibility easy, seeing as how she is in Indiana, and I, in Kansas.

(I realize that there are classes offered at nearly every local craft store.  That involves actually finding a sitter, of whom my list is VERY short, and paying money that I don't have for both the class and the sitter!)

And so I then thought it would be a super idea to announce to everyone in Facebook and Instagram worlds that I would be teaching myself to sew.  Using a book.  On a machine that I've been scared of for 11 years.

Here is the book I've had for about 4 of those years....

The Sew Everything Workshop

This is one of the many books out there now that teach step by step, everything you need to know, from material type to working your machine, and then walks you through using patterns.

My first project is pretty simple, it doesn't even have a pattern!  I'm attempting to make making a reversible bag with a pocket.

I worked on it most of the day yesterday.  I got SO much done on it!  All I have left to do is to use the sewing machine!  LOL

Its All in the Process

A blank canvas.

It's overwhelming.

It's exciting.

And I cannot wait to make it mine.  To add color and dimension.  Texture.  To pour my heart and imagination and time.  To begin the process with a working idea, travel through the work, and see where it takes me.

Generally, my creations are pretty well planned when I begin.  I'm not a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of artist.  I like order, directions, pattern.  By the time I begin a project, I have usually turned it over in my mind so many times that I know what the final product will look like. And poured over the pattern and directions.  That helps, too.

This space is not that.

I have thought and considered and rethought how I wanted this space to turn out.  And I still am not sure.

I want to share what I'm thinking about, creating, my joys and frustrations in the process.  But I also want to enjoy it, use it to teach, share how I am including my children and their ideas.


I have so longed to share what I have learned over the past few years of teaching myself various crafts and techniques.

So I don't know what the final stage will look like here.  And I'm okay with that.  It's kind of like life.  We imagine what we want it to look like at the end, but it's the process that we enjoy, and God is the artist, we are just the paint brushes.  But that's another post!

In the meantime, you can find me sharing glimpses of life and craft on Instagram.  I'm @Mrsarpittman and @RosieandRuth.  I started off keeping my business and life separate on Instagram, but I soon realized that they were so intertwined that this was impossible.  I have stopped posting uner @mrsarpittman, and only use @rosieandruth.