The one with the blanket

Today, I'll show you my less-than-mediocre sewing skills. I've taken these pictures to document how awful I am now - in hopes of getting better later. 

Before I show you, I want to brag about how Austin and I have been eating healthy lately. We've both gained - let's just say "some" - weight over the past 8 months. Recently, though, we've been watching our portion control and really trying to cook good, healthy meals instead of eating out and cooking whatever is easiest. I really don't mind because Austin is such a good cook! But, I've gotten more into it, too.

We're trying to stay away from a ton of meat. Austin bought tofu and I got veggie burgers (we did opt for some turkey burgers at Smith, last night, though...). It's really refreshing to realize the control you have over everyday decisions like that. 

This is what I have (almost) every morning. juice, plain yogurt, a little lemon juice, spinach and fruit chunks. I buy a big bag of frozen fruit that includes strawberry, mango, pineapple, peach and grapes. I'd never had grapes in a smoothie but they actually taste great!

Ok, now for the "project." I'm making a baby blanket for Paige's baby girl. I hesitate to call her Hazel because it's not set in stone yet. But, they're thinking (most likely - almost definitely) Hazel :)

Paige picked out the fabric, I did my research online looking at the best way to do things, and ended up calling my mom 30+ times to ask questions.

So, I washed the fabrics, waited until they were completely dry, and laid them out.

I talked to my mom about how big to cut the blanket. I ended up going with about 30in x 40in. That's a little bigger than I would normally do but I wanted plenty of room to fix any mistakes I made :)

I cut out the fabric as well as straight as I could and pinned all the edges.

I probably pinned way more than any normal person would but, seriously, I'm no seamstress. I wanted to leave as little room for error as possible.

You can see it's a little bunchy but - hey. I'm telling you. I'm not a perfectionist. Not at this point. The blanket may not lay perfectly flat but, I'm hoping it stays around little Hazelnut most of the time :)

Once I got it all pinned on all four sides, it was off to the sewing machine! (Yikes!)

SIDE NOTE: Austin's mom, Sherrie, let me borrow her sewing machine. I'm so grateful for that! I've been wanting to sew for along time but we definitely don't have the money to buy anything like that!

I've got my fabric, machine all threaded and tools off to the right. (this desk also serves as my night stand so I had to clear a few things off)

My mom told me to sew with the shaggy/fuzzy fabric on top. That way, it'll be less likely to get caught up in the sewing machine - good tip! So, here I go.

Fabric all lined up!

I'm actually terrified at this point. I haven't sewn in years so this is all from my very vague memories of sewing pillows at the age of 12 - with my mom helping me...

Looks totally pro (so far) right?? ...kinda.

I'm not too worried about staying close to the edge - that's why I cut the blanket so huge :) Just making sure there's room for comfort.

Tadahhh! I only picked a few (million) stitches, BUT it's done! Ok... It's not done. But, I got all four sides sewn together. Now, I obviously need to trim the edges.

My mom suggested trimming the two fabrics at different lengths - both short(ish) - but then, it'll lay nicer.

I trimmed each side and cut the corners. That way, the corners won't be too bunchy.

Frustration + determination = Gooood looking! 

Laugh all you want. This is where I broke down. The bobbin ran out of white thread and had black underneath. I figured it wouldn't matter at this point - and it didn't.

But, if you watch the white thread from the bottom of the picture (above) all the way up to the top... Notice how it gets WAY closer to the edge of the fabric? Wow. I just decided to re-do that without picking the stitches out (black thread ready to go) and took out my frustration on the sewing machine pedal. Yeeahh. Looks great! I trimmed it up as much as possible... I'm just glad that's on the inside!

I love these fabrics! I think they're adorable for a baby girl :)

Well, that looks letter! Phew! I got it all smoothed out :) Now, I just need to stitch up my 3 inch hole (where I pulled the blanket right-side-out) and sew a border. Ahh! Straight lines?! I've been putting that off... I guess I'm waiting for my hand to steady..?

Anyway, this it the banket so far :) I'm almost done and I'm sure it'll be fine. I really am enjoying this -  I just wish I could have my mom here to show me all the tricks. Instead, I have to learn them the hard, super frustrating way.

Now, it takes a lot of guts for me to post this. I'm sharing it with you because you're wonderful and you read my blog. Don't make me cry. Thank you :)