In case you didn't know...

I was sooooo excited to complete a sewing project from start to finish all on my own.  

I got my inspiration from The Cottage Home, I saw one of their pillowcase projects on Pinterest.  I looked over the directions and knew I could pull this off on my own.  

One of the first things I learned at my lessons was how to do a french seam.  The french seam gives the inside of a garment/project a clean finished look, no unfinished/raw edges exposed.

I picked colors that would match my current bedspread, even though I wanted to make a pillowcase with the most adorable fabric that had popsicles on it.   While at the fabric store I also picked up a rotary cutter, mat and ruler.  This made the cutting easier.  

The project was called the 15 minute pillowcase, and it took me about an hour.  I really took my time and followed the directions, which is essential for a someone new to sewing.

 I really was pleased with the final results, just ask my family, I walked around the house with the pillow showing them for two days.

Sewing Part 2

A while back I had talked about the duvet covers I was sewing for the boys rooms.  The first one took me weeks to do, with the help of Joyce, my sewing instructor of course.  The second one went faster. and I felt the sewing was better too.  I guess practice really does make perfect, and I use "perfect" loosely.  I still needed help from Joyce, but I was able to do more on my own than I expected.

I was nervous about doing button holes, and I think you can probably understand.  But it went smoothly, I did them myself at Joyce's house.  She stood by in case I panicked.

This is the top of the duvet with button closures.

The duvet is reversible, and I used the embellishment that was already on the sheets for the backside.  This way if I did use the reverse side it wasn't just a "plain" sheet.