I’ve finished my first cushion cover and am now eager to do more. I didn’t really like the pillow case type cushion cover I made first time so looked for alternatives. I found a brilliant tutorial on “gone to earth” on envelope back cushion covers and they looked gorgeous. I read and re-read the post on how to do it, went to Dunelm mill and bought some gorgeous fabric. I also bought several cushion inserts and more cotton. I was almost as nervous buying fabric as I was making my first cushion cover. I didn’t really know how much I would need, and I think I totally confused the poor sales assistant, but she was really helpful and between us we managed to come to the conclusion that I’d need a meter of two types of fabric. I purchased said fabrics, drove home and went up to my sewing room and started to mark out the fabric, very very carefully. I was so nervous, this was lovely lovely fabric and quite expensive and I was scared of messing it up. After marking it very carefully I even more carefully cut the fabric, this was the point of no return! I cut the fabric, then marked out my seam allowance, Pinned it and began to sew……….

Here’s something you need to know about me, I am a slow learner. Always have been always will be. I need to see something done several times, maybe more, before I’ll attempt it, then I need to attempt it several times, usually more, before I feel even remotely comfortable that I know what I’m doing. I also think about doing things for a long time before I actually put anything into practice. I just want to explain why it took me from January last year when I first had the idea to sew, till June last year to finally put needle to fabric. Like I said in my previous post, I enrolled on a course at the college which didn’t start till the middle of March, then there was a hiccup with the first tutor (she was rubbish) I knew nothing about sewing and I could’ve done a better job! The next class I could attend wasn’t until the second week of April, I went to 4 classes and slowly began to realise that I was out of my depth. Having no prior knowledge of sewing was not helpful at all. I didn’t know what I was doing or why. I had no background knowledge to back up what I was being told or shown. I didn’t understand the sewing machines and they scared the living daylights out of me! All I knew, was that I wanted to sew but this wasn’t the way to go for me. I did however learn some things and pick up some tips that have been very useful to me. So it wasn’t a complete waste of time or money.

Its now the beginning of May and I procrastinate for a while feeling a little disheartened by the lack of appropriate classes out there. I have been watching the ” Great British Sewing Bee” and loving every minute of it, I have been perusing sewing blog after sewing blog. This is becoming an obsession now!

One of my many obstacles at this time was that I have nowhere to put the sewing machine my Mum lent me. I have a box room that used to be my Art room but is now full of junk. You know the kind you clear out of one room and put in another, plus a lot of rubbish that just needs to be thrown out but never got around to. I eventually enlist the help of my Husband to get that room cleared and turn it into my sewing room. We did this the bank holiday Monday end of May. I now have a sewing room, YAY! I put the sewing machine in my little sewing room and look at it for a few days. Then I thread the machine have a little go at sewing on some scrap material my Mum gave me and get very excited.

It is now June, and I decide I’m going to re-cover an old cushion and I buy my first piece of fabric and some calico. I have a week off coming up soon and think it will be a good idea to wait till then to attempt to sew anything properly, give me chance to really concentrate and I think it will probably take me a week to do it! So 10th June I make my first cushion cover. This is the start……….