Happy Labor Day!

To celebrate Hank and I have planned an entire day of doing only fun, non-laborious things! Who's with us? The only things on our agenda are being home when the bed is delivered, and having a fun day downtown, with our one mission being to buy a ton of fudge and eat it until our stomachs hurt! I think I made add in a few more stops along the way so we can get some hot apple cider too. Later in the evening we will be meeting Hank's grandma for her birthday dinner, which I'm really looking forward to. Mexican food here we come!

Recently I've also been having a great time in Home Ec. Before I took this class I was completely clueless about using my sewing machine, but with each project I get more and more comfortable. At first it was hard because I didn't know a bobbin from a presser foot, but I've been working hard at understand each little step and I feel really pleased with my progress. It's a great feeling to accomplish something that I was previously so, so intimidated by, and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it! I'm really excited for some of the upcoming projects as well- especially the curtains and the bibs! Here are a couple of things I've made so far:

a drawstring pouch:


and a reusable tote:


I've also have a fun time picking out fabric. So far I've just ventured into Joann and other random places around town, but the more I look online the more I fall in love with so many amazing things floating around the internet! If you have any recommendations for great online fabric selections, I'd love to hear them!

This week should fly by pretty quickly. We have half days on Wednesdays, so since we are starting on Tuesday the week should be a fast one. To start off the week on a great foot, I thought I'd include a little playlist for you to enjoy. These are some songs that have been making me happy lately. And let me know if you have a favorite song out of the bunch! It's hard for me to choose because like I said, these are all favorite songs of mine right now, but I'm always a little impartial to Sunny Day Real Estate and Jets to Brazil. I hope you enjoy them! :)

Home Ec fun!

This weekend I've had an absolute blast visiting fabric stores and getting supplies for this week's projects. If you follow me on Twitter, you'd know that I had a bit of a sewing machine issue when I took mine out of the box for the first time in over two years. I went to open the front loading bobbin area, and three large parts came out. I knew what to do with the bobbin casing but I didn't know how to put the other two larger pieces back in. I enlisted the help of my trusty fashion designer friend Brian (he designs for drag queens!), and he walked me through it, but I still couldn't get it. Then Hank got home, walked in, took one look at the mess and Bri's directions, and with a click-snap-click popped everything back into place. Ah, husbands.

So now my machine is up and running, and I am really looking forward to Monday's first project, which are cloth napkins. It's a go at your own pace class that will be up for a year, but the girls will be posting projects everyday. We'll be making things from bibs, all the way up to household items like duvet covers and curtains. I seriously can't wait.

I've always been super intimidated by the fabric section in craft/fabric stores. As silly as it sounds, I didn't know common sense things - like what to do once you pick out which fabric you want, how big a yard was, etc. It sounds silly I know but I conquered my fear over the past couple of days and now I feel totally comfortable. All the women I encountered at the shops were so helpful and kind that it really put me at ease. I'm proud of myself for trying something new, and more so, retrying something I "failed" at years ago when I first was given my machine. Even though class hasn't started I've already been sewing a little bit and I'm definitely enjoying it.

I wanted to share a quick shot of some of the fabric I bought this weekend. If I was having a girl I'd use that lemon fabric for EVERYTHING. It's so pretty. Once I learn how, I may make some pretty girl clothes for my future daughter, just because. :)



I'll be updating my flickr and this blog with my projects as I complete them, and if you're curious and would like to see a full project list, click here to visit the Home Ec details post on Freckled Nest.

Annnd, before I go- click here for a link to a printable 40% off coupon for Joann Fabric. They're having a big sale this weekend too, and I got a lot of cute things for a low price! Definitely worth a look.

Happy Home-Ec-ing!