how stella got her craft back.

apparently, all it takes is a whiff of an inspiring mood and 2 completely baby-free hours for me to finally accomplish some sewing craftiness! sewing is one of those things that i just really can't do unless the baby is in bed... the sewing machine is downstairs in the basement, and the ironing board is upstairs with the bedrooms, so i'm constantly running back and forth to iron on appliques and back down two flights to the basement to sew them. so, when kenna went to bed last night, i turned into a little crafting elf, sneaking through the house making things while she slept!

i remember so many people saying right before she was born to enjoy it now, you'll never have time for 'that stuff' after the baby comes... i always thought it was a pretty insensitive and discouraging thing to say. i knew a baby would be time-consuming, but crafting is my stress-relief and hobby! granted, now that she's here [even almost a year later] i have much less 'free time' and she definitely keeps me busy, but i've also found that you truly do make time for things that you enjoy, whatever they may be.

it also helps a lot to have a super encouraging and supportive husband like i do, who is happy to do other stuff and give me time to create! he's been totally instrumental in watching kenna, especially when i'm preparing for a craft show, and doing everything he can to give me space to be creative.

SO!

this is what i was able to accomplish last night! i came up the stairs with these three things in my arms and just felt so good to have made them all, beginning to end, in about 2 hours!
a couch pillow, working towards replacing those boring brown ones behind it, and introducing more colors! this one was so simple to make, since it's a pillow and not a pillow cover [ie: you can't remove it from the pillow for washing, etc... the stuffing is in there for good.] cut out two squares, sew them together, turn right side out, and stuff until fat and huggy. easy peasy! why didn't i make some of these sooner?
a pillow cover! which means it's removable. it took a little bit longer to make since i did the little applique leaf details and you have to do the back in two pieces, but still pretty easy. i had been looking at a few pillow covers on etsy, but some of them cost upwards of $75!!! i'm glad i didn't spend that much, this wasn't that hard to make. maybe i'll do a tutorial! i just kind-of winged mine [of course] but here's a really good pillow cover tutorial.
the last thing i did was a little window curtain for our over-the-sink kitchen window. our kitchen is so dark, and this actually cuts a little more of the light, but it was one of the only ways i could think to add some color in there. it turned out pretty cute and could not have been easier! it's really just a rectangle of fabric that fits the window [i didn't even really cut it, it's just a 1/4th of a yard that happened to fit perfectly!] hemmed and attached to the rod with little clip rings [found the rings and the curtain rod on the cheap at target and world market]!
granted, for an experienced seamstress these are all basically just hemmed squares/rectangles, but for someone like me who is still getting over a slight fear of the sewing machine and has, in fact, sewn through her own finger [accidentally] in the last 10 months, i feel pretty accomplished! yay!