I bee sewing

So. After my reality-tv post... or maybe as I was writing it... I decided I needed a hobby.

Of course, because its me we're talking about, I went about it in the most ass-backwards way possible. Most people don't look at a list of "--- for Dummies" books on Amazon to help decide what they are going to do as a passtime (seriously, who does that?).

I wanted something that would keep me busy, but didn't require ALL my attention - - like reading. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to read, but I can't multitask when I read. I can't even listen to music and read. I've even tried those classical music CD's with titles like "Reading on a Sunday Morning" or "Classical Solitude" and they still distract me.

Also, it had to be something that had a finished product. I can be very goal-oriented... but I want to know there's an end in sight. Stamp collecting? I don't think so.

Finally, the supplies for said hobby had to be easy to find. Model train sets aren't exactly a dime a dozen here.

So after much internal debate, I settled on.....

Quilting!

Yes, I'm officially a very very old lady. But sew what? (yah, I know. I've only just started and I'm breaking out the hobby-puns). But I'm only old in the nature of my hobby, not the product. Nope. I'm going to have the most rockin'-est quilts around. They'll be super modern with cool fabrics... and all the emo kids will want them.

But lofty goals aside, I know how I am. I know I can be ADD. Hell, I taught myself to knit once upon a time... and was terrible at it. The only thing I ever really produced was a scarf for my sister... and even that was an embarassment. I can't believe she wore it. It wasn't that the scarf was lopsided or anything... but was ONLY MADE OF PEARL STITCHES. Because when I taught myself to knit, I followed an online guide. And it only taught me the pearl stitch. Not the actual knit stitch. Oh, and I did it backwards, as in, for left-handed people.

Anyways. So keeping that in mind, I ordered a little "mini quilt" kit. Sixteen patchwork squares, backing, batting and MOST IMPORTANTLY instructions. It arrived yesterday afternoon... and I spent my lunch hour piecing some of the squares together. And I finished the rest last night. (of course, while watching terrible reality TV - gotta combine the hobbies doncha know?) And I'm really really really impressed with the result. The only thing I didn't really get and I think will be a challenge is the "quilting" part. I'm doing the whole thing by hand (I don't have or need a sewing machine) and getting the three layers to "stick" together is tricky. I didn't like how you could see my somewhat sloppy stitches on the backing. Maybe I just need matching thread. Or better technique.

Because I can't make them ALL into pillows haha.