Over the last two weeks I’ve had the “opportunity” to exercise my creative juices in non-card making ways! We have a very nice outdoor area off of the lower level of our home. There is a seating area and a hot tub. Last year we put up curtains to give us a little protection from the wind in the winter and provide a bit of privacy. Often times the wind will blow the curtains around and in a strong wind they end up twisting and turning. We wanted a way to add weight to the curtains so a couple months ago , my husband, Matt, went shopping for outdoor material to add a bottom edge pocket.
Matt’s mom was a seamstress, not by trade but by talent. She created a variety of works of art over the years. One of my favorites was a set of banners that hung in our church. Her banners hung in the church celebrating many of the observances of the church calendar but of all of those banners the ones I loved the most were the ones that hung on the day Matt and I were married. They were beautiful and truly showed her skill! We still have some of her beautiful works in our home today. In fact we still use the comforters she made for Matt during high school and college as throws. One had Matt’s high school logo on it and the other was a Bowling Green State University comforter. I am envious of the talent she had for creating. Unfortunately she lost her battle with Alzheimer’s Disease at a very young age (in her 60’s) back in 2010. At that time Matt’s dad graciously gave me her faithful sewing machine. Over the years I have used it to create various gifts and home decor and to sew up the random clothing item that needed repair.
Unfortunately, after Matt and I bought the material and I attempted to begin the curtain project and I ran into an issue with the machine. I took it in for repair but the machine was very old and the part that was broken and need to be replaced was no longer available. I was forced to purchase a new machine. As sad as I was to let go of this machine that had made so many beautiful things that came from the loving heart of the woman who gave life to my husband (and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I shed tears over letting it go), having a well-functioning machine really has breathed new life into my creative desire to sew again!
As soon as I unpacked my new sewing machine from the box (and watched the DVD that came with it- yes, I did! ) I got right to sewing the pocket edge. It took me a little bit of planning and designing to figure out how to create a pocket that we could easily add additional weights to. We didn’t know how many weights we would need to keep the wind from whipping the curtains around so we needed to design something that wouldn’t require us taking the curtain down. I was very happy with our final product! I even sewed tiebacks for the curtains with leftover material.
This past week I’ve sewn more than I did in all of 2017! I replaced broken zippers on two porch swing cushions, created a cover for a wicker love seat cushion for my sister’s porch and finished the week by creating a slip cover for the ottoman and 4 arm rests covers for the two couches in the cottage! ( I am nowhere near the seamstress my mother-in-love was so no judgement on the next set of pictures). It has felt very good to flex these creative muscles! It has even inspired me to add a bit more stitching on my cards! *** My creative gene comes from my own mother who is an exceptionally talented seamstress, knitter, quilter, and needle pointer!
I hope you find a way to express your creativity this week!
