My Attempt At Learning to Sew. It Can't Be That Hard...Right?

I have this natural tendency to underestimate the amount of effort a project will take.  Or maybe it's more that I overestimate my ability.  Regardless, my famous last words are usually, "How hard can it be?"  This is the same logic I used when I convinced myself I knew how to sew.  I had never sewn a thing in my life, but I was sure I could figure it out.  Most people would start with a pillow or curtains.  Maybe they take a class or learn from a sweet grandmotherly figure.  I saw this great little black dress from J Crew and figured that a strapless dress couldn't be that hard to make.  It's pretty much a big tube of fabric with a zipper, right?  How hard can it be? 

12 hours and one ill fitting blob of black fabric later and I had learned my lesson.  My next sewing project was a nice chevron pillow that was probably much better suited for my sewing ability. 

But...this is the Year of Do.  No excuses.  So, I pulled out my sewing machine one more time and attempted a new project.  This time, I would make Christmas gifts for the women on my staff team.  They work ridiculously hard and deserve much more than a homemade gift, but I was hoping the thought and personal touch would go a long way. 

I decided on aprons.  You wouldn't think that a job in campus ministry would require much baking, but between cookies for bible study, snacks for staff meeting, and Christmas/Thanksgiving dinners for students, I would say I bake for my job at least once a week. 

So off to the fabric store I went.  Did I use a pattern?  Of course not, because once again, how hard could aprons be.  Apparently I didn't learn my lesson the first time.  (If you haven't guessed it by now, this will not be a tutorial on how to make aprons.  Sorry Pinterest.)

Christmas came and went, and I was still knee deep in half finished aprons.  I almost had them done at one point around the beginning of January when all of a sudden my sewing machine stopped working and started emitting a pretty strong smoke smell into my house.  The sewing machine got fixed (mom saves the day once again), and the saga of the aprons continued...and continued....and continued. 

Yesterday I had all of our staff women over for a Staff Women's Appreciation Brunch.  We encouraged and prayed for one another and ate our fill of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, and just when we were about to leave, I finally gave them the aprons that had become a labor of love. 

 

 

And it was completely worth it.  Have I mentioned lately that I love my job and the people I work with?  If I haven't said it yet, just a warning, you may hear that a lot this year.