I got a sewing machine!

Yep, that's right! My mom surprised me with a sewing machine this Christmas and I am itching to make stuff.  Last weekend I went shopping and bought a few items, like thread and cheap material, to start practicing.  I bought pre-cut fabric from Walmart ($4.00) and got started. I like to jump in, to heck with actually taking real lessons!

So far I've made a purse for me and an "easy" skirt for my daughter.

Here are my first projects:



My clutch! I didn't add any of the "extras"
like a snap or buttons because I honestly wasn't
expecting it to resemble a purse when I finished.
I think it turned out pretty darn cute!



This is my daughter trying on the skirt
for the final time. Excuse the threads hanging down, I hadn't trimmed them yet. This was rough, but wearable. She LOVED it which is all that matters. Yes this is leftover material from the purse.



Here are the tutorials I used for the bag, which is called the Buttercup Bag, and the Circle Skirt. The bag took me a couple of hours and became a clutch because the strap didn't turn out that great and the skirt took about an hour and a half. Remember, these were my first projects EVER so if you have a little practice sewing you can knock these out in no time.

In case you haven't guessed, I don't know how to sew.  I can do a little by hand but that 's it. Nothing fancy, just a button or two. For the past week I have been scouring the Internet for tutorials to teach me the basics. Hopefully, I'll be able to take a lesson or two in the next month. I'm a visual learner and there are only so many angles you can watch someone sew a hem on YouTube before you need a person in the same room to actually show you. 

Thanks to Pinterest, I've stockpiled my sewing pin board with tutorials and patterns I hope to try once I get a little better. My goal is to have my little girl some pretty awesome clothes this summer. I also plan to go all "Martha Stewart" on our house.

If you know of any websites I can visit to get a few beginner sewing tutorials or free, simple patterns, please share!