The Craft Chronicles is a new series I started this month, where I’m exploring one creative modality at a time and making things that have been on my to-make list for ages. I’ll be recapping what I create each week/month here on the blog, but if you want to see it unfold in real time, make sure to follow me over on Instagram. (@xomadewithlev). June’s theme: sewing.
I think I may have overestimated my ability to carve out time for myself now that the kids are out of school, which is a huge bummer. I had so many projects I wanted to work on, and barely had time to squeeze in one. But I did manage to do one and am thrilled with how it turned out.
When I looked at the list of projects I wanted to sew this month, I was most excited about the adorable mushrooms via the Forest Family pattern from Lucy Ward from Simply Sewing Magazine, Issue 105. (If you’re interested in checking it out, I accessed it through the Libby app for free!)
The Forest Family in question:
I only managed to get the Mama Mushy sewn, since it took me a few weeks to get it all together. I do think it’s meant to be a quick sew, I just didn’t have the dedicated time or brain space to work through it in one sitting. So I broke it down for myself into manageable chunks and cut the pattern pieces, chose the fabrics, cut the fabrics, stitched and stuffed the top, then sewed the stalk and rest of the body together. Without the kids, I could have finished everything in one day. With the kids home, it took a few weeks.
Such is life, I suppose.
Here’s how the Mama turned out:
A few things I loved about this one:
- It was a relatively uncomplicated sew. Does that mean is was super easy? No. Does it mean that some with a beginner to intermediate beginner could do it? Absolutely. I did get a wee bit frustrated stitching the top onto the stalk because I didn’t have the right pins to hold it in place. BUT it was a pattern that came together relatively quickly and can be changed with ease based on your fabric choices.
- I already had everything I needed for this at home. Yay for using up what I already had! The floral fabric was a fat quarter and I still have plenty leftover for another little something. The white fabric of the stalk came from an old bed sheet. The lace trim was something I had purchased for rag doll making ages ago, the stuffing was in my stash, and the embroidery thread is something I always have on hand.
- It’s ridiculously cute. Like, for real. All I want to do is making mushrooms and put them all over my house. If only I had the time to do it right now. Le sigh.
The verdict: I would 100% make this again. In fact, I’m already thinking about what fabrics I’d use for the Papa and Baby. Will I be doing that this summer? Absolutely not. This is a fall/winter project when I have the time and space to work on it without interruption.
I will probably revisit sewing again as a theme because there were so many other projects I wanted to try my hand (and machine) at, including:
- An article of clothing: I’ve been hoarding free patterns for a really long time but have been too scared to use The Good Fabric™ to make things in case it’s terrible. I picked up a bunch of new FREE fabric from someone in my community, so that excuse goes officially went out the window. I’ve already got the color block set from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club printed out so I may start there. I also want to make some pants, so we’ll see how ambitious I want to be this month.
- A thrift store find upcycle: I am obsessed with the thrift store remakes and would love to get more into repurposing thrift finds and/or learning how to make thrift finds fit better for both myself and the kiddos. This may be a little more ambitious than I’m ready for, but we’ll see!
- Purse / Pouch / Belt Bag: No sewing list would be complete without a pouch or bag of some kind. This is definitely one of my favorite things to sew and I bought lots of fabrics for this sole purpose at the Salvation Army fabric sale a while back. Here are three of my favorite belt bag patterns in case you’re looking to make some of these yourelf.
- Scrappy something or other: I have so many fabric scraps and small cuts of fabric that I want to put to good use, so I need to think of some quick and easy projects to work on. This cute bow tutorial from LittleHavenBows will probably be on the list, as will this adorable strawberry coin purse tutorial from Suzie Quilts.
And there you have it. Month one of The Craft Chronicles is in the books. What should my topic be for month two??