Pretty Proud of myself

So most of you know I gave up my semi-professional tennis career last summer to pursue a new hobby...sewing. Okay, if you know me in real life you know I was a beginner tennis player and couldn't commit to practice and matches as well as I should...I don't want to lead anyone to believe I was on the road to the US Open...if I was, it was going to be a VERY VERY long road. Anyway, in the year since I started taking regular sewing lessons 2 times a month I've often wondered if I'm getting better at sewing or just better at following my teacher's instructions. My sewing teacher is excellent at her job but she's been making these outfits or helping others make these outfits we work on for years and she has memorized all the steps to get a completed garment. I really wondered if I could follow a pattern for myself and get a finished product I would be proud of.

This story really starts 2 weeks ago. I usually look forward to my regularly scheduled sewing class but I had finished up my last project and needed to start on something new. It may not sound like a hard thing, but for me the idea of wrapping my mind around another project is the biggest challenge. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE buying patterns and I really LOVE buying fabric, but putting scissors to fabric to get started is a hard step for me...I think it's because I just don't know where to begin. With the project I had chosen to work on (Paulie by Children's Corner) I needed to make piping...it's a detail used to trim a garment. I set out making piping for an hour and half...only to discover I had not made my piping long enough...then I started to discover I didn't have enough of my fabric I had planned on using for trim to make enough piping. Things were rapidly going from bad to worse for me and I felt like I had wasted my time and money on this particular night. I don't often give up, but on this night I gave up...I packed up and headed home completely disgusted with myself. I felt defeated.

But, if you know me, you know I don't handle defeat well...so in the days following that failure I decided I would test myself to see if I could make this garment all by myself. I read the pattern...it seemed easy enough...so I got to work. There were several things I did differently...I added french seams in the crouch of the pants and down the legs for added support and I didn't do any of the hand sewing they recommended...and I'm proud to say that today I put the finishing touches on these 2 garments...I LOVE them! Ruth Ann has an outfit very similar to these made by Mary James and she looks precious in it so I know she'll look super cute in these too. She's napping as I'm writing this post, otherwise I'd have her modeling them to show you just how cute they are...fyi, the pants are capri length.







The Back...



And the project that started all my frustrations...







The Back...



I know longer doubt that I'm actually learning how to sew and how to sew well. When Ruth Ann wakes up we're headed to another sewing hotspot to purchase this pattern for bigger girls so I can make some outfits for the Fall/Winter!