So few weeks ago I crossed something off my summer to-do list: Learn How To Sew. It was my first time sewing. Ok, a bit of a fib. I did sew 1 pillow in 7th grade Home Economics class

But I needed some cushions and pillows for our new bench in our kitchen so I enlisted some help. I made the trip over to Grinnell, Iowa and Grandma Jan showed me how to sew.

P.S. If you are ever in Grinnel eat lunch at the Phoenix Cafe! Great organic,local menu (they purchase their beef from the same farmer my parent’s get theirs from as seen in this post). Here is the yummy Chickpea Burger with avocado spread and their oh-so-good potato medallions.

Oh and we all shared this evil, sinful cake for dessert.

Anyways back to sewing….It was a lot easier than I thought. However, this isn’t a very good DIY lesson because I don’t have the time or the patience to explain step by step how to sew (let alone use the correct sewing terms).

If any of my readers have always wanted to learn how to sew I highly recommend giving it a try! Take a class or ask someone that knows how to give you a quick lesson. You can get the same sewing machine I have at Wal-Mart for $59! Plus you save money on making things for your house and for your kids.

Lately I have been searching the internet for other easy projects to sew like: a tablecloth, oven mits, placemats, table runner, fabric banner for the each of the kid’s birthdays, and magnetic fabric ABCs for my little guy’s birthday present!

So I had all these extra pillows sitting around that we had used in our first house, but they were dark colors (reds, blues, grays). Since we now have a smaller house we are using lighter colors for the decor so I needed to sew new cases for all of these pillows lying around (about 10 of them).

Here are some of the first ones I worked on…

I started by taking off the covers and measuring them to make sure the exact size.Then I measured and marked the fabric I was using with a washable marker.

Cut and pinned.

Then I had to learn how to thread a sewing machine…not has hard as I had remembered from middle school

All the pillows I have sewed so far I kept the backs open to that I can take them off an on (for washing or if I want to use them again in the darker colors).

Here the first one….not too shabby!

When I sewed this blue one I decided to put the opening in the front and sew a big button on.

Then I started on the cushions. Again, I wanted to be able to wash them so I had the opening in the back and sewed velcro to each side.

I also found this bedspread on clearance at Wal-Mart. It was $15! I made two pillows out of it (one for the kitchen and one for the living room). Then I think I might use all the leftover fabric to make oven mits or placemats? Not sure yet.

So here are the before and after pics of our kitchen eat-in area.

BEFORE

AFTER

Doesn’t it look so much better with just a brighter paint color?

You may remember this earlier post about our kitchen remodel.

But here are a few pics to remind you what everything looked like after we put the bench in.

So I painted the wall in satin “Ice Morning”. Painted the trim in semi-gloss off-the-shelf white. Painted the bench in satin “Rich White.” I took down that window treatment that I was soooo not a fan of. My little brother and sister got me the flower painting from The Copper Cupboard (a great store in town). I added a few more things to the shelf (50 cent finds at a garage sale). I also had those square trivets from Target just sitting in a drawer. I realized they had little rings on the back so I could hang them on the wall. Completes that look I think

I still need to get another bamboo blind for the window or make some sort of fabric window valance. Then we will be done with this side of the room.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Check out my pillows and the cushions! I did not sew the two pillows on the left but the rest are my handy work!

I will post more pics later of the rest of our kitchen remodel. We painted the cabinets and the other walls about 2 weeks ago. I am just waiting for Marcus to put on the new hardware and then I can do the touch-ups. Will post pics and Part 2 soon!