Learning How to Sew

Super girly post I know -- but I promise there are pictures of food below!  Say what?! sewing + food? Of course food!

I've always had an itch to learn how to sew--mainly for my own hemming sake since I'm short and my pants are always too long.  Or to hoochify an outfit and put slits here and there With tedious boring school out of the way (yay!) and now that I'm finally not as broke (double yay hallelujah happy dance!) as I used to be in law school--I am determined to pursue all my hobbies and learn new fun skills!

Growing up my mom had this giant hideous industrial size hunk of a sewing machine from back in her sweatshop working days (it's now shoved into our kitchen in S.F--asian house-duh!).  She used to buy THE ugliest cheapest fabrics to make THE ugliest curtains for our apartment and then with the scraps, make my sisters and I pants--yes, that I would have to wear to school.  Imagine me, fresh from Vietnam, fob home permed hair, wearing red coke bottle glasses with matching red-poinsetta-patterned-polyester-fabric-with-lace trimmings-curtain-pants.  Y-I-K-E-S!

So I guess there's a pent up need in me to try and make prettier things.  Since I only have Sundays off from work I had to sign up for a beginners express class at G Street Fabric in Falls Church, VA.  For $150 you get 2 Sundays worth of classes from 11:00 to 6:00 p.m.  We learned to make a tote and start on pjs!

 Day 1: picking out materials and fabric for our tote

  

Sewing your own stuff is NOT cheaper.  Cute patterns are pricey!  I ended up choose these two fabrics for my tote at $12.95/yard!!! This is the most expensive tote I've ever owned! And it's made by meee--not even a designer! And in the beginning, you end up making ugly crap that even you yourself might be too embarrass to wear for fear you have to tell people you made it!

uh..what kind of thread..?

 Measure, cut, sew!

But first, lunch break for some Filipino food with some new Filipino friends I made!  Self note: don't make it a habit of get into a stranger's car after just meeting him for an hour...

 Chris, filipino, said his mom comes here all the time for filipino food.  I'm gonna take his word that this place is good--being that I have not even seen a filipino restaurant around here and I miss Goldilocks and lumpias and pancit and halo halo!

Booo--apparently the lumpias here are made the southern way? so it looks more like an omelet and has gravy on it!  Not the deep fried little egg rolls I'm used to =(.  Sigh, get it together VIRGINIA!

So my friend ordered the pancit --yums!

I got chicken adobo--not the best I've ever had..ok..i'm never having it here again.  But I ate it all because it's meat in sauce and it comes with garlic fried rice!  

and these are the southern lumpias.. =/ I'm not a fan of these

 Super full and sleepy--we're back to sewing! This machine costs $2k..holy mamajama

Day 2: PJ making + tote finishing day!

I found a soft cotton flannel material to make my pjs.  I figured if i'm gonna make it, I rather buy cute fabric...and even if it has no legs, no seams, no crotch, i'm still going to wear them because I made them--so the fabric might as well be cute.  PJ fabric = $16.00

okie dokie--here's the finished tote!  I ended up making it reversible!  This is the inside!

This is the original outside!

I even carried my crap in it and the handle hasn't broken off, the seams haven't come undone! wow nelly!!!!

My unfinished set of PJs!  I have to go back to class and finish the shirt and shorts.

Ducks and bears!

Learned so many cool tricks and skills in just two classes!  Time to start putting more money in the piggy bank to get my own sewing machine!

Thanks for coming! =)