Placemats

After last week's sewing class, I ordered a sewing machine (Janome Magnolia 7318), same one we used in class.

That gave me a great excuse to go fabric shopping. I think my new favorite store to browse is B&J Fabrics. Unlike most fabrics stores I've been to, which are a tight, window-less mess of rolls, B&J is on the 2nd floor, brightly lit and well laid out. They hang clearly labeled swatches on hangers which makes browsing much easier.

I love the section they designate as "juvenile" prints. Lots of fun bright colors and cute graphics.

For my first solo project, I made a tiny lopsided pincushion. Ugly, but it serves its purpose.

These placemats are my first successful sewing project. I found a great beginner tutorial here. It's definitely worth buying the fusible fleece for the inner lining. It has an adhesive on one side which you iron onto the fabric, so hopefully when you wash it, it'll stay in place. It adds a nice layer of padding too.