First Sewing Project - Quilted Coasters

Okay, so sewing machines are proving to be a little bit of a pain for me.  Big Bertha died on me and I got Singer Sally.  Sally proved to be a little testy.  After using her for about 20 minutes or so, she began jamming up constantly and no matter what I did to fix the jam it just kept happening.  Thank goodness for friends that use sewing machines regularly.  Consensus was that Sally was already in need of adjustment.  So Sally went back in the box and back to the store.  I was conflicted.  Should I buy another Singer Sally or should I try something else?  I made my purchase.  And may have upgraded.  A little.  ;)  Home came Brother Barney - a completely computerized sewing machine with over 100 stitch options, quilting options and small scale embroidery.  I'm in love!  While I was afraid it would be way over my head in the beginning, Barney proved to be more user friendly than Singer Sally, in my opinion.   The manuals and DVD proved to be way more detailed and helpful setting it up.    Loading the bobbin was as simple as dropping it in.  That was it!  I'm terribly impressed with Barney thus far.  

    

                            

Now that I've properly introduced you to my new toy, here's my first sewing project.  Ever.  I saw this project on one of my favorite blogs, a pretty cool life.  The author, Cheryl, is constantly showing off her latest project (usually involving a sewing machine) and I have been dying to try some of her tutorials.  This one was easy peasy and perfect to start out with.  You can find the tutorial here.  Of course, hers are way cuter than mine but she's been doing this a lot longer than me.  Away we go!

I simply chose to buy some scrap fabric to start with since I really had no idea how this little project would turn out.  I measured it out and cut my squares.  

Then I did the same with quilt batting.  I didn't use the fusible kind simply because I couldn't find it.  I just pinned it down.  

Okay, off we go!  I admit to being nervous, this being my first time and all.  But really there was nothing to it.  It was quite thrilling in some way.

So far, so good...

Ah, I made it all the way through this little project and Barney hung in there the whole way through.

My finished quilted coaster.  Not too bad for my first first time around a sewing machine, eh?!

Works well, I'd say.  And some free advertisement for my husband's company.  ;)

Hope this inspires you to learn a little something new.  I can't wait to share my next sewing project.  Stay tuned!