A few years ago, I got this idea that I wanted to learn how to sew. My mother in law bought me a lightweight machine at a yard sale for $10. So I decided it was time to teach myself how to sew. How hard could it be?
Turns it, not so much, when you have the internet at your fingertips. With a few searches, I unearthed great Flickr tutorials for zipper pouches, blog posts with step-by-step instructions on how to make box bags and a really, really amazing month-long series of fat-quarter projects on a blog called Sew, Mama, Sew!
One of my zipper pouches made from ModGirls Sis Boom by Jennifer Paganelli
A fat quarter is a piece of 18″ x 22″ fabric. In most cases, it’s a quarter of a yard, but not cut from one side of the width to the other. And it’s a cheap and easy way to buy those gorgeous designer fabrics, like Amy Butler, Moda and Alexander Henry. This is a big deal, because I was quickly realizing that I’m a fabric addict. The editors and contributors at Sew, Mama, Sew had great projects for fat quarters: purses, journal covers, pin cushions, crochet hook rolls and even fabric boxes. I was in heaven!
When I published Math for Grownups and learned that a virtual tour would be a great way to promote the book, my first thought was that maybe — just maybe! — I could guest post on Sew, Mama, Sew. Imagine my surprise when the editors there jumped at the chance. I felt like I was one of the cool kids.
And today is the big day. You can read my guest post, “Nothing but Net,” which talks about how we can mentally (and physically) translate 2-dimensional figures into the 3rd dimension. That’s what patterns are, after all. Even if you don’t sew, this skill is a great one to have!