My Sewing Box

Sometimes I think it would have been better if I had been born in a third world country. Why? Because then, I could make things and sell them. Living here in Canada, everything is shipped from China and it’s inexpensive and effective so why stop buying it? It’s cheaper to buy an already made sweater than to buy the wool. It’s cheaper to buy manufactured clothes then to buy the fabric. Whatever you feel like making (except dinner), it’s cheaper to have it shipped in. I love making things with my hands, but nine times out of ten, I can’t justify the expense. That’s why I had a great time this Christmas making my own felt ornaments for the Christmas tree.

The picture shows some of the ones I made. I grouped some of them together on the carpet and took a picture before I put them away. At the top, I made cupcakes (some with pink frosting and some with white), swirly candy (some with pink stripes and some with red), penguins (my genius idea to get rid of the black felt I bought), strawberries, mittens (green and red), sugar plums, gingerbread men, stars, and teddy bears that had the names of each member of my family stitched in the back.

Finally, I found something that was cheaper to make than to buy. I saw felt ornaments that cost $3 - $4 in the store. I made over 20 of these, which made the cost of each one somewhere around thirty cents. I hand stitched them while watching the X-Files and each one of these has a front and a back that both look perfect.

Actually, I have a confession to make. I hate sewing machines. You know what happens when I use a sewing machine whenever I’m doing anything more complex than piecing a quilt? I get about 20 cm into whatever I’m doing, and BAM! I need to get out a seam ripper and pull the whole thing out. It’s good that I have a cute pink seam ripper or I’d want to off myself because I seriously have to rip whatever stupid seam I’ve made at least three times before I decide that the frustration I’m experiencing is not worth whatever I’m trying to make.

Last Christmas I made fuzzy snowballs out of fun fur, put bows on them, and put them on the tree as ornaments. I used them again this year. They turned out super cute. I also made a pillow shaped as a bunny. I sewed it and the snowballs by hand. It’s so much nicer. I can wait in the doctor’s office, pull out my sewing project and just go at it like I’m crocheting. Transportable crafts are the best.

You know, I’d settle for having another craft to do that actually had a reasonable purpose, but who needs more stuff?`