Adventures in Sewing.....

One of my summer goals this year was to sew something from a pattern. You know, a "real" pattern.... the kind you buy at the fabric store. I had bought a few patterns earlier this summer when they were having a $0.99 sale, and so a couple of weeks ago, I sat down, opened one up and got ready to begin. Until I realized that I did not have the faintest clue how to read the pattern. It was written in some sort of secret sewing code that I apparently can not understand. Then I realized that unless I wanted to cut the pattern into pieces and mutilate it so that it could never be used again, I didn't even know how to get the pattern onto my fabric (rookie!). I eventually did some research and got that part figured out, but was still completely overwhelmed by how to approach this pattern business.
So what did I do? Did I stick it through and give it a try? Did I call a sewing-guru friend for help? Nope. I signed up for a sewing class through the community college that I teach at (so the class will be free for me). It starts at the end of the month, and I will patiently wait until someone can explain how these things work before I try and tackle it on my own.
In the meantime, I tried to prove to myself that I didn't really need a pattern anyways, and could totally whip up a cute dress for Miss P on my own, pattern-free. So, instead of sitting down with a pattern, I sat down with my imagination to stick it to those pattern writers.
And, I made a dress. It looks pretty cute, but doesn't exactly fit the way I had intended... it was supposed to be sleeveless, and instead has sort of capped sleeves. The armholes are also a bit too tight. But it fits. And I didn't have to stress out trying to de-code a pattern. Yet.