Sewing and A Cup of Joe

I can't think of anything that is better than sewing with a hot steamy cup of Joe. Morning is my most productive sewing time, and thank goodness Gabrielle will allow me to experience this pleasure on a regular basis. She is taking up quite an interest in sewing herself. We spend time cutting fabric and ribbons, sorting buttons, measuring, and learning about all kinds of sewing tools. Fortunate for me, her feet are not long enough yet to step on the sewing pedal and engage either the sewing machine or serger without my intervention. I think she would make a bee-line for the sewing machine whenever I leave the room if she were able to operate it by herself. She usually sits in my sewing chair the minute I stand up.

In addition to her interest in what Mommy is doing, she is also very interested in every project that I take on. Her first question is "Is it for me?" Most often the answer is "yes", but occasionally it is "no". She actually deals with that answer much better than I would have at her age.

The latest project is a Christmas present for her cousin Claire. Claire is one month younger than Gabrielle, but probably at least one size larger than Gabrielle. Claire is tall and thin. Claire has a dog, so I thought she might enjoy this fabric which shows mostly dogs and a few cats, with commands like "Roll Over", and "Play Dead".

This project started out as a simple black crew-neck sweatshirt. I dis-assembled it and then applied fabric, ribbon, and a zipper. The sleeves were turned inside out and re-applied. While the sleeves were separate from the jacket, I also quilted in black thread just to give them more of a finished texture. The zipper is a 12 inch separating zipper. This is the first quilted jacket where I've used a zipper. I like the end result, so I'll use this technique more.