I just completed my first project on the new sewing machine. I had a couple of goals with this project:
- I wanted to learn how to use my new machine
- I wanted to do it for free
- I wanted Kade to have a multi-purpose travel toy
I’m happy to say, all 3 goals were achieved but certainly not because of my own creativity. I found this great idea for a child’s activity mat in Applique for Little Ones by Sylvie Blondeau. The book is chock full of adorable projects but this one caught my eye because I could really adapt it to Kade’s likes. And I must say a special thanks to my MOM who gave me tons of fabric scraps when I went home at Christmas time. Goal #2 definitely would not have been achieved if not for her generosity!
I started out with a big green circle and a paper bag and created this:
After realizing that it’s important to FOCUS the camera before taking the picture…I then went to work figuring out how to machine applique, hand applique, machine embroider and hand embroider – all of which I had never done before! Let’s just say this was a learning experience.
The brown cows, white sheep, and flag were all embroidered with my new machine. I tried out some new fancy stitching on the roofs and barn. The kids, fish, ducks, fence and scarecrow were my attempt at hand embroidery. I purposely did not take a close up of those because I REALLY need more practice at that. For the life of me, I could NOT figure out how to do a French Knot!
You can just see the knots on the right and left sides – those are the ends of the of the cords that are sewn around the outside edge, which allows me to gather it all up into a knapsack that we can fill with toys, toss in the car and have a ready made play town wherever we go. My hope is that not only will it give Kade something familiar in a new place but that it will also keep him from boredom and going through my friend’s kitchen cupboards when we visit.
So far it’s been a success. Kade loves driving his cars and trucks around and wrapping up in it like a blanket. Kyle says that last trick is proof that he thinks the whole world actually does revolve around Kade. 
