Everyone has to start somewhere...

Like many other ladies that love to sew, I have fond memories of long afternoons spent sewing with my Grandma. She's been gone for years, but I can still picture her long fingers gently guiding fabric through the machine. I remember playing with the pins on her orange pincushion and pricking my fingers. I can still smell the coffee and see the Blue Jays that she would point out to me on the feeder just outside the kitchen window. Sewing is like comfort food. I start sewing and as soon as I hear that whir, I'm taken back to my childhood, a place where I felt safe and loved. It's the same feeling I get when I eat my Mom's Swedish Meatballs. I feel warm and calm and completely at ease. I didn't really sew much other than that until my sweet husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas 4 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I started sewing up every free tutorial I could find. I made little gifts for all of my friends and family. I made a tiny newborn dress for my daughter with a paper pattern and that's when I first started getting interested in sewing clothes. After she was born, I had my hands full with two little one's 15 months apart and I didn't have as much time to sew. I found Matilda Jane Clothing through Instagram and Well Dressed Wolf soon after that. I was just building up a nice closet for Lilly when my husband lost his job. I couldn't justify shopping like that anymore. I started sewing again. Then, two years ago I bought my first PDF pattern. It was Made for Mermaids "Molly". I printed out that pattern and worked on it for days. When I was done, I was so proud of what I had accomplished and it was much needed therapy for a pretty tough time in my life. That was it, Made for Mermaids was like my gateway drug into the addiction that pdf patterns can be. Ha ha! I have pretty much sewn daily since then. My daughter has a beautiful mama made wardrobe and we have a lot of fun with picking out fabric and having our little photo shoots. Even though my Grandma and Lilly never met, I feel like they are connected through our love for sewing. I love making these memories with her and I hope that she looks back on them just as fondly as I look back at my own.

Lately, Lilly and I have been having a lot of fun testing sewing patterns. When I saw the post for the Made For Mermaids Top Tester Challenge I knew we had to be a part of it. I gave it my all! I chose the Lauren Tunic and the Evie Shorts. I really enjoy making pleats and pintucks, so naturally these were my first choice. Lauren can be made in Top or Tunic length and has multiple sleeve options. It can also be made without the collar. I made it sleeveless, tunic length with the collar. I just love Peter Pan collars and I will be sad to see the day when they're no longer in style. I wanted to make tunic length to show two styling options. We paired it with jeans and wore it untucked for one look. We tucked it into the Evie shorts for the other look. I made them out of denim and added some big wooden buttons to the waistband. These can be made as pants as well, but we had to make the shorts because the weather is getting NICE around here! I love all of the options that are available in these patterns. They can really be used year round!

Hope you have enjoyed my VERY FIRST blog post. I'd love it if you'd read more about Me and My family and sewing in the future.