breaking in a new sewing gadget

a while ago, i splurged and bought myself a coverstitch machine.  i'd been resisting the temptation mainly because it's kind of a one trick pony - it's used for creating perfect hems, which is one of my most hated parts of sewing.  and it creates a wavy stitch on the inside of the garment to allow for stretching without popping stitches, and that comes in really handy for sewing knit fabrics.  i've been doing a lot of pieces with knit lately, because it's comfy and comes in cute prints and is really easy to work with.  plus i hate to iron clothes, and you don't really need to iron knitwear.

anyway, it had been sitting in a corner of the house for weeks and weeks.  i'd found a great deal online with free shipping, and then i was insanely busy with cookie season and girl scouts in general and all of the other things we've been up to over the last few months.  so it sat there unused and unloved until finally i decided i needed to start blasting through the giant stash of fabric i had just waiting for me to sew it into fun stuff.

i had a pile of clothes i'd sewn up that needed hemming, and i'd saved them up so that i could sit down and practice using my new toy.  so i unboxed that bad boy and set it up on the table to get to work.

and look - i'd received a free machine carrying case.  since i didn't have any room on my tiny sewing table to set it up permanently, this was a welcome little bonus.

i don't know why, but i was a little nervous about trying this thing out.  so i watched a few youtube videos and read a few blogs dedicated to learning how to use a coverstitch machine, and then i finally sat down and gave it a shot.

and it is WONDERFUL.  so easy!  so fast!  so effortless!  i blasted through about five dresses and tops in the span of about ten minutes, and i was hooked.  all of a sudden i had that sewing bug again, and all i wanted to do was sit there and sew and sew and sew.

i made the old lady a fun t-shirt dress out of some "nightmare before christmas" fabric she'd picked out months ago, and she was pretty happy with it.

for the bean, i made this cute colorblocked tee and a matching skirt:

i actually made quite a few things for her that'll be perfect for the summer months.  oh, and for the disney cruise we just got back home from (recaps are coming)!

i was totally riding a huge wave of sewing success, which gave me courage to assemble and cut out a pattern for a bathing suit using some super cute swim fabric i'd found online.  it ended up being quite a challenge that took me almost all day to finish (which involved at least one full seam that i had to rip out, and i learned the hard way that a surgical blade is SUPER DUPER SHARP).  but she was pretty happy with it, so it ended up being totally worth all the effort:

i'd made myself one top, so i thought i'd tackle yet another pattern that i'd had sitting around for ages. it had several options - sleeves, no sleeves, peplum top, minidress, knee length dress.  i really wanted to make the mini, but didn't have enough fabric and so i settled for the peplum.  this, too, took me most of a day to get through, and while i'm still not sure what i'm going to wear with it, i think i'm pretty happy with it.

while i still have a pretty ginormous fabric stash to get through, i'm pretty happy to report that i've gone through a significant portion of it.  i have lots more patterns to try, and with my fancy new coverstitch i think it's going to be a super sewing summer!