It's so easy, so damn easy

So I promised Wendi that I'd post pictures of my sewing class projects. Now that it's almost time for my 3rd class, I had better post what I made last week!

The first project last Wednesday was this little tissue pack holder. For this project, we learned to measure and cut 4 4x6 inch rectangles from scrap fabric using the rotary cutter and quilting ruler.



Now, I'm not a fan of fabric cozies for things that don't really need a cover, so I'm trying to think of a good use for this. In the right size and with a smaller opening it would make a decent iPod holder or phone cozy.

But the really cool thing for me was learning how this was put together. You iron two of the rectangles in half lengthwise, and place them on top of the other two rectangles, and then sew around the perimeter of the whole thing. So when you're making it, it looks like this:



Then you cut out the corner bits to reduce the bulk, and flip the whole thing inside out so that it looks all neat and clean. You don't even need to trim all the wooly threads from the end of the fabric because it's all hidden. I had no idea that's how things were made!

And on another note, my total lack of spatial visualization and relationship ability is haunting me in a major way with the sewing.

In order to cut the fabric with the rotary (pizza) cutter, I need to use my right hand, and you need to put the ruler on the left, on top of the fabric. But you have to orient/flip everything so you can measure it properly and cut the length you want. It takes me a couple of tries to really figure out where I need to put everything (fabric, ruler, hand, cutter). I just can't see it in my head, without actually trying it out to see if that's where I need to cut/position. I honestly think that part of my brain is just missing.

When I was in high school, I took an "engineering aptitude test" that consisted of a ton of visual questions like this. They'd show you a diagram of a 3-D box, and ask you what it would look like if you cut along certain lines and flattened it out.

Or they'd show you the flattened version of a shape and asked what it would look like if you folded it along the bold lines. I remember just sitting there in shock, having NO EARTHLY IDEA what to answer, because I just couldn't see it. It was crazy, especially since I have mad standardized test-taking skillz. But apparently not *any* spatial relationship skills at all.

So that's going to be rough with the sewing, but I'm hoping I'll get better with practice. As long as I don't have to sew a 3-D pyramid, I should be fine!

Tomorrow night is placemats and potholders. Yippeee!