Me VS. The sewing machine

So, at this point, it's painfully obvious that I love to make stuff, and there really isn't a textile craft that I haven't tried and loved.....with one exception. Sewing. I hand stitch like a champ, but the sewing machine has always gotten the better of me. And don't even get me started on trying to follow a pattern! Ha! That completely baffles me. 

 But this is the year that changes. My mom got me a fabulous sewing machine for Christmas, and I am bound and determined to master that bad boy this year. I picked up some cute flannel fabric to try my hand at pajama bottoms for my kiddos, but I decided to start on something smaller first. My double-pointed needle case has just about had it. It's covered in dog fur that I can never get off, the button is hanging on by a thread, and a needle sections are starting to come unstitched. So - the battle began.

The outer layer, and first inside pocket is leftover canvas from refinishing a TV tray to an ironing board (check out the tutorial for that over on American Quilting). The interior and second pocket is from a blue jean dress that I up-cycled. I decided to use the dress' original button hem for the top of the pocket - it gives it a little character.  I didn't have a pattern, but I had the old case, and used the measurements from that as a guide. And I just kind of winged it from there.

There were more than a few hiccups along the way. Including a mid-project call to my momma because the bobbin thread kept getting tangled. All in all, I'm pretty thrilled with how the final thing came out. I'll probably re-do it once my sewing skills improve, but for a first project, I'm pretty satisfied. And it's way prettier than the old one.