Spelling Bee Saturday: Sewing Machine Pouch

It has a vintage school theme.

That's really all I needed to know about Lori Holt's Spelling Bee book to convince me that I needed a copy. The adorable picture blocks were just icing on the cake. When Fat Quarter Shop opened up the sign-up sheet for bloggers to choose their blocks for the sew along, I raced to get the slots for the sewing machine & typewriter blocks -- no surprise to those of you who know me. Today I'm sharing my version of the sewing machine.

I made the smaller size which finishes at 6 inches. Originally I had hoped to turn it into a pincushion, but it was just a bit too large. So instead I made a pouch, framing and backing the block in aqua gingham from Lori's Bake Sale 2 collection.

I desperately wanted to use a small floral for the machine itself, and this print from Apple Farm by my friend Elea Lutz was the perfect scale. The Handmade print from Lori's Bee Backgrounds collection made darling buttons for my machine which I hand quilted in red embroidery thread. Striped aqua accents were a great contrast, and I adore that little cross stitched heart on the spool at the top!

I lined the pouch with a pink cherry print from Bake Sale 2. It makes such a happy lining, doesn't it?

As soon as I sewed the last stitch on this pouch, I took it right downstairs and gave it to my mom for Mother's Day. I'm so happy to say that she loves it. Considering that she's a master at cross stitch, I loved being able to give her something with accents in that theme.

Several months back, my husband had a day off from work, but my girls and I still did our homeschool classes so that we could stay on schedule. I spent the morning tutoring, giving tests, soothing ruffled tempers, counseling my two older girls about struggles they were having, and so on. Finally just before lunch, I sat down next to my husband for a moment to chat.

"This is what I do all day," I said with a rueful laugh, and he smiled.

"You know," he said, looking at me thoughtfully, "it's not glamorous . . . but it's important. You're forming our daughters' character. It's the most important thing you can do."

And I remembered again why I love this man.

So happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there, as well as to all of you women who may not be moms, but are still investing your lives in loving and (sometimes) mothering the people around you. It's definitely not glamorous work and so much of it goes unsung, but we're making a difference . . . one life at a time.