Sewing (previously titled "the sewer in each of us)

so, this spring i bought myself a new sewing machine.  i'd had one that had been my grandmother's, but i never used it because it always seemed to frustrate me in one way or the other.  it took me a while to start using the new one, but i'm really getting into the swing of things now.  i got a boatload of sewing books for my birthday and having been drooling over patterns since then.  this summer i took a class at my local fabric shop (The Fabric Tree) and had fun making an amy butler bag (Amy Butler Birdie Sling Tote Bag Midwest Modern Sewing Pattern)

which i then promptly made another of for my friend michelle's birthday (in different fabric).   i stitched up an earring holder...

that had been rattling around in my brain for a while and a couple of little pillows for the car. this week, i got excited to make some things for my friend jen, who is having a baby shower, so I made her a fun little baby quilt from the pattern in Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials and a pair of the cozy fleece baby pants from the Crescent Moon Yoga Pants Pattern.  as I was finishing up with the quilt last night, I realized that I was feeling so fulfilled after finishing this project.  the combination of making something, having it be useful and beautiful and being excited about the end result - colors, texture, patterns, feel, etc. is really, really satisfying for me.  don't know that i've really gotten that feeling out of my knitting, paid work or other projects.  next step - take some photos of the finished products and post them.

p.s. i changed the title of the post, b/c it finally hit me that it sounded like i was talking about a sewer - you know, the public infrastructure that transports human waste.  yes, i'll be the first to admit that i'm a bit slow with things like that