Sewing tutorials that I think are cool

and that I hope to try one day soon.
boy's hat
swimsuit
kiddo shoes
another shoe pattern
tote
Women's tank top
nesting storage boxes
Women's sundress
Grocery bag dispenser
5 minute skirt
Headband
duvet cover
Spring top
owl applique
repurposing vinyl packaging into organizers
scrap buster pillow
scoodie
hanging clothes hamper
beret
Girl on a swing mini quilt
women's cheeky panties
knee pad pants
men's t shirt
knit gauchos
basic bodice
BOY tshirts
rag rug
collapsable storage baskets

Dual purpose curtains

I usually wing it when I cook. I don't usually measure anything nor do I typically follow recipes. However, there are some recipes I frequently look up because I cannot remember the exact ratios. And for things like bread baking I need to be at least slightly more precise. My little garden window was bare, and I live in such a small house that I was hoping to find curtains that were a). really cheap and b). dual purpose, allowing me to save some space. Several of these recipes I cook at the same time (such as socca, red pepper rouille, baba ghanoush, tabhouli) and so rather than trying to cook out of three books, I have the recipes in a central place.

I measured the panels for the windows, but as you can see, they don't quite cover. That's because I decided to do a decorative stitch around the edges with my new sewing machine. I also used the machine to create button holes at the top to put a dowel through, and then used those cheap cup hooks to hang them up and for tie-backs.

Anybody have any unique space and/or time saving techniques out there?

First project on my new Brother CS-6000i sewing machine

I'm a total novice when it comes to sewing. I bought a sewing machine a few years ago... I think it was a cheap Singer. I ended up using the thing a couple of times and selling it because I thought it was frustrating to use.

The interest to learn this new skill has once again arisen in me, so I decided to look around and see what is available. I don't have a lot of money to invest, so I wanted to see what was available in the lesser expensive price range. To my surprise, sewing machines have gotten less expensive and are far more user friendly. This machine ran me $170 with free shipping from http://www.amazon.com/.

The machine that I ended up picking out is a Brother cs-6000i. I chose this one because it looks basic and because it has rave reviews all over the internet.

So far, I can attest that it is a quality, easy to use machine. There are a few annoying things about it, but once you get the hang of how the machine works it is a cinch. The biggest thing that annoyed me was threading it... it is supposed to be an automatic threader, but for the first week or so it took me a while to figure out how to thread the automatic threader. Perhaps I will post a video of the threading, but I will need both hands available to do so, so it will require another person holding the camera. Please let me know if anyone is interested.

I did read many reviews of users that complained that the machine doesn't like cheap thread. I learned quickly a few years ago that cheap thread will break on you in a heartbeat and so have never had that problem. I've used Gutermann thread nearly exclusively, which is currently half off at Joann.

My projects so far have been focused more on simplifying my daily chores. The gardening season is coming up and I am trying to find ways to make it simpler, especially this year as I am breaking ground on a new garden and it will be much larger than anything that I have tended before. In years past, I couldn't figure out how to get organized. This year I am attempting to organize myself starting with an apron. I bought a basic sewing pattern, but one with many pockets. The pockets will have dedicated items, labeled so I know exactly where everything goes, such as scissors and twine, seeds, gloves, etc. In addition I added a loop for my felco 2 pruners. By the way if you are gardener, Felco pruners are worth the investment. If you take care of them they will last a lifetime.