Reflection

Overall I’m glad I chose to do a project with a mix of machine ad hand sewing – by the end of the lily pads, I feel like I was significantly better at machine sewing than when I started. One of the toughest parts of this project was the sheer amount of darts made – I sewed 45 total for the project. I could have hand-sewed some of the darts for the smaller flowers but chose not to because of the precision and speed of the sewing machine. The lily pad lines were also tough – I only had to do it twice but am very happy with how they turned out – going over the topmost curve was stressful, and they are the best testament to the strength of my machine-sewing. I also fell in love with felting and would love to experiment more with making more complex forms.

The applications of this seem pretty slim, but I really do like that this project is something I will use indefinitely use as a centerpiece. It’s a bright conversation starter that I am proud to have made. I think its best use is as a springboard – I may decide to add fish to this in order to make it a proper pond, or even a frog! It’s encouraging to have the power to create at your fingertips, and this project demonstrates that sewing isn’t as intimidating as it seems.