Sewing machine

I learned how to use my sewing machine today. My mother-in-law gave it to me last year (it had belonged to her mother). It's a great machine-- probably about 20 years old or so--but the user manual had gotten lost somewhere along the way. I found a website that had manuals for every sewing machine ever made available for download/print for 10 bucks. I bought it, printed it, and VOLIA! I wound my bobbin, threaded my needle and sewed some fabric this afternoon. A lot of it was trial and error (mostly error, actually). By the time I was getting the hang of it something bad happened: my needle broke. It was the only needle I had for the machine. I'll be making a trip to the fabric store tomorrow to buy several new ones.
Besides the seasonal throw pillows I plan to do, I am also planning to make some spring/summer skirts. I ordered a cool book the other day called Sew What! Skirts and it has 16 "easy" skirts you can make without a store-bought pattern. You just take your own measurements and plot out your own pattern on the backside of wrapping paper (or whatever else you have around). I'm pretty excited. I've already found some cool prints that I'm thinking about ordering to make skirts out of.Flowers and Birds on Brown-Sierra


Zinnia Black- by Alexander Henry

Black Butterfly--Sofia by Robert Kaufman
I'll keep you posted on my progress (if any) in this endeavor.