{"id":55098,"date":"2015-04-26T00:09:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-26T07:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=55098"},"modified":"2015-04-26T00:09:46","modified_gmt":"2015-04-26T07:09:46","slug":"merit-badge-sew-wonderful-beginner-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/55098","title":{"rendered":"Merit Badge: Sew Wonderful, Beginner Level"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThe adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/a>, now with\u00a06,346 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20149,010 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> former life<\/a> \u2026\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For this week\u2019s Stitching and Crafting\/Sew Wonderful Beginner Level Merit Badge<\/a>, I took advantage of the fact that I had been a human pincushion one too many times this month.<\/p>\n

Eh?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I know, you\u2019re not following. Perhaps that\u2019s because you\u2019ve never spilled an entire collection of straight pins into your entire collection of fabric?<\/p>\n

Well, count yourselves lucky, my chickadees, because, well, darn it, I don\u2019t recommend it. Ouch. There\u2019s another one.<\/p>\n

Sucking on my poor, Swiss-cheese fingers, and determining never to attempt acupuncture\u2014at least not without a professional\u2014I made up my mind to do something about this awful situation, and why not earn a badge? Seemed sensible. Yowch.<\/p>\n

Time out to find the homemade first-aid kit \u2026<\/p>\n

All right, I\u2019m back and more determined than ever. (And wearing thimbles on all 10 extremities).<\/p>\n

I sorted through my bolts and squares and stacks of calico, gingham, toile, corduroy, denim, satin, flannel, and the like. In order to earn my Beginner Level Badge, I needed to make a sewing kit, complete with pinkeeper, to give to a friend.<\/p>\n

You know what they say: Be your own best friend.<\/p>\n

What? No one says that? That isn\u2019t a quote?\u00a0And I was going to embroider it on a pillow.<\/p>\n

Well, fine, I\u2019ll simply make two, because I have the puncture wounds to prove I need a little organization as well. Ow.<\/p>\n

I decided there was no need to shop to earn this badge. Not with all the lovely things I have lying about my home. Upcycling is the name of game with this farmgirl these days. Why, I hardly remember what the siren call of the mall sounds like, now that I\u2019ve turned over a new (organic) leaf. (Okay, okay, I do occasionally answer the siren call of the Pretzel Palace, which is inside the mall, but hey \u2026 I\u2019m only human).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I found two sweet baskets left over from my basketry-making season<\/a>, and they were a perfect fit for the following:<\/p>\n