Serged and Sewn

The apron I was hoping to assemble entirely on the serger didn’t work out that way, because I forgot that there is a not insignificant amount of topstitching to be done. Oh, well. It’s good exercise to get up and move between the serger and the sewing machine, especially as they are in different rooms.

This is not a reversible apron, so the back needs to look nice. And I do have to say, that serged edge is really pretty:

I like my sergers. The more I use them, the more uses I find for them. I am going to try gathering on the serger when I do another apron from the Lori Holt One Yard Apron pattern. The Seasoned Homemaker has an excellent tutorial. At some point, I may spring for the gathering foot for my serger, which will allow me to gather and attach to a second piece of fabric in one fell swoop.

Ali came over with the boys last night—Elysian wasn’t feeling well, but she sent her little guy over with a birthday present for me (my birthday was yesterday):

It’s a meat grinder and a bean slicer! Elysian has been processing turkeys and grinding the meat, and I mentioned that a meat grinder was the one appliance I didn’t own (amazingly enough). The bean slicer is pretty cool, too! We will have to make sure we try it out next season.

I keep a basket of toys here for the kids to play with when they come over. It holds a whole collection of Matchbox cars and a set of blocks that my father made when I was pregnant with DD#1. The boys know they are welcome to go and get the basket and strew things all over the living room floor. My father also made a set of wooden trucks and equipment. Ali and I sat and visited while the boys played on the floor. I said to her that I thought my father would be very happy to see those trucks and blocks still being used. The boys love them.

Ali has the same serger that I do but hasn’t used it much. Her little guy was wearing a great little fleece raglan top that he had had on for three days straight. She wants to make him a few more like it and I said I’d help her get started. It’ll save some time if she doesn’t have to re-invent all the wheels that I did. Elysian has been sewing, too. Between the three of us, we ought to be able to keep these little boys outfitted with lots of warm clothing.

The husband replaced the lock mechanisms on the BMW for me this weekend, too, so I don’t have to worry about them failing and me getting locked out of my car completely or not being able to lock the car at all. That was a lovely birthday present.