Sorry! Here's what I've been up to.

Hi everyone!  I didn't forget about you!  Since our camping trip,  I just haven't been together enough to get projects done and blog about it.  I guess my brain needed a break or something.  The end of the school year gets tight with all the events and activities.  My car broke down and needs a week or so in the shop for expensive repairs.  My husbands wisdom teeth got infected (ew) and need to be removed.  So we have a lot going on here.

The other thing that has been distracting me?  I've been learning how to use my new toy - my new serger.

Some of you know I've been waiting and wanting a serger for some time now.  It was just an expense I wasn't willing to invest in yet, but through a couple of odd jobs, I'm happy to say I earned it almost all by myself.  I don't make a lot of money on my own, so I'm very proud of myself.  I've never used a serger before, never seen one up close, never seen one in use.  I researched and found an inexpensive one that got great reviews - the Brother 1034D 3/4 Lay-In Thread Serger.

It came last week, and I finally got to sit down with it and learn. I made a shirt for my oldest as a practice garment.  The first night I opened the serger.  That's saying a lot!

After making a similar shirt on my sewing machine, here's my verdict:  I have been wasting so much time!!!  The serger was easy to use and so much quicker, since you didn't have to zigzag the edges after you sewed a seam. The serger came threaded with rainbow colors (that match those colored wheels on it) so you could learn what threads do what. So I just used those for my son's shirt, since he's totally into rainbows right now. He likes it. I'm not entirely thrilled with my job on the shirt, but since I made it with a repurposed old shirt of daddy's, he's thrilled to wear it.  It'll take some time to learn it all.

I also used it (just because I can) to work on a carseat cover for my forever friend's baby.  Like, months later.  I can be so flighty with projects sometimes.  Sorry friend!

Here's how that looks so far:

I made it using a combination of a few tutorials, common sense, and my own design. She picked out the fabrics ages ago, to coordinate with the baby's room.

I just have to attach the straps, but I'm waiting for my 2" wide velcro to arrive.  Mail order is the way to go around here, since my boys last about 5 minutes in the craft store before they explode.  It's usually worth any extra cost for the convenience to me. I'll try and get some pictures when it's completed.

I have a few projects lined up soon, and I promise my break is over and I'll be posting more regularly.  Sorry for the impromptu break!