Using a Serger

Projects

My daughter wanted a serger for Christmas. Santa came through with a Juki model. She was very happy to get her first serger and wanted me to try it. So, like the good student I am, I sat down for my lesson on the Juki.

The serger was easy enough to use on a straight seam. Just put the material under the presser foot, step on the pedal and off you go. But what about on curves? I actually did not try curves until my daughter had gone off to college again. First, I decided to watch a you-tube video. A very helpful lady showed me how to maneuver the material under the presser foot. I gave it a go myself and thanks to my you-tube tutor, all went well. It is a bit like a sewing machine, the difference being if I messed up the little blade would slice my material off. That is why I watched the video first. Take it slow and easy on curves and it is not a problem.

I have been using the serger a lot since my daughter went back to college. I think that I will eventually have to ask Santa for my own, as she will some day take the Juki with her, and I will be left without. One might ask, “Do you really need a serger?” After using one for a few months, my answer is “yes”.

A serger has many benefits. It sews a beautiful finished edge to the piece so that the material looks finished. A serger allows a piece to be washed without the fear of unraveling seams. It brings the garment up a notch from “homemade” to “Where did you buy that?” status. I would recommend a serger to serious seamstresses and for people who sew a lot of clothing. Beginning sewers can use a zig-zag stitch on their sewing machine or cut the seams with pinking shears. This will do until they become more accomplished sewers and actually want to wear what they make. It is more important to have a good machine and then acquire a serger thereafter, as it is a monetary investment.

The only drawback I find to the serger is that it is a pain to thread. Tweezers and tools have to be used to reach the threads here and there. The threads have to be threaded in a particular order for the machine to work. There are four spools of thread on my daughter’s serger. One spool seems to run out a lot faster than the other spools. This one is the one that needs to be threaded first. Although, there is a way around this, by sneaking threads around others. So the hardest part about serging is threading the machine. Once threaded it is a piece of cake.

As always, Happy Sewing!

Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies

Cooking

Raspberries and white chocolate sounded yummy so I decided to make them into cookies.

Ingredients:

1 c. All Purpose Flour

1/2 c. Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 c. shortening + 1 Tbsp water (mixed)

1/4 c. light brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. frozen raspberries (keep them frozen)

1/4 c. white chocolate chips

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, mix with hand mixer the shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla. To this add the flours, baking soda and salt; mix until dough is formed. With a spoon, mix in the chips. Very gently, fold in the raspberries.

Scoop out dough into heaping tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheet. (Makes 18 cookies)

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F. for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

As always, Happy Baking!

Horrid Little Staples!

Projects

I decided our dining room chairs were looking passe and worn. It was time to reupholster the chairs. We had done this once before so we knew how to go about it.

The first time we reupholstered, we replaced the foam and the backing fabrics as well. this time, we only needed to replace the main fabric. I ordered the fabric and cut it to size. Then it was time to remove the upholstery staples. I had the special upholstery staple remover tool from last time we did this. I remembered this step being a bit of work. I started to remove the staples but it was not going as smoothly as I had hoped. The staples were breaking! I did not remember the staples breaking last time I did this. This was now becoming an increasingly slow process as I had to use pliers to pull out the broken staples and hammer in the pieces that were too short to pull out. Horrid little staples!

My husband stapled on the new fabric. He reassured me that he did not use as many staples this time plus he bought a different brand. We are hoping the new staples will come out in one piece. The funny thing is, we looked at reviews for staples and no one comments on the ease of removal. People only care about how they go in and stay in. Luckily, we will not need to find out how they come out for a while. We are both very pleased with our “new” chairs. They look so much better and really make the room look more up to date.

As always, Good-luck with the DIY Projects!

Pi Day and Finally, Actually Using Pi in Real Life

Projects

Recently I wanted to make a round bottom drawstring bag. Trying to make the bottom fit the sides is not easy, as I have tried this before without a pattern. So I started searching for methods to make this easier.

I came across a wonderful site that explains mathematically how to calculate the circle and the rectangle for the bag. Genious! Of all things, Pi is involved. I learned about Pi in school, way back when. I never really gave it any thought after the lessons and tests were over. When would I ever use that again? Well, I finally got to use Pi to figure out my bag calculations. The whole formula was amazing and my bag turned out perfect! Maybe teachers should show their students the practical uses for Pi…

For the worksheet to help make a cylinder bag go to:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aROY8uu30JQdSMKsy_UPFt2qCTAd0Ixr/view

From: Michelle at: BirdCage and Thread (YouTube video: How to Calculate Pieces to Sew a Cylinder

Another Day with Yoga

Book Reviews, life

While I had tried yoga in the past, even taking a class, it never became a routine for me until recently. Sometime late last year, I decided to give yoga a try again. This time, I decided to do yoga every day, not just once a week or whenever the urge took hold of me. Daily yoga soon became a habit I looked forward to. In fact, I had to do my yoga. I was hooked.

What was different this time? Why was I able to stick to yoga? Well for one thing, doing something daily, especially at the same time daily, becomes a habit. Another big thing is that I felt the differences that yoga had made on my body as well as my mood. Yoga is great at reducing stress. Yoga got rid of my aches and pains. No more getting out of bed and feeling stiff. The elbow and hip soon felt better. The shoulder, that seemed out of place, took a bit longer to mend. But with daily yoga, even the shoulder is now perfectly fine. After actually feeling the difference, there is no doubt in my mind that yoga is a wonderful way to start each day. I guess I am now a yogi.

Yoga does not have to be intense or take very long. A simple twenty minute routine is all that is needed. I like to do yoga along to videos. Many can be found on Youtube. After becoming familiar with yoga, building one’s own yoga program is easy to do. A good book of reference for this is Yoga Zone Introduction to Yoga A Beginner’s Guide to Health, Fitness, and Relaxation by Alan Finger and Al Bingham.

As always, Happy Yoga Practice!

DIY Needle Minder

Projects

Sick and tired of trying to keep track of my embroidery needles, I decided I needed a needle minder. However, the one I really wanted was out of stock on-line. I did not really care for any of the other designs. What was I to do?

I searched through my drawer and found a cute French button I had ordered but never used. The button was made of wood and painted with a sweet design. I decided to have this button made into my needle minder. I enlisted my husband to help. He purchased a very strong button magnet set and attached it to the button for me with epoxy. One magnet attaches to the button. This piece goes on top of the embroidery work fabric. The loose magnet is then put underneath the fabric and sticks to the other magnet holding the needle minder to the fabric. When taking a break from embroidering, the needle sticks magnetically to the button minder. No more lost needles! Thanks Honey!

As always, Happy Crafting!

The back of the minder. Just slip off the top magnet and place between the fabric.

My Take on…The Apprentice My Life in the Kitchen- Jacques Pepin

Book Reviews

I was gifted the book The Apprentice My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin. It is a biography written by Jacques Pepin of his life, how he came to be an apprentice in the kitchens of France, how he came to America, and how he became a televsion personality and cookbook author. And what would a biography of a famous cookbook author be without recipes sprinkled throughout the book? This book does not disappoint.

Jacques Pepin had me hooked on this book from the beginning. It is far from dull! Pepin, obviously a humorous man, told laugh out loud stories from his childhood and beyond. There were also interesting looks into the life of the little boy he was during war torn France during WWII. Of course, there were plenty of details into the life of an apprentice in the many kitchens of France. Upon coming to America, Pepin, always a hard worker, detailed the many jobs he had and the choices he made that led him to become a famous chef. Every chapter highlights a recipe with an introduction, in Pepin’s own words, as to what makes the recipe special.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Apprentice My Life in the Kitchen! What a fascinating life. I would say a lesson learned by reading this book would be to do what you love and to enjoy life to the fullest. And of course to eat good food. I highly recommend reading a copy of this book. It would also make a wonderful gift to anyone interested in cooking.

As always, Happy Reading!

An Egret Dropped in for Lunch

gardening

I looked out the window and saw an egret in our yard. While we have had egrets in the yard before, they are always a treat to watch. This particular egret was especially interesting.

The egret started out near a brick pile and was hunting around for something. It seemed to catch something but I could not make out what it caught. He then, slowly made his way around our potting table. I know for a fact that lizards hang out up there and the egret seemed to sense it as well. I saw the lizard run for cover under some potting items. The egret slowly moved on.

I went out front to get the mail and then saw the egret by our hedge. I decided to go back in the house to get my camera. I quietly took a few photos and then started a video. Amazingly, the video caught the egret catching and devouring a lizard. Amazing, but actually a bit gross as well. He then headed back past the potting table and this time was lucky enough to snatch the lizard from the table. (Photo above)

I learned a lot from watching this egret. I never even knew that egrets ate lizards. They are very quiet and sneaky predators. Lizards are, after all, pretty fast and hard to catch. Remember the post I shared when one got into my house? Maybe next time a lizard gets into the house I should find an egret to help me out….https://anotherdaywithjulie.home.blog/2020/05/04/friday-was-not-just-another-day-with-julie/

From a little research, I found out that egrets eat a lot more than I thought. I assumed they ate fish, which is correct. However, they also eat other small animals. Egrets are carnivorous birds. They eat fish, aquatic animals, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small birds, and small animals. The list of small animals on the menu can include mice, rats, rabbits, squirrels, meerkats, etc. The egret swallows its food whole. That long, elegant neck can surely stretch out a bit! I saw the egret swallow the lizard, but a larger animal, oh my!

As always, Happy Nature Watching!

My Take on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

movie review

Frank Capra’s 1936 movie Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, featuring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur is quite the hit. It has it all, drama, comedy and romance. An oldie but a goodie.

Longfellow Deeds (played by Gary Cooper) lives a simple life in Mandrake Falls until he is informed by attorney John Cedar that he has inherited 20 million dollars from his late uncle, Martin Semple. Cedar brings Deeds back to New York and tries to get him to sign over his power of attorney to him. Deeds is quite the news in New York. In order to gain a paid vacation from the newspaper by landing the story on Deeds, reporter Louise Bennett (played by Jean Arthur) pretends to faint in front of Deeds in order to get aquainted with him. She has photographers from the newspaper follow them around town. She is posing as Mary Dawson, a poor working girl. Deeds falls for Mary not knowing she is writing about him. When Deeds starts giving away his money to the unemployed, (there is a depression after all) Cedar tries to have him committed. To find out what happens, watch the movie.

I loved Gary Cooper in this picture. Jean Arthur was the perfect leading lady as well. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town had me interested from start to finish. Enough drama to keep me guessing, enough comedy to keep me laughing, and just the right amount of romance. I also really liked the message that the film told. So pop some corn and enjoy the movie!

Wonder Clips are Wonderful

Projects

I ordered a package of Wonder Clips by Clover. I have used these clips on a few occassions now and I must say they are wonderful. Are they a total replacement for pins? Not in my oppinion, but they are quite useful. Let me share what I have learned by using these clips.

First off, pins have a few problems, if you ask me. Pins can obviously stick a person if not careful. They can also bend if trying to push through too thick of fabric, multiple seams, or elastic. When trying on clothing, pins can be downright dangerous. Of course, some fabrics are very delicate and pins can even run the risk of a snag to the fabric.

Wonder Clips are very strong little clips that do not put holes in or harm the fabric. I found them extremely useful in holding elastic in place in the shoulder of a dress I made recently. I tried on the dress without fear of being stabbed by pins and they stayed put perfectly. They are very quick to put on and take off. The only drawback, I have found, is that when sewing by machine, they need to be taken off sooner then pins. This is because of the bulk of the clip. On the upside, one can not run over a clip with the presser foot as one can with a pin.

Wonder Clips come in a package of 10 for around $7. This is pricey compared to pins. I would suggest two packages as a good amount to have on hand. I do not use these as replacements for pins, but rather enhancements. In some cases, clips are just more convenient to use. In other cases, pins are the way to go. I am glad I made this purchase and have use for both in my sewing.

As always, Happy Sewing!