Midway

It's September 15th- Officially half-way through this month "off" for me. How's your month so far? I haven't been as productive as I'd like, but it's been a good month by and large. The kids have been busy and loving school. The baby is about to turn a year old and is currently cutting all four first molars at once. Poor baby was of course tackled by a nasty sinus infection she's currently on Amoxicillen for as well. We're hoping these teeth cut in the next couple days so the entire house can be a little more at peace and her poor body will have the strength to kick this sinusitis.

I'm so excited with my new projects at home right now. In July I purchased a Husqvarna Huskylock S15 serger. I decided to really learn it inside and out during this month, rather than just using it well enough. To accomplish this feat I purchased a book that has been absolutely incredible: Successful Serging: From Setup to Simple and Specialty Stitches. I love it. I recommend it to anyone who wants to serge or is a relative newb like myself. I've been sewing since I was seven-years-old so serging wasn't TOO difficult to pick up, but this book has definitely been a great resource. It starts by teaching you about the serger as a machine- the parts, what they do and why- knowledge that is important for ALL sergers regardless of brand. It explains threading techniques, handy tips and simple techniques on each page, and includes a glossary of stitches- what they do, what they're good for, and includes graphics to be able to identify just by looking at a garment, and SO much more. All of these skills can no doubt be learned by experience and expensive classes, but my type-A personality means I research everything myself before I do it- If there's a book on it, I've read it from breastfeeding, proper car seat installation, and making organic baby food, to knitting intarsia and sewing skirts. Of course I needed to read a book on serging! In all seriousness, it really helps when you start serging to be able to know what you're looking at when you have a problem rather than opening the machine and staring at the confusing jumble of threads.

In my traipsing across the internet several months ago I came across the Comfort Wool blog. Not only does Teresa have a love of yarn, she's a teacher- My match made in heaven! This past week she posted about a very worthy cause I could not help but spread the word about: A fundraiser to help her purchase school supplies for her inner-city classroom that is severely lacking in funding. I was always fortunate enough to work for private suburban schools when I was teaching, but I had MANY teacher friends who were not so fortunate- Many who were not paid a wage deserving of their work and given a completely inadequate budget for classroom supplies by the school. This leaves many teachers in the position of forcing their students to go without or purchasing from their own pockets without reimbursement. If you know ANYTHING about teachers, it should be that they aren't in their profession for the money- It's all about teaching children to love learning! This WAHM and teacher is no different. I encourage everyone to stop by her blog for more information on her fundraiser and pop in on Knit Night starting Thursday, September 29th, to bid on some INCREDIBLE donations to raise money for this inner-city classroom.