I like the serger article because I love to work with my serger. I also like the pieced panel dress on the cover, I would love to learn how to make one of these dresses.

I could use this book to my advantage. I have lost approximately 30 pounds and I want to start making my clothes again now that I can fit into a decent size. I need all the tips and information given in this book to help me achieve my projects in making my clothes. I would probably find information in this book that I do not know about.

I am making a mini bow tuck purse in blue flower material for my mother for Christmas. She loves quilted purses and this is a quilted purse pattern that you use three different fabrics. Then I will be making a zippered bag which I learned how to make at a demonstration at a quilt shop here in Jefferson, LA. The zippered bag will be for my friend in Jackson, Miss. It is an easy project to mail which I do for all her presents. She enjoys me making her something every year. I will be making Saints (Football team) pillowcases for my sister in law for Christmas, using black and gold fleur de lis material for the pillowcase (which is the emblem for the NFL Saints team). I am still trying to decide what to make my father in law for Christmas yet. I will probably make my husband something for Christmas but he will let me know what he needs when it gets close to Christmas. I have made a small tool holder and other little things.

I make pet fleece blankets for my vet/dog rescue organization during the fall of each year. I do them for dogs and cats. She really appreciates them. Just recently, I sent about 125 pet fleece blankets to the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They have over 400 dogs due to the tornado that happened there. I live in Jefferson, Louisiana, so I sent them through the mail. I have also sewed crib sheets and baby blankets for NICU center for premature babies at a hospital here in Jefferson, Louisiana. I go to the charity sewing day to sew these blankets and sheets.

I have been making fleece pet blankets for the Tuscaloosa Animal Shelter for charity for the dogs that they have had since the tornado. I am starting to make a bow tucks purse, a sewing organizer (I am taking a class on making the organizer in two weeks). I am also making two "A Little Something Jackets", both for me. I just finished a week or so ago a little something jacket for my mother. I also am going to make a string quilt. I am going on a sewing retreat in the middle of August, cannot wait! I will be organizing my sewing room at the same time I am sewing all these things.

I am doing about 40 to 50 pet fleece blankets for the Tuscaloosa animal shelter (the tornade tradegy). they have over 400 dogs that need help. I have also taken some quilting classes. I learned how to do a string quilt and i am doing a bow tuck purse. I am also going to make a white linen a Little Something Jacket (you can get the pattern at any sewing store or quilt store). It is so easy to do. I have already done 4 little something jackets.

I would love to have this book. I always need help in sewing garments. I need to have specific instructions sewing garments and other items. I could use the extra tips and hints that are in this book. I have always learned something new in every book I receive. I learned how to make clothes from a sewing teacher here in Louisiana and I would like to learn even more on this topic. I want to make many more of my own clothes to wear.

I make fleece pet blankets for a animal rescue group here in New Orleans, LA. I have been doing about 25-30 cat and dog blankets for this rescue group for about four years now. I have also started to join a group of sewers at a quilt store (The Quilted Owl in Jefferson, LA) two times to make isolet coverlets and sheets for cribs for the NIC unit for the infants born in a hospital nearby. We are going to do this at least every other month. We had about 10 sewers at the last get together to make the coverlets. We made 90 coverlets and about 30 crib sheets.

I use Elna Xpressive II software. I like it very much. I have been taken webinars on how to use this software from a lady in Ohio. I like that you can do a whole with this software. It was more advanced at the time it was done. I can do manual punching, or autodigitizing with a drawing or photo by scanning it in the machine and the software picks it up and digitizes for me with a little help from me.

I use Elna Xpressive II software. I like it very much. I have been taken webinars on how to use this software from a lady in Ohio. I like that you can do a whole with this software. It was more advanced at the time it was done. I can do manual punching, or autodigitizing with a drawing or photo by scanning it in the machine and the software picks it up and digitizes for me with a little help from me.

I love all different kinds of embroidery. I enjoy doing machine embroidery on my embroidery/sewing machine. It is amazing how many people love my embroidery work on pillowcases, burp cloths, dishtowels and regular bath towels. My most favorite are monograms. I do the lettering in my embroidery software and input onto a card and put it into my embroidery machine to stitch out. I have never had a problem with my machine embroidery nor my embroidery machine. I love taking the time to stitch out my embroidery either for other people or myself. Fleur de lis is very popular here in New Orleans, Louisiana and many people including myself embroider fleur de lis designs.

My reference book is th4e Simplicity Sewing book, I have a revised edition and the one from the 70s era which is like a magazine book. My mother gave me her Vogue Sewing Book (Revised Edition) that she used for my many years. I have gone to that sewing book for when I want a to do a certain technique, but I still like the Simplicity Sewing book as my main sewing reference. I also like the ABC of Serging for my serger. It is an old serger book, but very good in instructions for my serger.

I have my fabric in 6 plastic draweres stacked on top of each other. Also some fabric in three small bins (mostly cotton fabric in the three bins, one for linen look material that my mother gave me. The other bin drawers are organized by fashion fabric and cotton fabric for quilting. One bin is of interfacing and muslin and the other bin is for fleece. I have my embroidery thread in bins on a two shelf roll table. Inside the shelf roll table is a basket of fat quarters and some show boxes of serger thread and regular thread. I also use a fishing supply box for my smaller thread. It is labeled by color. I have a four plastic drawers with zippers in a plastic shoe box and elastic in another plastic shoe box. I keep my patterns in a large plastic bin. I got an idea from another website for pattern storage and I used it. I made color copies of the front and back of the pattern envelope and put the two pages in page protectors and put them in a 3-ring binder in order of tops, pants, multi-clothes, knits, etc. Now they are in order and I can find them at a glance. They are also in the same order in the plastic bin. I have a small sewing cabinet that my brother made me years ago that I keep my notions, needles and supplies in. In one part of the room is our computer and printer, along the shelf on the computer desk are some of my sewing books and binders.

I own one sewing mechanical Elna machine, one Elna Xquisit II sewing/embroidery machine, and an Elna serger. They all get work on. The mechanical Elna machine is great for going to sewing classes. I just pick it up and it goes with me. The Elna Xquisit II machine does excellent embroidery and sewing a straight stitch.

I store my bobbins in two bobbin cases in my top drawer of my three wooden drawer sewing cabinet (which my older brother made me years ago). I keep my threads (non-embroidery) in a fishing tool cabinet that fits on top of a three drawer plastic cabinet. This fishing case has many compartments that opens with see-thru drawers, from little to medium size down below. They are organized by color for each drawer. I keep my embroidery threads in two thread tinted see-thru boxes, sorted by number. I keep my zippers in plastic shoe boxes and my bias tape and ricrac in another plastic see-thru shoe box, both labeled on front of each. In a four drawer plastic cabinet, I keep my elastic in one drawer and other notions in the other drawers. I keep my material in plastic drawers that stack up. I can see what is in front of each drawer, so I know what material I have. I keep those drawers, two for quilting material (all 100% cotton), two for apparel material and one for fleece material, and one for muslin and interfacing. I also keep a basket with quilting fat quarters in it. It fits perfectly on a wooden shelf in my sewing room. I keep my rulers hung up on little nails on a wheeled wooden two shelves on the sides of this wooden cabinet.

I use the walking foot for even seams especially for quilts. I find the walking foot holds the seams together at the end of the seam. I use the clear satin stitch foot for decorative stitches. I use the decorative stitches on my machine alot.