An Apron and a Top

The husband and I both have colds—I went from the fall of 2019 all the way until January 2022 without so much as a sniffle, but both he and I have been plagued by upper respiratory gunk since the first of this year. I think this is cold #3. He’s just about back to normal. I’m going to hang out here for one more day before I venture out again. This hasn’t been the most productive week and I am tired of the downtime.

I finished the first of two class aprons yesterday. This is the Cookin’ in Color Apron by Sue O’Very.

I wish now that I had chosen a red zipper instead of the aqua one. I was trying to pick up the aqua in the main print. This is fine for a class sample, though. The fabric is all Bonnie and Camille—Smitten and Early Bird and maybe one other line. Honestly, this combo looked better together when the fabric was on the bolts, but this is done and off the list. I still have a second one to do for the other store, but I will wait for the piping foot to arrive.

I also finished the second iteration of the Liz Claiborne knot top based on the one I purchased in Seattle last month:

I still have to hem it but I need to move that teal thread over to the coverstitch machine, and before I do that, I have to hem something with the thread that is already in the coverstitch . . . and that’s how that goes.

This is another “tried and true” pattern. I plan to make at least two more short-sleeved versions and at least one long-sleeve version (definitely in black). One of the short-sleeved versions will be out of a bright multi-color Art Gallery print that one of the quilt stores just happened to have on hand. I was in that store recently when the owner was meeting with her fabric rep, and I got to sit in on the decision-making and ordering process. I appreciate that both quilt store owners are willing to go out on a limb a bit and order knit fabric for my classes. It’s a risk for them to carry specialty fabrics but they are willing to have knits on hand if they have someone teaching serger classes.

I put in my first Wonderfil order as a teacher. It was a small order—a thread pack and half a dozen sample spools—and the rep asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to order anything else. I told her that this was good for now as I am still trying to get my feet under me with these classes. I’ve also got to figure out a better storage/organization system for all these threads. I have large cones, small cones, 40wt, 30wt, 12wt, and 8wt threads, some plain and some metallic. Sergers eat a lot of thread.

I am discovering even more things to like about the Bernina L860—thoughtful features like a presser foot that swings to the left to facilitate needle changes, the onboard manual with built-in videos, a “Creative Consultant” that makes suggestions for stitches based on various fabrics, integrated tool storage in the door, etc.

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Spring is coming along, slowly. It didn’t snow yesterday, so that was a plus. The grass is finally starting to grow. I may be toodling around on the tractor by this time next week. The baby velociraptors (the chicks) are getting bigger every day. The hummingbirds finally arrived and have been gorging themselves at the feeders. I need to walk out today and take a look at the lettuce and strawberries I planted two weeks ago to see if they survived the snowfall.