It's that time again...

Hooray! My sewing machine and serger are cleaned, oiled and ready to start working again. I have procrastinated taking care of this for the last time and pledge to at least have professional general maintenance performed on them at least every other year. I’ve had my Hobylock Serger since 1993 and my Bernina Sewing Machine since 1995, and I have to say that they’ve been great investments and haven’t given me any trouble since I got them. I perform the obligatory oiling every once in a while, but neither of them has ever been taken back for maintenance.
My annual quest to find the perfect tree ornament to make for Christmas has begun. I get out all of my old craft magazines and check them page-by-page to see if something strikes me as interesting. Sometimes I even check the HGTV message boards to find out what other people are making. This message board has a great community of crafters and gardeners and they truly inspire me. I have lost count as to how many years I’ve been making ornaments, but some of my coworkers say that it’s somewhere around 25 to 28 years. The theme varies from year to year, so the ornament can’t be too hard to make. I usually make in the neighborhood of 4 to 5 dozen.
While I was perusing the Internet looking for some new crafting and sewing blogs to read, I found some great ones with tutorials that have started my creative juices flowing. I made RSS links back to my google homepage, so that I can read them regularly. This great reusable bag was just the thing I was looking for to keep with me when I’m out shopping. And this great purse was the inspiration to redesign a smaller version for myself along with this organizer. I may even make these purses and organizers as Christmas presents.