 I have been sewing up a storm again. Again, I can really only attribute it to feeling better, which is awesome, and having a dedicated sewing space. I mean, it is life-changing. I wish that everybody could have a dedicated sewing space. It really does up your sewing game. So this month, I wanted to call out. So many of you responded so positively to my sort of PSA about Muslims last month. So I thought I would give another one of those sort of. This month, I really wanted to feature sewing books. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that my local library had like a huge book sale. They do it every year where I guess they somehow figure out the books that aren't getting rented or they aren't loaning out as much. And they sell them for like really cheap. I think these were like three or four dollars each. And this, both of them, honestly, are like really great little, they're really great books that have just like a bunch of little tips and tricks on how to sew faster, how to do things more professionally, how to, I don't know, just like a bunch of different tips and tricks. And it was so fun. I sat down in one afternoon and thumbed through both of them and picked up some really interesting things. And they're kind of, you know, organized by topic. This one by Simplicity, simply the best sewing book, has some fitting things in there. It has pattern basics, things that you need to buy. It's kind of a really great beginner book. But then once you get into it, it also has a whole bunch of information about like how to make really great collars, how to sew belt loops, how to make belts, how to flatlock button holes. I mean, it really goes into so many different details. So it's fun as like, and I would say, I would say an advanced sewer. It's fun as an advanced sewer to go back and, you know, you know, how to do enough to get the project done, or you know how to follow the instructions that are in the pattern. But to take that to the next level or learn a tip or a trick that makes that task easier or have better results or, you know what I mean? Like it really does change the way that you sew. It makes it a little bit more interesting when I'm like, Oh, okay, you know, I need to attach a facing. Let me go look up this, look up facings in this book and suggest how they do it. And they may have a completely different way that is easier, better, smarter, looks better, you know, whatever it is. And so once you have the fundamentals of the certain, you know, tasks, getting the extra knowledge on how to do it a better way, I think is really interesting. I don't know. I'm kind of rambling. But the second one that I got is from Nancy Zeeman. She's retiring. She announced that a few months ago. So I kind of wanted to give like a little shout out to her. This might be my only book of hers that I have actually. But this is 10, 20, 30 minutes to sew. And it's a really interesting concept on how to sew in those increments of time in order to achieve projects, even though you don't think that you have like a whole day to sit down and sew something. So this is really helpful for me. Like during the work week, when I come home, either, you know, I only want to spend 10 or 20 minutes on something, you know, I don't want to spend the whole night sewing something. But if you keep chipping away at it, then you will eventually have a finished project, obviously. So she breaks down the different parts of sewing a garment into 10, 20 and 30 minutes. And another really interesting thing, interesting takeaway that I took from this is that you don't have to go in the order of the sewing pattern. Like just because the sewing pattern has you sew the collar, then attach it, then sew the cuffs and then attach those. You can you can sew together your collar, your cuffs, your button band, all of these pieces. And then you have one big day of assembling it all together. And it goes by much faster. That was like, I don't know, an aha moment for me. I don't know why I never thought I could branch away before. But now I know I can. Anyway, so these are the two that I got. I've got a ton more. I just think sewing books are such a fun, obviously resource to have. But also like it's a way to connect to sewing, even if you're not sitting behind your sewing machine. And I think a lot of us get stuck thinking that to fulfill our creativity or our passion, we have to be behind the sewing machine or cutting something. And that's not always true. So yeah, I just really love sewing books. You should go to your local library. You can check them out for free, as you know, and see if they have sales or you might find some at garage sales or thrift store or great places to find them inexpensively too. So check out some sewing books. Okay, the next thing are I'm still building my collection of enamel pens. So here are two that I got this month. One of them says it's okay to make mistakes. And that's by Naomi Hope. Here's that one. So cute with a little seam ripper. I have another seam ripper one that says no regrets. I think that one came from closet case, maybe. And then this one is from Creative Industry. It says material girl, which I thought was so cute with like a little thread spindle. So yeah, I'm having a hard time resisting these. My friend Amber keeps tagging me when she sees people post them and I'm off to buy them. I just I don't know. I'm getting really addicted to the enamel pens. These are really good quality ones. They're of course really cute little sayings and stuff. So if you're into enamel pens or want to start collecting them here or two really great places to check out or if you know a place where I can buy some more of them, please let me know. Again, here are the ones that I got this month. I'll be traveling. Well, by the time this gets posted, I will be there. I'm going back to Montreal. So as you know, or you may or may not know, the enamel pens all started because I wanted to, like, jouge up a boring black backpack that I use exclusively whenever I travel on airplanes. So these are going to go on there and I'll post a picture to my Instagram of my whole collection so you guys can see them. Love these. Okay, and my third favorite. I would be remiss to not mention this project or this product this month because it has been a workhorse for me. It is my serger. I have been sewing up so many sweaters, sweater knits, double knits, ponies, all of these stretchy, warmish kind of fabrics and I mean I mostly do it all on my serger. And it occurred to me after I guess I was on Instagram and I noticed a couple of people asking if they should get a serger or not. And I'm like, yes, yes. Unequivocally, no doubt in my mind, 100% yes, you should get a serger. So I just want to put that out there, make my opinion known. I use it just as much as I use my sewing machine. I cannot imagine doing some of the projects that I've done without it. This entire top, this entire top was sewn on the serger. Like it goes like so fast and it's so quick and you can get it. I got this top and a dress made of this same fabric done in one day on my serger. That's how fast the sewing part goes. It's so great. So I have the Brother 1034D which is like the basic entry level Brother. Maybe it's like 200, 300, no I don't think it's $300. I think it's like 200 bucks. Got it on Amazon and it doesn't have a lot of fancy bells and whistles. It doesn't have that auto-threader that like all the super cool ones do. But if you're just looking to get one to see if you like it and how much you'll use it and all of that kind of stuff, it's a great little machine. I want to say I've had mine for three years maybe and I've never had an issue. I should say I also never had it serviced. I should knock on some wood so it doesn't break on me. I do take care of it myself. I clean it out, I change the blades, you know things like that. But you know I haven't had an issue. I've loved all my brother machines. All three of my machines are brothers. I have a sewing machine, a serger, and a cover stitch all brother and I just love their products. So yeah you don't have to spend a ton of money to get a good serger especially for just like basic knit projects. So yeah I had to put in the serger as a favorite for this month because it's just all I've sewn. You'll see in my makes video all I've sewn this month is knits except for one, well okay, except for two things. Everything else has been a knit and one of them was fully lined so I didn't use the serger at all. But even the woven that I sew mostly on my machine, I still finish the seams with a serger so it still gets used on almost every project. Maybe 95% of my projects my serger gets used. So yeah for those of you that are out there that are wondering if a serger is for you, I mean I hope that this helps answer the question. Yes, ask for a serger for Christmas or the holidays or whatever it is that you celebrate. If you don't celebrate it all ask for it for your birthday. Ask for it because it's Sunday. Ask for it any way that you possibly can to get it into your sewing room because they are that awesome. Like it is a almost like as much as you need a measuring tape you need a serger. That is my opinion. Quote me on that. So is that it? Yeah I just had three favorites for this month. I really appreciate you watching. 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