The end of summer nears as a breath of autumn meanders by whispering to trees it is time to reveal hidden brilliant gold and red hues, for gardens to hurry the last of their bounty and nudging our thoughts to cooler days ahead. Time for flannel and warmer clothing to make an appearance. Time to sew!

Some times achieving eye-catching topstitching seems to require artificial intelligence, a machine of magical capabilities, and a juxtaposition of the best thread, sewing machine needle, an otherworldly presser foot and forgiving fabric. It can be done, not by wishing but by knowledge and technique!

The timeless expression - practice makes perfect, is never truer than when applying a machine-made buttonhole to a carefully sewn garment. The best way to ensure a machine-made buttonhole comes out the way it is expected to look is to make a test buttonhole using a fabric scrap from the project.

Muted floral and dreamy print fabrics have always announced the arrival of spring. A spring must-have-the adaptable tote bag, is not only a style-conscious accessory or useable market tote but can also be an environmentally conscious statement. Tote bags are among the easiest of projects to sew too!

Sewing for summer weather with airy and breezy cottons, linen types, hand-dyed batiks, Swiss batiste, and brightly colored tropical prints with vibrant coordinating solids all bring to mind those visions of barefoot living and dreamy seaside cabana suppers.

Father's Day in the U.S. is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. It became a recognized holiday when in 1972 then President Nixon signed a bill nearly six decades after the U.S. officially recognized a day to celebrate mothers. Consider sewing a special gift for that special dad in your life.

Despite our best efforts at coaxing our sewing machines to produce a secure, uniform interlocked stitch, frustrating difficulties are inevitable along the way. This highly functional multiple component machine must have everything working in synchronous harmony to produce thousands of even stitches.

Using old bed sheets that have drifted to the linen closet bottom or finding thrifted ones to recycle into a variety of needed items is an economical alternative to purchasing new fabric yardage. They can be made into braided rag rugs, pillow cases, fitted crib sheets, duvet covers and so much more.

RFID blocking fabric can prevent what is essentially silent and devious electronic pickpocketing. Wallets, purses, and totes can be lined with this fabric rather than the pragmatic but unappealing use of aluminum foil to become a signal blocking container. RFID fabric used as lining is easy to sew.

We can think of upcycling an item as changing or modernizing it to increase its value and recycling it when we reuse an item to reduce waste. At times the distinction between the use of the words upcycle and recycle is indistinct in common usage.