Oh Brother! You are a &*#$^@#!!!

Whew!  I'm glad to report that I have made some progress on my Abundance quilt.  Here are a few completed blocks. 

 I love the toile background fabric of this block.  It's a very subtle blue-green fabric.

Here's a trio of acorns.  I decided to use wool felt for the stems.

And a pair of cornucopias.

And a squirrel wreath with 78 pieces!

And here's my favorite block.

But wait, there's a problem.  There is actually another "ruffle" between the brown check fabric and the background but the color is so pale that it blended right into the background.  I did not have the heart to rip it all out and replace the fabric so my friend Janet suggested that I outline it with embroidery floss just so it stands out just a little bit more.  Hmmm, I'll post a photo right after I work on it.

I had to put away my Abundance project for a while to finish up a present for my friendship group annual gift exchange.  This year, I picked Patty's name and I wanted to do something special for her.  She's been a very generous friend to me and she's also had a tough year, so I decided to give her the snowman redwork which I was working on when I went to the Philippines earlier this year.    

So, I finished the block and decided to make it into a pillow (18 inch square).  I hope you can see the rick rack framing the block.

All I had to do was sew on the zipper on top and serge 3 sides to finish this project.  However, I hit a road bump with my serger.  Just like last year, my serger (a Brother) decided to fall apart at the slightest face of a challenge.  Last year, the upper knife broke.  This year, the needle broke while sewing 2 pieces of cotton together!  Come on now.  It's 2 thin pieces of cotton.  it's not even upholstery fabric, denim or corduroy.  I was so frustrated, I just had to use every curse word in every language I know.  I was probably over reacting but anyone who has ever had to thread a serger and jam 3 threads through one eye of a needle knows how annoying and frustrating it can be.  Thus the title of this post.

I'm glad to report that I was eventually (like an hour plus later) able to re-thread the serger and finish the pillow.  I have to admit I was really tempted to keep the pillow but I know it's going to a very good home.

As for the serger, it is on probation and final notice.  If it misbehaves one more time when I'm on a deadline, I may not be so kind.