This is the month to catch Spring Fever, if you haven't already! March 13 was the night we sprang forward with our clocks; and today, March 20, is the official first day of spring! This is also the month that the fire stations & firemen tell us that we should also change the batteries in our smoke and carbon dioxide detectors.

Some of us - especially me - have gotten Spring Fever so bad that on my days off I am going through 27 years of sewing samples and clothes to get rid of. My middle sister came over to help me, and - as she says - to slap my hands whenever I try to keep something that she thinks should go. She loves it every time she gets to slap my hands! As of this weekend we have gotten rid of six heaping full shopping carts (the big ones, not the little ones). And I now have a very smug big sister!

This is also the perfect week to clean and oil your sewing machines. Especially your serger! For some reason we tend to forget to clean our sergers and replace the needles. How long have those needles been in there??? You will be amazed at how much better your serger with stitch. It will just purr after getting new needles, a dusting, some swipes with a brush, and a few drops of oil.

Most sergers take just a drop of oil at the places indicated here by the red arrows. Check your serger owner's manual to see where your serger should be oiled.

A note from Allison Stilwell, one half of Artgirlz, and an amazingly creative person:

Spring is just around the corner! It has been a very cold winter here in sunny Florida and even I am looking forward to warmer weather. Here are some of the things I've been up to with my BERNINA aurora 440:

I reupholstered a chair I bought for a dollar. I'd never done that before.

I made a throw pillow with lots of 3D fabric work and lots of freemotion stitching.

I used everything but the kitchen sink in the needle punch piece. Velvet, cotton, wool felt, silk hankies, wool roving, silk fabrics, scrim or painted gauze - I punched it all into wool felt. To make the border I punched strips of different fabrics over felt and then cut them into strips. I then made my first attempt at free form machine embroidery to add some detail.

Artgirlz is now on facebook!

Create a handmade card with your sewing machine!

Layer paper, and use your machine stitches instead of glue to attach your layers. A great way to use your decorative stitches!

If your machine has the capability to create lettering, you can stitch a decorative message.

Get out some decorative paper and give it a try!

February is a short month, if you count the days, but for me it was the longest month away from my cozy bed in Michigan. While out and about traveling across the country, my schedule ended in Puyallup, Washington where I had the priviledge of teaching at Sew Expo. During one of the classes I was chit-chatting with a new sewer who was sharing her latest project with me. She had a challenging time doing a ruffle for the skirt of a dress she was making for her daughter. While listening to her describe this experience, I recalled many a dress I also sewed for my daughter not too many years past. She loved ruffles, and the more the dress had, the prettier she felt, coupled with a slight coy shyness. A princess-like feeling that young girls have when they wear something that is pink and frilly.

Memories of the piles of fabric that I would have to gather into a skirt reminded me of a technique that my BERNINA Mastery Class teacher taught me long ago - gathering over a cord using Buttonhole Foot #3/3C. As I sat and ate my lunch at Sew Expo later that day I realized that one of my most versatile BERNINA presser feet is Buttonhole Foot #3/3C and that I use that foot for "3" different techniques. So over the next three months, I will uncover each of these techniques - starting with gathering using a double cord.

To start, you need a cord that is twice as long as the piece of fabric you will be gathering. I also add about 6" so I have a bit extra at the start and finish. I like to use crochet cotton because it is easy to find at most craft stores.

Attach Buttonhole Foot #3/3C to your machine.

Assuming your final seam will be 5/8", line up your fabric on the 1/2" mark on the needle plate. With your needle in the center position, lower the needle into the fabric but do not lower the presser foot.

Fold the cord in half and place it around the needle, one strand at each side of the needle.

Then tie the two ends in a knot behind the needle.

Pull the cord all the way to the back and place the loop at the end over the center toe of Buttonhole #3/3C.

Lower the presser foot. Once the foot is lowered, make sure the cord is LAYING in the grooves under the foot. Then pull the cord back TOWARDS you. The knot you made at the back will act as a stopper when it hits the back of the foot.

Select the gathering stitch on your machine. (Did you know there was a gathering stitch?)

As you sew, hold the cord slightly above the foot, keeping the two strands of cord separated behind the center toe. The two grooves in the sole of Buttonhole Foot #3/3C will help keep the cords separated.

Because of the anatomy of the stitch, it will sew over one strand of cord and then the other. The even spacing allows for more uniform spaces as you gather the fabric. It is also easier to stitch as you join the gathered piece to another fabric.

Remove the fabric from the machine. Holding one end of the cord, slide the fabric along the cord to form gathers. Adjust to fit the flat piece of fabric you are attaching the gathered piece to. Stitch using a 5/8" seam allowance. Done!

OESD has just released a brand new collection available at your local Embroidery TakeOut Dealer. It is #12288 - Cutwork Bouquet. Bunny Gates, a BERNINA Educator, recently used a design from this collection to embellish a collar. She used an Isacord Embroidery Thread in a very similar shade to the blouse for a tone-on-tone effect and it turned out gorgeous!

Stitching cutwork designs with the embroidery machine is so much faster than the traditional cutwork technique. First, hoop a water-soluble stabilizer such as AquaMesh Plus (just stabilizer, no fabric). Score just the paper and peel away the paper backing to reveal the sticky surface. Attach the garment to the stabilizer and smooth in place. Attach the hoop to the embroidery machine and sew the guideline stitches. Remove the hoop from the machine and very carefully trim away the fabric from the area inside the stitches. Return the hoop to the machine and finish stitching out the design.

All of the cutwork designs in the Cutwork Bouquet collection come in two versions - one for cutting away the open areas with scissors as described above, and another for trimming away the fabric with the new BERNINA CutWork Accessory and Software. The CutWork tool does the cutting for you!