Hello again, fellow needleworkers!

First of all, let me wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Whether you celebrate one holiday, many, or none at all, may your winter be filled with warmth, love, and sharing.

The holiday season is upon us, and many of us will be busy with a whirl of activities, whether it be cooking, attending parties, or making gifts for our loved ones.

When we start our plans to make something, we think of the pattern, and the fabric, and how wonderful it will look when it is done. What we sometimes forget are all the little notions we need -- things like snaps and buttons and zippers, boning and bobbins, thread and scissors. How frustrating it can be to go looking in your local store and not find the item you need!

Therefore, we are pleased to introduce you to the newest member of our sewing "family": NotionsMart.com. Now you have a source for all those little odds and ends that can be so important to your sewing project, but can be so hard to find locally. Now you don't have to spend time and energy going from store to store, only to come home discouraged and empty-handed. Now you have a source you can visit any time of day or night, to find your sewing and quilting notions. Please come and explore our new sister site!

Once again this year, we have put up a Project-A-Day Holiday Calendar. This is becoming a tradition for us. It is a clickable calendar of resources from all over the World Wide Web, with project ideas for all skill levels. They are mostly sewing projects, but we also threw in a few non-sewing crafts and recipe ideas. Each date you click on will open a project idea in a new window. Enjoy, with best wishes from SewingWeb.com!

For many people, a new sewing machine is at the top of their wish list. There are many good brands out there, and you will find as many opinions on the best brand to buy, as there are people to use them. As a guide, though, here are some things to keep in mind when looking for a new machine.

• Start by deciding what features you want in a machine? Do you want a machine that does decorative stitches, or one that does embroidery also? What type of fabrics will you be working with -- delicate, lightweight sheers, or heavy upholster fabrics?
• Decide what your budget can handle. Don't buy more machine than you need, but buy one that you can "grow into" a little as your sewing skills expand.
• If you have a dealer near you, go to the dealer and see what they have that you can "test drive". What services does the dealer offer? Classes? Service? Bring your own fabric samples with you to test the stitching. Are the controls in a convenient place for you, or do they seem like they will be confusing?
• Consider a good used machine. People will often trade in their perfectly good machine when they upgrade to a better model.
• Do some research on the web as to what is out there, by going to forums and groups that talk about which machines they like best.
• Some features to look for include: an easy-to-use buttonhole feature; a forward/backward lever/button, zig-zag, and maybe some other stitches; whether additional presser feet are included, and ease of threading.

You don't have to spend a bundle, but you also want to make sure you're getting a machine worth buying.