Last year I mentioned that I’d followed a former co-worker’s advice to put things I really wanted out there in the universe. Circumstances worked out so that I was able to join hubby in early retirement back In May 2022. I’d told several folks I was looking for a Singer 301 LBOW at a good price and I now have Miss Carmella, who is an absolute joy to sew on.

Well, I put it out there that I would be interested in returning to work part-time once our big trips were behind us. Today, I received an offer to teach crafting/sewing classes one morning per week for a local K-5 homeschool consortium. This is the only job offer I’ve received since retirement that has me excited about returning to work. The head of school is a retired principal from my former school district. She is one of my favorite principals. She’s even willing to work around my upcoming Alaska trip if I’ll start August 21st. Still want to talk things over with hubby before I accept because this will mean we’ll be tied to an academic calendar once again through early May. Add this to what I currently have in the works to teach at the quilt museum and I’ll have met my goal to work part-time 2 days per week.

And Sadie gets to go with me to the school gig. Bonus!

This sewing machine, along with its cousins the Janome TM30 and Elna 450, have a “memorized” buttonhole feature. You basically program a 4-step buttonhole for the first buttonhole and the machine memorizes it. Every other buttonhole afterwards will be created automatically to match the first one. They’re okay. I simply prefer my buttonholes a bit denser.

The compatible accessories listed for these machines include the R (automatic buttonhole) foot and buttonhole stabilizer plate. I have those in my collection of sewing machine accessories! Yes, they do work with the Elnita EC30 and make a beautiful buttonhole (with some modifications).

Elnita EC30 Buttonhole Stitch Settings:
Stitch #17
W = 5.0
L = .3
Upper tension lowered to 3
Slightly finer thread in bobbin (60 wt) – same color as top thread

Before stitching, be sure to interface the fabric where your buttonhole(s) will be sewn. You will position your fabric BETWEEN the buttonhole foot and stabilizer plate. Place your button in foot R and snug it up just as you normally would to make a one step buttonhole. There’s no lever to tell the machine when to reverse direction, so you’ll have to watch and be ready to hit the reverse button when the moving part reaches the stoppers at the rear and front of the sliding track. To me, it’s actually easier to use this foot to make a buttonhole than the foot that comes with the machine.

Buttonhole length is measured top to bottom inside the the bartack ends.

How long should your buttonhole be? A general rule of thumb is to add 1/8″ to your button size. I prefer to add 3/16″. My 3/4″ buttonhole needed to be 7/8″ to 15/16″ in length. Guess what? It was!

SAVE IT!

Rather than discard it, save the card and register it with the gift card vendor using your address. Be sure to uncheck any boxes other than agreeing to terms & conditions when signing up.

This way, (1) you have a “valid” credit/debit card to use when signing up for something like a free trial that requires a credit/debit card number and (2) providers don’t have access to your checking account information. . Should you forget to cancel, no harm done.

My wireless provider, who has suffered multiple data breaches in recent years, decided in its infinite wisdom to remove the autopay discount if you pay by credit card. They want you to autopay using direct debit to your checking account or a debit card. Nope, you’re not getting my bank account info. Wanna pay by cash? These geniuses now also now charge a $5 “convenience” fee to pay with cash in person at a retail location.

Someone suggested using this prepaid debit gift card hack as a workaround to avoid the fee. I did. The company accepted my near zero balance debit Visa/MC and shows me as still eligible for the autopay discount. I’ll simply have to remember to go in and pay using my regular credit card a couple of days before the account does its autopay thing. We’ll see how well it works.