Today, I met with the SQTM’s director and education chair to hash out details for the upcoming kid’s sewing classes. I’d indicated I wanted to be more involved, but living an hour (or more with traffic) away impedes ability to be a regular volunteer. The ladies specifically asked for my help with the planning process and if I could be available to teach some of the monthly classes now that sessions would be held on Thursday afternoons instead of Fridays. Yes, this is something I’m happy and able to do!

The particulars: Classes will meet the first Thursday of every month (second Thursday in January and April to accommodate school breaks) from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Students who participated in last year’s beginning sewing cohort and/or summer quilt camp will be given an opportunity to sign-up before registration is released to the general public. Classes may be purchased as a package or individually. A separate materials fee may be required for some classes, depending on the instructor and project. Note: if a student has never sewn with the SQTM before, a separate “meet the sewing machine” class is mandatory before attending any other classes. This class is scheduled as needed. Ask museum staff for further details.

Projects will begin in October with a cross-body purse taught by Miss Anna. Other projects include a READ pillow, upcycled cookie bag zipper pouch, drawstring bag/gift card holders, teddy bear (or other stuffed critter) and wrap up with pajama pants the final two sessions. These projects were selected based on feedback from the kids.

I will be teaching two of the classes and assisting with others as needed. I’m in the sub pool to cover any class where the assigned instructor is unable to teach. Worst case scenario has me teaching the stuffed critter and pajama pants classes in addition to my original two classes. I’m good with that.

Bottom line: holding out for the right volunteer opportunities as a retiree pays off. Working with the SQTM takes advantage of my skill set and provides me with a meaningful opportunity to serve without having to be in charge of anything. I may want to assume a leadership role in the future, but for now, I want maximum flexibility with my schedule so I can travel and do all the things!

Hard to believe my COBRA continuation coverage period for dental and vision insurance ends in January, 2024. I wasn’t planning to continue coverage for vision & dental until I realized I could keep my coverage at the same reasonable employee rates. Now that I’m searching for affordable replacement coverage in an individual policy, I see plans offered at double, triple or even quadruple the rates we’re currently paying. Ugh.

Any dentist we’ve ever had advised us to sign-up for dental insurance as an employee benefit. However, the same dentist also advised that dental insurance simply isn’t worth the cost as an individual policy. I concur. I will go one step further and state that dental insurance really functions like a prepaid dental plan. For us, dental insurance is a wash. Premiums and copays under our “low” dental plan are about the exact same money as just paying the dentist directly out of our own pocket. In fact, I think my calculations showed that we would have saved $50.00 by NOT having dental insurance the past 12 months.

On the other hand, vision insurance does make “cents” for us to continue as an individual policy. In the end, it functions as a BOGO for us as we each need an eye exam and new glasses every 12 months. Even when the rate doubles when we convert to an individual policy, it will still remain a good value.

The decision to carry certain types of insurance is totally dependent on your unique set of circumstances. Investigate all your options, run the numbers and choose the one(s) that work best for you and your family. And sometimes, it may not make “cents” to buy a policy, but it is worth it if having that coverage helps you sleep well at night.

Yesterday, my quilt guild hosted a workshop on how to make fabric postcards. It’s a fundraiser for the guild and postcards sell for $5.00 each. I’ve made fabric postcards with the kids, but was curious to learn their method of construction. I gathered my fabrics scraps, printed out the 3-1/2″ FPP Christmas blocks I planned to work on and took the Elnita EC30 with me.

Once I arrived, I quickly realized this is a serious endeavor for the guild. Most of the postcards on display as inspiration pieces were truly miniature works of art. One workshop participant even remarked that she’d spent two days on her postcard. Honestly, I thought this lady was kidding until I accepted the workshop leader’s invitation to learn how to create the postcard pictured above. It took me almost 3 hours!

I guess the style would be loosely known as “mixed media” or “art quilt” – not a style I typically do. Now that I understand the design process and learned how to FMQ on my Elnita EC30, I’ll be able to construct future “art quilt” type cards much faster. It was also a LOT of fun and a great way to use up scraps.

Hints:
1. Create your 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ miniature quilt top FIRST, except for quilting and other embellishments.
2. Add batting (fusible or glue baste regular batting)
3. Machine quilt and embellish, including adding ribbon border/trim
4. Attach postcard back printed on 110 or thicker cardstock with glue stick.
5. Sew around perimeter of postcard using thread to match ribbon border.

This little Elnita EC30 never ceases to amaze me. Anything I ask it to do, it does beautifully once I figure out how to set the machine up for success. For FMQ, it likes a 90/14 quilting needle and a thread tension of 3. I also use the convertible quilting foot so I can adjust the foot height to skim just above the quilt top. I worried about FMQ with a 5mm wide zigzag plate instead of a straight stitch needle plate, but it did fine.