Today, I ran into one of my favorite lunch ladies from my former elementary school. She was happy to see me and didn’t realize I’d retired. She thought I’d moved to another school. She described how hard it had been for her to come back after winter break. Her husband wants to retire in 18 months. I told her to go for it. Now is the perfect time to start getting everything lined up to allow for a smooth transition from workaday life to retired life.

On the way home, I realized that had I stuck to our original plan, this would mark my final semester as a school librarian. So glad I followed my gut and exited when I did. From all accounts, it would have been one chaotic, stressful year. No, thank you. Not. worth. it. Making the necessary adjustments so that we could both retire early and still thrive have been totally worth it.

As I look at my calendar for 2023, I’m excited at what’s ahead. No way would this be possible if I was still working full-time.

Actually having time for people without feeling rushed and being able to fill my days with the activities that bring me joy – PRICELESS!

Miss Carmella made her debut at last Friday’s Sew Day. The 10-year-old homeschooler who occasionally joins our group was smitten by my “cool” machine. The Buc-cee’s cooler tote worked fine – the 301 weighs 2 pounds less than the 24-12 oz cans the cooler was designed to hold. That said, my shoulder would greatly appreciate me finding another method to transport Miss Carmella. I’ll see if she’ll fit in the wheeled tote I use for airline sewing machine travel. If not, I know she’ll fit in my medium sewing machine wheeled tote from Everything Mary. The other alternative is to invest in a wheeled collapsible tote similar to one I used when I was teaching. This way, the Buc-cee’s bag and all my project supplies can travel as one unit.

Miss Carmella is an absolute joy to sew on. What a workhorse and speedy, too! Some sources report the Singer 301/301A can sew up to 1600 spm. I can attest she runs faster than my fastest machine, which boasts 1050 spm.

After sewing on her for a couple of weeks now, I understand why the slant shank was so revolutionary when Singer introduced it in the early 1950’s. Visibility is much improved when compared to low shank machines. I definitely don’t have to use a needle threader to thread the needle. There’s also more height from the machine bed to the light housing, which also improves my ability to see what I’m stitching.

New accessories arrived this week, so she’s now equipped with all the modern quilty attachments that I prefer to use. She’ll make her debut at this week’s Friday Sew Day. She also fits in the same Buc-cee’s padded cooler bag that I use for transporting my FW in a vehicle. Miss Carmella’s about 5 pounds heavier than a FW, so we’ll see how well that works.

If you decide to pick up a 301/301A, upgrade to an LED bulb and an electronic foot control. Spool pin springs will help tame the thread spools. Also realize that the cute spool pin doily from your Featherweight probably isn’t going to fit your 301.