This week I’m volunteering as a mentor at the annual quilt camp sponsored by the Southeast Quilt & Textile Museum. An entirely new experience for me – being a worker bee in a kid’s class instead of the one in charge. This also marks the first time since I retired that I actually have to be somewhere at a specific time 5 days in a row!

I look forward to meeting my middle school mentee. She’s a returning camper, so it’ll be interesting to see how much sewing she’s actually done since last summer. The biggest thing I miss about working in a school is the relationships I develop with the kids. I feel very fortunate to have volunteer opportunities where I can continue to work with children and young adults in a fun setting.

Update: So, mentees were reassigned yesterday. My new stitchy friend is a 4th grader who is a first time camper. Apparently, the person who was supposed to be her mentor had a first year camper in the a.m. session and did not want another first year camper in the p.m. session. Totally understand – newbies require a lot more hands on. We had fun getting to know the ins and outs of the sewing machine, made a tissue holder and started on our quilt blocks. By Friday, my little friend will have a completely finished quilted wall hanging!

By golly, I think I’ve about got my travel/class sewing act together!

Every week, I seem to refine things a bit more. This week I added a paper lunch bag and a bit of blue painter’s tape to my “class” kit. This “trash can” is to hold bits of thread and leftover fabric. The space where my Friday group meets has one trash can for the entire room. This will keep things much tidier in my work area.

I tend to travel light to sew-ins and classes. I take a wheeled sewing machine case (Featherweight or 3/4 size Elna STAR) and one canvas tote bag with supplies. That’s it. No matching sewing luggage trio with 3 big bags or an overflowing collapsible rolling trolley. Quilters are sharing folks. If I forget something, I can usually borrow the needed item from another attendee. I gladly share my supplies in return.

The machine I take depends on what I’m doing at the sew-in or class. My FW and Elna STAR stay packed and ready to travel. Everything else stays in a canvas tote bag – including an 18×24 folding cutting mat, 12×18 wool pressing mat, basic ruler set, sewing pouch, travel iron, water bottle, Best Press, press cloth, power strip and *now* trash bag. I simply edit the tote bag contents as needed to fit the activities for the sew-in or class. The most frequent additions are a portable light and rotating cutting mat.

For retreats, I usually add an additional bin with multiple precut projects, a handwork project, chocolate and some quilting magazines. Oh, and a suitcase!

Our economy is currently a hot mess. It’s not easy, but I can handle the stock market gyrations because I know it’s part of the normal market cycle. What’s more worrisome to me is the hyperinflation our leaders can’t seem to get a handle on. The basic necessities of everyday living have increased exponentially. My natural gas rate plan is up for renewal soon. My new rate looks like it’s going to be double the rate I locked in last year. Ouch!

Don’t know about you, but quilting keeps me sane. It’s also one of my primary core pursuits. This quilter is certainly going to keep on quilting, even if her quilty dollars are fewer in number at the moment. It’s a game to see how far I can make my money stretch. I’m shopping my stash first, trading out fabric and supplies with other quilty friends and making less expensive substitutions where I can. I still buy any needed essentials for a project or class; however, I’m doing a fair amount of comparison shopping online first. Hopefully, it never gets to the point where I have to stop buying quilting essentials because prices are simply too high.

For me, the social and educational aspects of quilting are most important. Getting to guild meetings and sew days with friends is a priority (gas in the car over the newest Tula Pink charm pack in case you need an example). So is learning new skills – whether learned through a book, YouTube video or in a F2F class. One of the reasons I joined the ECQG is because of the workshops they bring to the membership at extremely reasonable rates. I’m very selective about the classes I actually take and value for the money is definitely a consideration. I’m super excited about the hand beading and embroidery for quilters workshop I’m taking at the end of July. On the other hand, I opted to pass on a 3 hour quilted postcards class being offered elsewhere in the ATL for $120 plus a kit fee. Google/YouTube is my friend. The kids and I did a similar activity for about $10 in supplies.

For hubby, supplies needed for his hobby are hard to come by and expensive when you do find them – even for substitute brands. We’ve learned to take advantage of buying opportunities whenever we can. He’s definitely cut back on practice days and the number of tournaments in which he participates. He even came home early from the past two tournaments, choosing not to spend money on fees and use up precious supplies on additional events. The inability to participate fully as he’d originally planned has caused him some frustration.

As my mother likes to say, “This too shall pass.” Unfortunately, I think we have several more months of uncertainty, and possibly a recession, before things start to return to normal.