Have you ever received a supply list for a class that included the item “essential” sewing supplies? What exactly does this mean? “Essential” is somewhat subjective, so I recorded the notions and supplies (no fabric) that I actually used over the course of 7 days. I worked on a pieced/applique quilt top. I also mended a couple of items.

Here’s what I had on my list:

Sewing machine, piecing thread, invisible thread, bobbin thread, appropriate needles for thread, regular, 1/4″ and open toe sewing feet, walking foot & guides, bobbins, lint brush, screwdriver and yellow seam guide for scant 1/4″.

Pins, magnetic pin cushion, wonder clips, seam ripper, purple thang, point turner, seam roller, perfect scissors in orange and turquoise, 8″ gingher shears, 45mm and 60mm rotary cutters with blade changes, hand sewing needles, thread conditioner, silver thimble, needle threader, embroidery scissors, DMC floss, glue bottle with tiny tip, baby wipes, black smooth soleplate no-steam iron, iron spray starch, press cloth, ironing board, mechanical pencil, black sharpie marker and notebook..

Small cutting mat, large cutting mat, assorted rulers 8-1/2″ square, 10-1/2″ square, 6-1/2″ x 12-1/2″, 5″x15″ and 2-1/2″x8″ MSQC rulers plus a couple of specialty rulers I use for HSTs and flying geese.

What’s on your list?

What are the 3 most important areas of your life through which you filter all your actions and decisions? I listened to a podcast over the weekend where the interviewee discussed his 3 pillars:

1. Family
2. Business/Career
3. Community

He went on to say that some people have more pillars, but for him, this keeps things simple. For him, faith was not a separate pillar, but was woven through the others.

I’m all for simple. I can’t say that I agree with him in that the 3 pillars always remain in this particular order. Now for him, perhaps they do, but they don’t for me. The pillars are more fluid.

Take family. There are certain family members and friends for whom I would drop everything at a moment’s notice to be there for them. Others – not so much. Certain parts of my extended family are so estranged, I’m not sure the chasm will ever be bridged. This definitely factors into decisions with regard to estate planning and beneficiaries. We don’t have kids. Why would I want to list certain family members as secondary beneficiaries on pension and life insurance benefits if they can’t give me the time of day now?

Career/job was drilled into my head as the most important thing from childhood – well into adulthood. Go to college. Get a job. Work hard. You need the paycheck/benefits. Work comes before anything else. Start a side hustle. Busyness is viewed as a status symbol. So much of our personal identity is tied to our jobs. As the end date gets closer, I’m having a much harder time with this one than I thought. I’ve never gone more than 2-3 months without working. I’m definitely ready for an extended break to enjoy time with hubby, but I also need to have a purpose. If that can’t be filled via future “community” endeavors, possible part-time employment has been discussed. Hubs is good with whatever I decide.

Volunteering and giving back to my community has always been in my top 3 priorities. No arguments from me there.

I think there also needs to be a category for SELF. If I don’t make filling my own bucket a priority, then there’s not much left for family, career or community.

As I get closer to retirement, the people part of the pillars has become the priority. I no longer think twice about taking off from work if home/family requires it. At work, it’s more about student connections and and helping coworkers than completing my lengthy to-do list. As we resume in-person therapy dog visits, I’m trying to participate in more group activities and get to know other members. Not surprising, it’s work that offers the most social connections. Filling that void is going to be a challenge once I stop working, but a good chunk of it can be replaced through various volunteer activities. And working my side hustle. 🙂

Well, the big, fancy sewing machine will be in residence a while longer. The fact is, I haven’t really found a machine in a similar price range that I like sewing on as much as I do this one. The cost to purchase the “dream” replacement machine is not in the budget either. So, I’m making it work.

Backstory: The issue was never really with the machine. It was with the manufacturer bringing politics into my sewing room, uninvited, when it decided to partner with a particular individual whose passion is to push their own personal political agenda at every opportunity. This person, who is not a Georgia resident, even held a fundraiser for one of the PACs here in Georgia. The senate run-off elections were ugly. There was no getting away from the ads – internet, television, radio, mail, newspaper, billboard, podcast. Every time I looked at my sewing machine I was reminded of the nastiest Georgia political campaign of my lifetime. I literally didn’t touch the machine for six months.

My local dealer is the one who suggested I “tattoo” the machine and give it a name like I did my Featherweights. I covered the logo with a piece of tape. It worked well enough to allow me to complete a quilt on it. I upgraded the tape to cute sewing “tattoos” and named the machine Gretchen. Hubs also wisely pointed out that I’d had the machine long before the company partnered with this person and that association was likely to end before I needed to purchase a new machine. Hubs totally understands why I won’t buy another machine from this particular brand, though.

So Gretchen and I got reacquainted this evening. I pieced a quilt block with her. I forgot how much I appreciate (1) scissors function, (2) needle down and (3) ability to move the needle position to fine-tune my scan 1/4″ seam. We’ll be experimenting with some ruler work tomorrow.

Here’s to making it work!