I’m suffering from a serious case of sewing machine lust.  The object of my affection is the Janome 8900QCP. 

I have neither the space nor the budget for a longarm machine, so I am trying to find a solution that would still fit my Horn Quilter’s Dream cabinet (the older style) and give me more space under the needle for machine quilting. This machine will give me approximately 2-1/2″ more in space to the right of the needle than Jewel, my Janome 6600P.  It also has a freearm, which Jewel does not.

I also test drove the 8200QC, which is the next model down. It’s a very nice machine, but I immediately noticed it did not sew as fast as the 8900 (860 spm versus 1000 spm).  Apparently, there is an 8200 QC special edition out there that has the the 1000 spm speed that I want, but doesn’t have all the extra stitches. That’s fine by me.

The burning question is whether or not those 2-1/2″ are worth the money. That little bit of extra real estate is going to run about $600/inch for the 8900 WITH a trade in.  A little less for the 8200. Ouch!!

Decisions. Decisions.

Crafty STEM has been rebranded as the Stitching Stallions at my new school. Looks like there will be 20 kids and 2 adult leaders as I had at my previous school.  Rather than last an entire year, this club meets for 9 weeks and then we switch out the kids. So, Labor Day weekend will be spent making samples of potential club activities.  Pom-pom spiders, hand-stitched felt stuffies, a travel pillowcase and key fob will be the make & take projects. We desperately need floor cushions in the media center. This is where the kids can work in small groups to select, cut, stitch and stuff the floor cushions using all of the home dec fabric I was gifted a while back. Or we can recycle some of the summer projects like the owl and monster pillows. A bag would be cute, but I’d use a different pattern.

My library mojo has returned.  I’m excited about going to work.  My desk is adorned with Lego masterpieces made by students during maker space time.  The kids have responded excitedly to the stories and activities we shared this week.  Lots of hugs and smiles when they see me in the hall. The principal is pleased with what I’m doing.  Two great ladies work in the media center with me.  I go home smiling and knowing I made a difference this week.

Will it always be like this? Surprisingly, I think so. I imagine there will be off days/weeks, but I’m in a much better place than I was at the end of May.

I know my new coworkers think I’m nuts to be excited about being at this particular school. It’s an underperforming Title I school in a tough area of town. My friend Enger totally understood when I told her that I’d rather go there than to some of the schools in the posh part of the district. My new kiddos will benefit from what I can share with them…the kids from the wealthy areas who already have every advantage – probably not so much.  I was also able to leave behind a highly toxic work environment and lengthy commute.

Am I happy about the fixed schedule?  Not my first choice. Still prefer the flex schedule, but this works for now. The challenge is having 46 kids in a group. Trying to figure out how to make hands-on activities work for that size group with the resources we have requires some creative thinking. I see half the school for this 4 week period, then do a similar series of  lessons with the other half in September.  I will see each group 20x by the end of the school year. That’s more than I saw the kids from my other school last year. Interested to see if it makes a difference on the standardized tests.

That’s enough for now. The moral of the story is if you are miserable in a job or relationship – GET OUT as soon as you can. Your health and sanity depend on it.