Author: Teresa

Quilts, good books and dogs. Plus a cup of tea. Life is good.

Property appeal update

November 5, 2024

Last week, the property assessor’s office sent two field techs to remeasure our home. Today, I heard back from the appraiser regarding our new value based on the corrected measurements. It’s actually better than the value I’d requested and is totally in line with the neighbor’s house most like ours. There’s paperwork to be signed if I agreed with the valuation. You bet I signed that paperwork and sent it right back electronically!

Now, we wait for the revised value to go through the approvals process and our tax bill to be revised. I paid the appeal amount in mid-October. Looks like I’ll owe them $400 more, which is still significantly less than our original tax bill.

Our assessed value will be frozen for three years. I was cautioned that the freeze might cause a significant increase once the it’s lifted in 2027. Fine by me. We’ll be at the magic age to be exempt from paying school taxes by then. Any increase in value really won’t impact us that much from a property tax standpoint.

Take away: Check to make sure your property appraiser has the correct information on file for your home. Mistakes happen. If you don’t understand how to read your property card, call them (preferably outside of tax season).

I’m glad I listened to my gut insisting something wasn’t right. The final outcome was definitely worth all the prep work.

Finally tackling a long-term goal

November 2, 2024

What you see in this photo is the first step in transforming the dozens of pattern instruction sheets I developed over the past decade into a more modern, user-friendly format that can be easily distributed as a downloadable pdf.

Right now, I’m using templates purchased from Quilter’s Candy in Canva for the layout & design and Adobe Illustrator to create my diagrams. The plan is to eventually move from Canva to InDesign to create the actual patterns. Again, I’m likely to purchase a template from a design group to use as a starting point. It’s just easier.

The learning curve on Adobe products is steep. It’s not intuitive and can be very frustrating. I’m thankful to all the YouTubers out there who share InDesign and Illustrator tutorials from a quilting/sewing perspective. Right now, I cannot justify $1500 for a self-paced course to teach me how to use InDesign and Illustrator to write my patterns. I learn best by figuring it out on my own. It may take longer, but I’ll retain the information a whole lot better.

I’m going to start with the 3 projects that I plan to use in my Beginning Sewing class – placemats, tote bag and zipper pouch – and then redo the first pattern I ever sold to a local quilt shop. Who knows, all of these basic, beginner friendly projects might all end up in a book one day!

Choosing projects for beginning sewing classes

November 1, 2024

Where does one start?

First, I conducted an online search to see what other sewing lounges, quilt shops and sewing machine dealers are offering for newbie adult students. I studied the projects, found similar patterns and watched YouTube videos for more inspiration. I also thought about my own experiences teaching kids how to sew.

Next, I asked myself, “What skills do I need to cover to make sure students are ready for Quilting 101 and other classes offered by the SQTM that require knowing how to use a sewing machine?” I was also tasked with teaching students how to read a pattern, if possible. Three Saturday sessions are allotted for these classes.

Beginning Sewing Curriculum Outline

  • Sewing knowledge: (1) How to operate a machine, (2) basic sewing terminology, (3) how to follow/read a pattern and (4) how to prepare and cut pieces for a project.
  • Foundational sewing skills: Sew a straight, consistent seam with a specific seam allowance, topstitch 1/8″ or 1/4″ away from an edge, backstitching, pivoting at corners, trimming corners, turning an item inside out and poking out the corners, closing the opening and pressing.
  • Next level sewing skills: zipper insertion, curved seams, applying fusible interfacing, boxing corners, how to sew straps and double folded hems.
  • Nice to know: sewing on buttons by machine, making buttonholes and raw-edge applique.

What we’ll be making:

  • Class 1: Meet your sewing machine – winding a bobbin, threading, selecting stitches, changing needle, sharing good general sewing practices. First project will be a simple placemat. Students can make additional placemats at home independently.
  • Class 2: Oversize tote bag – Simple wide tote bag with deep boxed corners. Learn how to make straps, box corners, apply fusible interfacing, topstitching, working with linings, reinforcement stitching, proper pressing techniques. Slip pockets and contrasting layers on outer bag are optional.
  • Class 3: Zipper pouch – Project bag size, lined with softly curved corners. Learn how to insert a zipper (zipper tabs optional), basic pouch construction techniques and how to sew curved edges with small darts.

If students are interested, I’ll do mini-lessons on sewing buttons by machine and raw edge applique as we go along. They can decide whether or not they wish to incorporate these techniques into their projects. The Education Committee thought it best to leave buttonholes for a later time. I agree.

For beginner classes, I typically use instruction sheets/patterns that I’ve drafted over the years for common projects. Occasionally, I need to direct students where to obtain a digital copy of the pattern we’ll be using in class. If using a printed pattern, I often buy them on sale from the big box store or directly from the designer. I also share about resources available through the local public library and the Libby app. The goal here is to keep costs reasonable. Once students have a basic pattern, they can learn how to customize their creations from any number of YouTube videos, blog tutorials, IG, and Pinterest.