Hard to believe my COBRA continuation coverage period for dental and vision insurance ends in January, 2024. I wasn’t planning to continue coverage for vision & dental until I realized I could keep my coverage at the same reasonable employee rates. Now that I’m searching for affordable replacement coverage in an individual policy, I see plans offered at double, triple or even quadruple the rates we’re currently paying. Ugh.

Any dentist we’ve ever had advised us to sign-up for dental insurance as an employee benefit. However, the same dentist also advised that dental insurance simply isn’t worth the cost as an individual policy. I concur. I will go one step further and state that dental insurance really functions like a prepaid dental plan. For us, dental insurance is a wash. Premiums and copays under our “low” dental plan are about the exact same money as just paying the dentist directly out of our own pocket. In fact, I think my calculations showed that we would have saved $50.00 by NOT having dental insurance the past 12 months.

On the other hand, vision insurance does make “cents” for us to continue as an individual policy. In the end, it functions as a BOGO for us as we each need an eye exam and new glasses every 12 months. Even when the rate doubles when we convert to an individual policy, it will still remain a good value.

The decision to carry certain types of insurance is totally dependent on your unique set of circumstances. Investigate all your options, run the numbers and choose the one(s) that work best for you and your family. And sometimes, it may not make “cents” to buy a policy, but it is worth it if having that coverage helps you sleep well at night.

Yesterday, my quilt guild hosted a workshop on how to make fabric postcards. It’s a fundraiser for the guild and postcards sell for $5.00 each. I’ve made fabric postcards with the kids, but was curious to learn their method of construction. I gathered my fabrics scraps, printed out the 3-1/2″ FPP Christmas blocks I planned to work on and took the Elnita EC30 with me.

Once I arrived, I quickly realized this is a serious endeavor for the guild. Most of the postcards on display as inspiration pieces were truly miniature works of art. One workshop participant even remarked that she’d spent two days on her postcard. Honestly, I thought this lady was kidding until I accepted the workshop leader’s invitation to learn how to create the postcard pictured above. It took me almost 3 hours!

I guess the style would be loosely known as “mixed media” or “art quilt” – not a style I typically do. Now that I understand the design process and learned how to FMQ on my Elnita EC30, I’ll be able to construct future “art quilt” type cards much faster. It was also a LOT of fun and a great way to use up scraps.

Hints:
1. Create your 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ miniature quilt top FIRST, except for quilting and other embellishments.
2. Add batting (fusible or glue baste regular batting)
3. Machine quilt and embellish, including adding ribbon border/trim
4. Attach postcard back printed on 110 or thicker cardstock with glue stick.
5. Sew around perimeter of postcard using thread to match ribbon border.

This little Elnita EC30 never ceases to amaze me. Anything I ask it to do, it does beautifully once I figure out how to set the machine up for success. For FMQ, it likes a 90/14 quilting needle and a thread tension of 3. I also use the convertible quilting foot so I can adjust the foot height to skim just above the quilt top. I worried about FMQ with a 5mm wide zigzag plate instead of a straight stitch needle plate, but it did fine.

I LOVE a foot with a flange on the right side to help me keep a consistent 1/4″ seam, as does most every child I’ve taught how to sew. Need a scant 1/4″ seam allowance because I’m making FG and HSTs? No problem! Increase the stitch width 1-2 clicks to move the needle over and keep on sewing.

What if you have a vintage or modern mechanical machine where you can’t adjust the needle position on a straight stitch? The needle position remains in the middle or left and that’s it. Think Singer Featherweights, Singer 301, some entry level Brother machines. Even the Janome Jem Gold 660 doesn’t allow any adjustment to the needle position.

For the Janome Jem Gold 660, look into an O2 snap on presser foot. It is designed for a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

For others, there is a scant 1/4″ foot offered by the Featherweight Shop and other online vintage machine retailers. Before you hit the purchase button, test your machine to make sure your machine sews a true 1/4″ seam using the markings on your needle plate. Is your seam allowance a true 1/4″? If so, the scant 1/4″ foot should work with your machine.

Some machines actually sew a generous 1/4″ seam when doing this test. My Singer 222 and 301 are this way. Nothing is wrong with my machines. They merely came from the factory this way. As long as I use the same 1/4″ foot consistently through my project, the quilt might be a little smaller, but it will be fine. For me, the scant 1/4″ foot is actually a true 1/4″ seam with my 222. It doesn’t matter if I use the snap-on or low shank scant 1/4″ foot. Surprisingly, the snap-on scant 1/4″ foot I use with my FW DOES provide a scant 1/4″ seam IF I use the snap-on slant shanks made with a 3D printer. This was a great discovery for me because I prefer piecing on my 301.