Category: craft business

Quilt Backing Fabrics – Thrifty Edition

August 25, 2025

Quilt shop fabric in my area is now $14.00 + tax per yard. For charity or donation quilts that require 4 yards to make a quilt back, $60 per quilt isn’t sustainable for my budget over the long haul. Nor does it seem to be sustainable to those in my quilt bee group. Those ladies are a thrifty lot! Many only buy backing fabric for a donation quilt if they absolutely have to.

Sources of free to less expensive quilt backing fabric:

1. Free table at quilt guild meetings.
2. Community service fabric donations (sometimes batting is also available).
3. Shopping your quilty BFF’s fabric stash or scoring big at a destash sale.
4. Pieced backing using fabrics from your own stash.
5. Flat sheets (twin or full size) from big box stores or thrift stores.
6. Fabric cuts from thrift shops (like Mostly Mutts or Scraplanta).
7. Hobby-Lobby when quilting cottons are 30% off.
8. Michaels – Fabric Editions prints that are $3.99 per yard. Order online for store pick-up.
9. Wal-Mart – Waverly precuts are available in 2 yard bundles for less than $10.
10. Mark-down section at your favorite quilt shop.

Me? I check the free table, ask Community Service or see if I can piece odd fabrics from my stash to make a quilt back that coordinates with the top. If not, I’ll usually hit Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart for suitable backing fabric. I can usually get the fabric I need for about $20-$25. That fits my budget.

For personal projects, I’ll buy full-price fabric from the quilt shop if the project calls for it. However, I still shop Hobby Lobby and the clearance sections of nearby quilt shops to find coordinating backing fabric.

Had to buy a replacement rotary blade for my Cricut Maker. Michaels in Alpharetta had them in stock. This location will be the big cut-to-order fabric store on my side of ATL. Saw some of the cherry fabric I’d bought on sale at Joann before they closed. Same fabric bolt is now $8.99 per yard. Michael’s rarely puts fabric on sale and it is usually excluded from coupons. Still adjusting to my new crafty shopping options and sorely missing Joann’s.

Photo by Digital Buggu on Pexels.com

Dental & Vision Insurance Benefits in Retirement

August 23, 2025

Are they worth it? It depends on your situation.

My husband and I early retired three years ago. As a teacher, our health insurance would continue with my pension benefit – but my district does not offer retiree dental/vision like some other districts in the area. Instead, we were able to continue our dental and vision coverage under under COBRA provisions for 18 months at employee rates. Had I known the rates would continue at what I paid as an active employee, I would have bumped up to a higher level coverage on the dental during open enrollment.

Once COBRA benefits ended, I researched other options available to us through various affinity groups. We chose to go with plans offered through my FSU Alumni connection for a 12 month trial period. After only six months, I can report we will definitely continue our vision plan and cancel the dental once my current plan of treatment is concluded. Why? For us, the dental plan has such a limited network of local dentists, plus a low reimbursement rate that isn’t anywhere near average rates for services in our area. We knew our current dentist wasn’t in network, but the reimbursement rates through my previous employer’s coverage were reasonable given the monthly premiums paid. Had I been able to access actual reimbursement rates before enrolling in the individual dental policy, I would have declined. For us, self-pay is definitely cheaper compared to having an individual dental insurance policy.

Photo by Cedric Fauntleroy on Pexels.com

Asheville Quilt Show

August 18, 2025

This time last year, Sadie and I were excited about our upcoming trip to Asheville. It would mark my first overnight quilting trip with Big Girl in tow. I had reservations at a pet-friendly hotel. A local kennel had even agreed to a day of drop-in doggie day care so I could attend the show. Hurricane Helene changed all that.

On Thursday, I made the trek to Asheville, North Carolina while Sadie stayed home. I’d originally penciled the event in my calendar as a long day trip, but hubs suggested I make it an overnight trip instead. He’d been to the area back in the spring and noted there were still some areas where the roads hadn’t been fully repaired.

It was the right call. The trip to Asheville and then back to Atlanta was definitely longer than the average “3 hr 10 min” each way quoted in the GPS app. I spent five hours at the show, so that would’ve easily been a 15 hour day with quilt show attendance, time for meals, breaks and commuting round-trip between Atlanta and Asheville.

As for the show, it was definitely worth the drive. I saw many gorgeous quilts, attended informative lectures and had my 1936 Featherweight looked over by a well-respected Featherweight service technician (the main reason the show was on my radar last year). There was excellent shopportunity, with several familiar faces who’d also vended at Mountain QuiltFest back in June. I purchased very few souvenirs to take home with me – a copy of the tech’s FW service/repair manual, a Bev McCullough pattern on my list and pink & blue bobbin weight thread for FMQ.

There were a couple of exhibits devoted to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. This quilt was a thank-you to all of the volunteer organizations who helped out after the devastating hurricane hit the area. My husband spent several weeks up there clearing debris with Team Rubicon. I sent him this picture along with a photo of the artist’s statement. Very moving.

After the show, I explored the area a bit before heading to my hotel. I had dinner at a local restaurant and spent the evening back in my hotel room stitching the Week 2 Mystery 5-0 units on Jane. The next morning, I explored downtown Hendersonville before heading back home.

I can definitely see bringing Sadie with me to a future quilt show in Asheville. It’s a very dog-friendly town and there are options for doggie day care while you attend the show.