Welcome to Quilty February!

February 1, 2024

The above free pattern comes from Fat Quarter Shop. My wall hanging is made of leftovers from last year’s quilt projects. So fun to put together! Definitely planning to start the Letters to Santa quilt in July. This one looks to be another stashbuster project! Setting aside any potential fabrics now as I sort through my fabric bins.

For January, I joined the “no spend” fabric challenge with my Friday sewing squad. It was a learning experience. Main takeaway: “Low spend” is much more realistic than “no spend” for me especially when it pertains to quilting/sewing. I actually bought no fabric for my own projects; however, I did need a small amount of fabric for my kid’s classes and had to take a sewing machine in for repair. I can “no spend” on books & magazines because I have access via the Libby app and don’t feel deprived. Not the same with quilting. Swapping fabric with friends and shopping the free table at guild meetings is fun, but many times their fabric preferences and mine don’t necessarily match. Hence, I’ll always keep a little quilty spending money in my budget! :-)

February brings the Middle Georgia Shop Hop. Sadie and I will enjoy our third journey visiting quilt shops in the middle part of the state. It’s a fun day out for both of us as Sadie is welcome in two of the shops and there’s a really nice dog park half-way through our trip. I like to collect the two block kits ($1 each) designed by each shop specifically for the shop hop. Last year’s blocks made a bright, colorful quilt that was donated to my guild’s community service.

QuiltCon 2024 is later this month in Raleigh, NC. I’m excited for the opportunity to travel to a city I’ve never visited previously and get some much needed “me time” away from home. I’ll also get to reconnect with some of my quilty peeps who no longer live in the ATL and hopefully meet some folks I follow online. Quilts on display at QuiltCon are always unique. There are modern quilts, some traditional with modern twists and others just plain out there. How long I spend looking at quilts depends on what’s in the show. This year’s lecture topics sound interesting and the vendor list looks amazing. I’ll thoroughly enjoy learning about everything that’s new. So far, my shopping list consists of themed stickers and goodies for my CraftLAB kiddos, a newly re-designed Oliso mini iron for me (Tula Pink edition preferred) and some bag hardware from Sallie Tomato for a friend.

And finally, deadlines for the Georgia Celebrates Quilts show are fast approaching. I finished the quilt top last week. I have six weeks to get it quilted and bound so I can take the required photographs to go along with my show entry form. It’s a throw size, so I feel comfortable FMQ this one myself. I’ll stitch an all over paisley design, which I think best complements the fabric and quilt blocks.

Do you really need the “premium” version?

January 25, 2024

We’re so conditioned to believe that paying extra always leads to a better product, service or experience that we rarely consider the features and benefits of the so-called “base” model. After all, it’s only just a few extra dollars and if we’re going upgrade, why not go first class?

If executed correctly, those small upgrades can be a profit center for your creative business. On the other hand, if you aren’t mindful with your business purchases, you could be wasting money on things that don’t add value or streamline your process. Take business equipment: investing in quality tools and equipment is pretty much a no-brainer – BUT do you REALLY need top of the line everything and the entire range of rulers, sewing machine accessories, hammers or other gizmos? Probably not. I personally prefer to shop for big ticket items from a reputable manufacturer that are 1-2 levels above the base model. Gently used is even better. Some sewists upgrade their expensive TOL sewing machines like some folks trade luxury cars. The previous owner of my Janome 8900 had the machine for 6 months before she traded it in. I scored a sweet deal! It’s been a great machine; however, I use it mostly for machine quilting. Now that the 9480 with the stitch regulator is out, here’s hoping that someone decides to try it, then upgrade to the M8. I’ll be waiting!

Simple ways to stretch your money when times are tight

January 18, 2024

There’s no getting around it. The price of everything is up and continues to go up. The media can say it’s only 3.4% inflation. Yeah, right! I’ve had to rework our budget to absorb a $465.00 monthly increase in expenditures due to in increases in health insurance, car insurance, home insurance and utilities alone. This is over a 13 month period from December 2022 to January 2024. Can you believe Georgia Power is once again before the Public Service Commission requesting yet another rate hike? Jeez.

Our monthly income has remained consistent since retirement. We chose to adjust our spending to absorb the increased costs rather than increase our withdrawals from retirement funds. Any money we’ve picked up from the occasional side gig automatically goes into savings. How do we manage? Below are some ways we stretch our funds to continue to enjoy activities that mean a lot to us.

Eat at home. Peruse the weekly sale ads to take advantage of deals and help with menu planning. Shop with a list. Have a snack before heading to the grocery store. If you shop at more than one store, is there a part of town where the stores are close together? There’s a grocery store 1 mile from my house. However, I can drive 5 miles and have access to Publix, Kroger, Lidl & Aldi within a 1/2 mile of each other. This saves me time and gas.

Get and use a library card. Today’s libraries offer so much more than just books. Digital access, programming and meeting space are just a few of the services available.

Take a water bottle and snacks if you’ll be away from home more than an hour or two. Ditto if your furkid often accompanies you. I keep an extra leash, water bowl and poo bags in my car at all times.

Shop prescriptions before refilling. GoodRX or the pharmacy’s own discount pricing is often cheaper than your health insurance copay on generics. You can easily transfer a prescription to another pharmacy.

Use a credit card for most purchases, especially ones where there is no cash discount. This offers you a level of consumer protection, helps with expense tracking/cash flow and may allow you to earn perks and rewards for simply being a cardholder. The caveat here is that you must pay the balance in full each month. If you can’t do this, then stick with good old cash.

Learn about all the amenities your area has to offer – parks, recreation, social groups, volunteer opportunities and special events. Picnic in the park, take your dog for a long walk, volunteer at the library, participate in the weekly farmer’s market, attend movie night or a summer concert on the lawn. You get the idea.

Keep your vehicle in good repair. Keep up with routine service and maintenance. Run it through the car wash on a regular basis. If you have a car loan, pay it off ASAP and plan to keep your vehicle until the wheels fall off. Many of today’s cars are designed to make it to 200k miles. Yes, you many have some major repairs as the car ages, but that’s part of it. Still cheaper than buying a new one. I think hubs and I both are now determined to see how many miles we can put on our vehicles.

Clean out and organize your clothes closet. Your daily uniform is likely to be jeans and a cute top or sweater in retirement – not the dressier work wardrobe your day job required. But hold on a minute before tossing everything except your jeans – keep a couple of dresses and some of your favorite business casual outfits. You’ll still need them occasionally and will be glad you kept them.

Audit all of your subscriptions & auto-renew items annually – magazines, streaming services & other digital entertainment, warehouse memberships, shopping services, quilty box of the month subscriptions. Do you read the item or use the service? Does it still provide value? Is there a cheaper option available? I let two of my favorite magazine subscriptions expire because they’re now available in the Libby app. Hubs was a die-hard Sirius XM fan until I showed him how to replace his beloved Braves game broadcast with a free app from the local sports radio station. Some streaming services are now included as an added benefit with our mobile phone plan. Amazon Prime will probably be the next subscription to go away at renewal time. Not happy with all the ads now in music, podcasts and other online streaming services offered through Amazon. I thought I pay an annual fee to avoid that.