One of my main core pursuits in retirement

March 24, 2023

Yesterday, I participated in a charity “Sewcial” sponsored by the East Cobb Quilter’s Guild. I packed a donation quilt project I was working on and went to see what the “Sewcial” was all about. After all, I’m a newbie member trying to find my quilty tribe in a sea of 300 members. So far, I’ve met very few members my own age, let alone any who retired early.

Well, I met a pair of irreverent quilters who interviewed me to see if I was eligible to sit with the “bad” quilters (meaning them). My kind of quilters! A little while later, another quilter joined my table – turns out she’s my age and retired early, as well. She attends the Thursday evening meetings and shared that this group has a very different vibe than the more formal Friday morning bunch. I also learned that most of the membership lives in the far north and northwest suburbs. Many of the quilters in attendance at the “Sewcial” are members of smaller bee groups within the larger guild. Not one knew of a bee group in my area and told me to reach out to the bee coordinator. Apparently, I’m an anomaly in that I live right on the edge of ATL proper. If there’s not a bee group, it might be time to start one!

One thing I was not expecting yesterday was for the media to be there covering the event. One of the ATL TV stations was there, as was Cobb-ED TV (local government/community channel) and the Marietta Daily Journal newspaper. If you follow the link to the MDJ article and click through the online photos (photo#5), you’ll see me fixing one of the irreverent quilter’s Singer Featherweight.

Article link in MDJ (did a screen grab so you can see photo in case paywall inactivates the shareable link)

Here were are on Fox 5 Atlanta https://www.fox5atlanta.com/video/1197518

You’ll see my quilt project and me stitching on my Baby Lock Jubilant about 1/2 way through. I’m also the thumbnail cover model! Hah!

Facing my fear and moving on

March 22, 2023

Today, I did a hard thing. I made a visit with Sadie to a facility that I didn’t think I’d ever visit again. Too many bad memories associated with that place.

Why did I agree to visit? Because a friend asked. And I needed to move past what had happened previously.

Our visit lasted about 75 minutes. Everyone was all smiles when they saw Sadie and me coming down the hall. Big Girl definitely added to her fan club today.

As we were leaving, I ran into the person who’d caused me so much grief in the past. She actually looked a little uncomfortable to see me there with my new pet therapy partner. I simply smiled, introduced Sadie and told her I looked forward to more invitations to visit now that I was retired.

I walked out of the building with a big smile on my face and a lot of emotional baggage gone. .

It was a great visit!

Where do you shop for fabric?

March 20, 2023

When I was a kid, we shopped at Cloth World or Hancock Fabrics. Occasionally, we would make the trek downtown to Rich’s or over to Sew Magnifique in Buckhead. Today, Cloth World is known as Joann’s, Hancock Fabrics was bought by Michael’s and Rich’s was merged into Macy’s. Sew Magnifique closed in the mid-1990s, but I will always fondly remember it as the place where Mom went to buy buttons.

Today, we have so many choices of where to shop for fabric:

  1. Local retail fabric store
  2. Chain craft/sewing retail store
  3. Big box retailer with crafts/sewing department
  4. Sewing expos and quilt shows
  5. Online
  6. Thrift shops
  7. Estate sales
  8. Swaps
  9. Stash

Did I miss one?

Personally, I always shop my stash first. Where I go after that, depends on my needs. With prices approaching $14.99/yard on new releases at my LQS, I shop at Walmart or Hobby Lobby for seasonal stuff and fabrics the kids can use.

Fabrics from Hobby Lobby & Walmart (for seasonal projects and kid use)

I also swap fabrics with friends and/or buy fabrics at estate sales (I keep any Liberty of London fabrics for myself). And gasp – the “non LQS procured fabric” might make it into one of my quilts! I adore scrappy quilts. If I like a fabric, I’ll use it in my quilt.

I’ve definitely made a noticeable dent in my fabric stash since retirement! Here’s to making another sizable dent by summer’s end.