Our initial retirement dreams included getting as far away from Atlanta as possible. Not a surprise considering our favorite vacation spots are out west. Every city I visit, I check to see if it could be on our retirement short list. Boise, Idaho is my personal favorite so far and it checks all the boxes except for being reasonably close (within a day’s drive) to our parents.
Three years into retirement, we’re still in the same house. Our volunteer activities, family & friends, plus the current economic uncertainty mean we’ll sit tight for a while. Many homes are listed for sale in our area, but not much is selling. That’s fine. We’ve put down roots and have bloomed where we’ve been planted.
Meanwhile, therapy dog visits with my friends in the counties north of where I currently live have opened my eyes to the possibility that moving 45 minutes – an hour north might be the sweet spot for our retirement area checklist. This falls in line with a recent video from Holy Schmidt! where he mentions moving the next county or two over instead of a total relocation far, far away is often much better for retirees. The express (toll) lanes will make it easier to get to ATL proper when needed. Something to consider.
I was SEW excited to open my email and see this notice! It’s been five years since the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop disbanded. Many of those participating shops have gone out of business. Since then, Sadie and I have participated in the Middle Georgia Shop Hop every February. I also usually spend a 1/2 day at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo held every March.
It’s wonderful to see ten shops listed, six of which I’ve never visited. Sadie and I will have fun catching all the shops over a long weekend – including a stay at Grandma and Poppy’s given the majority of the shops are on that side of town.
FYI – two of the large quilting and sewing shops in the area are not part of this event – which makes sense as this is designed to promote the smaller shops in the region.
Here’s the event homepage, so you can get all the details.
Accurate seam allowances play a vital role in the successful outcome of any project. A 1/4″ seam allowance is standard in quilting and most smaller sewn projects like zipper pouches and placemats. Topstitching is one of those little sewing extras that takes an item from homemade to handmade. If you make bags, zipper pouches, journal covers, placemats, fabric boxes, bookmarks, lanyards, etc., you’ll find find 1/8″ topstitching in your project.
What’s the best way to achieve consistent seam allowances and accurate topstitching? Experiment with the different feet that came with your machine. Practice, practice, practice.
Perhaps your all-purpose presser foot looks like the one in this picture. Here, I’m showing a 1/4″ seam, scant 1/4″ seam and an 1/8″ topstitch. All were made using the foot that came with the machine. Use the edge of the presser foot as the guide for 1/4″ seams and adjust the needle position (change the stitch width) accordingly. Use a similar approach for 1/8″ topstitching, except use the inside right toe as your seam guide (long metal lip on the right side) and adjust the needle position.
My personal favorite, and most consistent means of 1/8″ topstitching, requires a specialty foot. Janome refers to this one as the SE foot, but it’s very similar to a common blindhem foot. Here’s a an earlier post where I discuss using the Janome G blind hem foot. The Elnita EC30 pictured here has a 5mm wide stitch width, and I find the SE foot easier to use than the adjustable blind hem foot demonstrated in that post.
For 1/4″ seams, I do best with a guide on the right side of my presser foot (similar to topstitching). The Janome 02 presser foot delivers consistent results.
These sticky notes will be pasted inside the front cover of my sewing machine manual. Having this info at my fingertips helps me make the most of my limited sewing time.
What about vintage straight stitch machines and modern mechanical machines where you can’t adjust the needle position on a straight stitch?
Use the original presser foot and painter’s tape on the machine bed to mark seam allowances.
Buy a 1/4″ presser foot for your machine. Can’t find one? The Little Foot works well.
Singer makes a Sew Easy foot with an adjustable guide. Using the inside toe as a guide with a center needle position yields a nice, consistent 1/8″ topstitch.
Experiment with the different feet and attachments out there to discover what works best for you. Another hack for vintage machines is use an old credit card along with the painter’s tape to mark seam allowances. This way you get a lip to run the edge of the fabric against and you can still use pins/clips up to a point. Beats having to pin everything to the left.
Come Stitch With Me 