Tag: Books

Stitchy fun available with a library card

April 27, 2025

Do you have a library card? If not, get one! It’s usually free for local residents or for a small annual fee for non-residents. Takes less than 10 minutes to get one. Well worth the investment! Following is a sample of what’s available to patrons via the Cobb County Library System.

Inspiration Awaits
Would you like to visit one of the following places for free? It’s possible with a library card and a pass that you check-out from the library.

  • Alliance Theatre
  • Atlanta History Center
  • Chattahoochee Nature Center
  • Georgia Parks Pass (for ALL parks in the state)
  • Marietta – Cobb Museum of Art
  • Marietta History Center
  • Smith-Gilbert Gardens
  • Zoo Atlanta

Magazines and Craftsy Access
Download the Libby app, add your library card credentials and voila! You have instant access to many popular quilting, sewing and crafts publication. FREE. The library’s research and digital databases include Craftsy access, as well.

Maker Spaces and Creative Studio
Is your sewing machine acting up? Curious about a 3D printer? Want to explore a Cricut Maker? The Switzer and North Cobb Regional Branches offer maker spaces with sewing machines, Cricut products, button makers, 3D printers and a host of other crafty equipment for you to use. Sewell Mill offers a Creative Studio where you can work with audio/video equipment to create videos, record podcasts and transfer old family videos and photos to modern digital equivalents.

Learn Something New
Most branches offer free classes or take home kits in a variety of craft mediums. All you have to do is sign up.

Meet New Stitchy Friends
Want to hang out with like-minded crafters or learn how to crochet, cross-stitch and do macrame? Several branches host groups that meet on a weekly/monthly basis. Some are led by a volunteer instructor who will teach you how to crochet and supplies may actually be furnished for these events. Unless otherwise indicated, assume that any stitchy meet-ups will be limited to handwork only. Do EPP, cross-stitch, embroidery or hand-quilt/sew binding while you visit. Some people even bring small projects to cut out. This seems to be okay as long as there’s enough room for the cutting mat.

Meeting Space
Need a quiet place to plan projects? Reserve a study room. Sign up the same day. First come, first served. Need a place to sew with friends? You can reserve a room for $25.00 per meeting date. Given all the events at the regional libraries, I’d suggest trying to reserve a room at a smaller branch if you can’t be flexible with meeting date and time. The library also limits reservations scheduling to 3 months out. Working with a smaller branch and offering to be open to the public wanting to join in may give you a regular meeting space at no cost. This is how my Friday Sew Squad got their space.

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Review subscriptions and memberships

March 15, 2025

Last year, I went through our remaining memberships/subscriptions and made a list of the ones that would not be renewed at the 2025 renewal date:

  1. Everand/Scribd
  2. Smyrna Public Library
  3. Amazon Prime
  4. QuiltFolk magazine
  5. Missouri Star BLOCK magazine

Everand was cancelled the same day they announced a price increase.

The Smyrna Public Library is a hard one for me. I live outside the city limits and pay a modest annual fee to use the library. It’s totally worth the fee, but after being told last year that Sadie was no longer allowed in the library outside of official therapy dog visits, I’ve limited my visits and ceased all non-READ volunteering. Now that I no longer work part-time as a literacy enrichment instructor, I don’t need the extra access to children’s picture books. No need to renew. The county library system and regional library consortium will meet my needs. (Update 5/13/25: my renewal fee was waived due to a “policy change”.)

Amazon Prime no longer represents a good value for us. Stuff is frequently delivered late. There’s not much streaming programming that we watch. I get books and magazines for free via the Libby app at the public library. We’ll do what our niece does and wait until the shopping cart has $35 in it to get free shipping. We can wait a day or two extra for delivery.

Quiltfolk is a quarterly quilting lifestyle magazine. It’s absolutely gorgeous and available in print only. I’ve been a subscriber since the magazine’s early days. Over time, I’ve kept a handful of issues and shared the rest. It’s become too expensive to just give away. Already been set to non-renew.

BLOCK from Missouri Star is another quilting magazine. I flip through each print issue when it arrives, but haven’t made a project from one of the magazines in a LONG time. The issues also come digitally as part of the subscription, so I’ll still have access to them even after I cancel. (Update 5/13/25: With the new format, I really find value in the magazine projects, so it’s a keeper for now.)

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Rediscover the joy of reading

October 2, 2024

I love to read – most anything non-fiction, magazines and contemporary, realistic fiction. Before retiring, I joined a neighborhood book club – primarily for the social opportunities. Honestly, the group’s collective book choices usually aren’t my cup of tea, but I muddle through. After several months of murder mysteries, WWII spies and a few duds, there’s finally a book I can’t wait to finish – How To Read A Book by Monica Wood. I’ve had the best time streaming this month’s selection while I work in my sewing studio.

I rarely buy books anymore – especially books I’ll read one time. I like to browse the local Barnes & Noble with my Libby app open. If something looks good, I place a hold on the title. My books usually come from the library or via the Libby App. I know the wait for popular titles at my local libraries can be up to 3 months for print, electronic and audiobooks. This is sometimes a challenge when obtaining book club titles. Kindle Unlimited and Everand operate like a paid Libby service, except you have instant access to a lot more stuff. If you are a voracious reader and like to read current bestsellers in an e-book format and/or listen to audiobooks, the $11.99 per month fee seems quite reasonable. Music apps like Spotify also offer access to audiobooks, so it’s worth exploring what options are available to you.

Publishers of quilting books are slowing entering the e-book realm. I attended a class with Christa Watson last year. I was the only attendee with a digital copy of her book. Everyone else came with a print copy, which she autographed for them. Note to self – bring a charged Apple Pencil with you next time and set the pdf copy for markup.

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