Tag: life

Learning another vintage machine

August 22, 2026
Kenmore 158.13512 sewing machine from mid-late 1970’s.

Kenmore sewing machines prior the mid-1980s are highly desirable to some vintage sewing machine enthusiasts. My MIL has a cabinet model from the 1960’s that still runs today. The machine pictured above is a low-shank center needle model with a vertical (front-loading) bobbin.

Gladys (named for her former owner) arrived yesterday with instructions to use her in kid’s sewing classes or pass her along to a deserving student. In her previous life, she’d also served as a “practice” machine for an aspiring sewing machine technician. She came with a basic zigzag foot, straight stitch needleplate insert and a power supply/foot pedal. I added some extra generic feet and a couple of plastic class 15 bobbins from my stash. The scant 1/4″ foot from the Featherweight Shop is indeed a scant 1/4″ on this machine.

Like Carmella (my Singer 301A), the more I sew on Gladys, the smoother and quieter she sews. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted. I understand why VSM enthusiasts like vintage Kenmore machines. Overall, she seems to be in good shape – but definitely benefitted from sewing machine oil chased by Tri-Flow in a few spots. Knowledge gained from working on my FW and 301A served me well with Gladys. Her needle no longer goes up & down when winding a bobbin and I adjusted her foot pedal to improve the sewing speed range.

Verdict: Gladys sews absolutely beautiful stitches. She’s easy to operate, but not exactly portable – easily weighing 25-30 pounds. She’ll do best in a cabinet or on a solid surface with a Sew Steady extension table.. I’ll print out the manual and put it in a plastic 3 prong pocket folder. Combined with the extra feet, bobbins and LED bulb, I’ve reached my maximum spend on a machine that will be passed along.

And just like that – a new school year is underway!

August 4, 2026

Publix was quiet this morning as I did my grocery shopping. Seeing the school bus at the traffic light was a reminder to go the back way to my dentist’s office. Only adult patients were in the waiting room when I checked in for my dentist appointment. I returned home, walked Sadie and spoke with C’s mom to see if she would be coming today to sew on her quilt binding. C. doesn’t start school until Wednesday and she’s still quilting her quilt.

Five years ago, I greeted hundreds of elementary school bus riders as they exited the big yellow limousines excited to begin a new school year. Little did I know that year would turn out to be my final year as a public school teacher. I joined my husband in early retirement the following May. The first couple of back-to-school seasons after leaving my job were hard, but now it’s just another day. I always enjoy the first day of school photos posted by friends on social media. It’s an exciting time and I fully understand the enormous amount of work that the school staff does to begin a new school year.

Life is still influenced by the school calendar – only multiple school district and private school calendars nowadays! Therapy dog visits cover 3-4 different school districts and CraftLAB students all attend different private schools. A long-time therapy dog friend reminded me the beauty of volunteering in retirement is that I should plan travel for when it works best for me. Standing weekly visits are important, but it shouldn’t be the reason I pass on a quilt retreat or other trip I really want to take. He’s 100% correct. And I planned two trips for fall semester without looking at the Fulton County Schools calendar! As it turns out, one trip will be before participants in the READ program are fully vetted with all permission slips signed. Election Day falls during the other trip, so our visit wouldn’t happen anyway due to a teacher workday instead of a regular school day. It’s a big election cycle for Georgia, so I’ll make sure to cast my vote during the early voting period.

Photo by Vitaliy Haiduk on Pexels.com

Back to [almost] normal

July 24, 2026

Today, I took the last dose of prednisone. Thank goodness! I’m ready for my sleep cycle to get back to normal. Most evidence of my allergic reaction to the insect repellent is completely gone. There’s still some redness in the areas that reacted the strongest, but it’s slowly fading away. Mosquitos are still biting. I purchased a bottle of Cutter Skinsations with DEET 7% to use when working in the garden. Zero reaction and no mosquito bites either.

Our weather forecast is calling for heavy rain most of the weekend. Sadie and I ran took advantage of this morning’s dry window to run errands. We passed several schools and a teacher supply store on our travels. The parking lots were full. Then, I remembered that local school staff report on Monday for preplanning week. Has it really been five years since I reported for what would become my last preplanning week as a public school librarian? Indeed it has.

Fast forward five years. There’s still some semblance of back-to-school prep that takes place in my life around late July. I take advantage of back-to-school sales to stock up on school supplies, reward trinkets and books we’ll use in the R.E.A.D. program and CraftLAB. This weekend, I’ll be finishing up the final few details for quilt camp. We start Monday at 10:00 a.m. in my basement sewing space. Instructional planning is a lot more fun when it’s on my terms and my schedule!

Not much teaching took place spring semester because life and the quilt show happened. For fall semester, my teaching schedule includes CraftLAB, a monthly sewing group at the Midtown Library and a machine maintenance class at the quilt museum in Carrollton. It feels good to see my teaching calendar active again.

I’m also collaborating with a local indie pet supply store to host a personalize your pet’s stocking workshop in early November. I’ll teach students how to add their pet’s name to a cuffed stocking or create a personalized hang tag using a simple backstitch and embroidery floss. We’ll see what happens locally, if anything, after that. I’d love to find a spot where I can teach classes a couple of times a month. I don’t mind paying a modest fee to use the space, but I have zero interest in opening a full-blown stitch lab in a retail storefront. That ship has long since sailed.