Tag: Quilting

Things are starting to fall into place

October 30, 2024

Three weeks ago, I mentioned several things were going on behind the scenes. Today, I agreed to teach Beginning Sewing (3-4 sessions) plus Sewing Machine Maintenance at the Southeast Quilt & Textile Museum for spring and fall semesters in 2025. I have the spring dates already set! Project based classes may be offered during the summer months, depending on interest and instructor availability. We’re also working on details for a potential vintage sewing machine maintenance class.

The other major development is that the school-based R.E.A.D. program I’ve been wanting to do with Sadie since retirement is several steps closer to reality. We’ve met with the local liaison and hashed out several of the details, including the day and time for our weekly visits. Sadie & I are tentatively set to do a meet & greet with the staff at an upcoming teacher workday. The liaison seems to think we’ll get the party started before Thanksgiving. Perhaps since it’s a smaller school district? We’ll see. I’m anticipating a January start date, but earlier will be okay with us.

Making room for the R.E.A.D. program means that I may have to pass on the opportunity to join a Featherweight enthusiast group that meets monthly in Ellijay. Having a standing weekly therapy dog visit also means we’ll have to pass on other cool visit invites we might receive that fall on the same day and time. We’ll see how things sort themselves out. Over the past year, I’ve become much more selective about the therapy dog visits I choose to accept. There are some teams in our group who do visits 4-5 days per week. I’m good with 1-2 visits per week.

In other news, the property appraiser did the site visit today. Based on conversations with the field techs, I think we’ll see corrections amounting to 400 sf upstairs and 550 sf in the basement. This should have a significant impact on our assessment. I’m supposed to return to the BOE in a week or two for their official findings. Currently waiting on a date.

Time to go make some project samples and write my tote bag pattern.

Why take a sewing machine maintenance class?

October 26, 2024
  1. Sense of empowerment gained from learning how properly maintain the machine.
  2. A more pleasant sewing experience because the machine is well-maintained.
  3. Confidently troubleshoot and resolve common mishaps as they occur.
  4. Extend the time between professional service appointments.
  5. Save money.

There’s a shortage of qualified sewing machine repair technicians. Long-time sewing machine folks are retiring and no one is waiting in the wings to take offer that service. Customers now must travel farther and pay greater fees to have their machines serviced.

Sewing machine service in my area is $125.00+ for a basic clean, oil and lube. The good sewing machine service shops are backed up and not currently taking any in more machines in for repair and service. Given that 90% of machine issues are related to dust bunnies, improper threading and bad needles, it never hurts to try a few things first before automatically assuming you must take your machine in for repair.

Basic troubleshooting steps:

  1. Unthread and rethread the top thread with the presser foot up. Test sew. Repeat for bobbin.
  2. Check presser foot to make sure it’s the right foot and installed correctly. Tighten screw as needed.
  3. Check to see that needle is inserted correctly. Bent needle? Change the needle.
  4. Clean out the dust bunnies underneath and give it a drop of oil.
  5. Check bobbin winder to make sure it’s not accidentally engaged.

The previous steps should get you up and running again. If not, do a machine reset.

Computerized models: turn off machine, wait 5 minutes and turn back on.
Mechanical machines: turn stitch selector to straight stitch, length 2.5. Make sure tension dial is 3.5-4

Still no resolution? Refer to the back of your sewing machine manual. That’s where you’ll find additional troubleshooting steps and error codes specific to your machine.

Some much needed vitamin sea

October 21, 2024
Sunrise in St. Mary’s, Georgia

We spent a long weekend on the Georgia coast exploring St. Mary’s and Cumberland Island. A four day dose of vitamin sea is exactly what my spirit needed. I’m so thankful Hurricanes Helene and Milton did not cause extensive damage to Cumberland Island. Can you believe it’s been almost two years since I last laid eyes on the Atlantic Ocean or the waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Much too long!

Visiting Cumberland Island National Seashore has long been on my bucket list. This long-time Georgia resident has been to the islands of Skidaway, Jekyll and St. Simon’s, but never ventured this far south. We spent a full day on the island, which was plenty of time for us. The National Park Service also allows tent camping for up to 7 days (not me!). The island’s history is so rich and the day long tour only began to scratch the surface.

Of course, I visited the two quilt shops in Kingsland – The Scrappy Rooster and Beyond Fabric. The Scrappy Rooster is strictly a quilt shop while Beyond Fabric does everything from quilting to garment sewing to crafts to home dec. Honestly, if you need some off-the-wall, obscure sewing/crafting doo-dad, chances are Beyond Fabric has it! There’s also a wonderful bookstore in St. Mary’s – Once Upon a Bookseller.

I’m thinking a trip to the Quilted Cow in Gulf Shores, AL and a trip to the 2025 AQS Show in Daytona Beach are in my future!