Tag: Quilting

Not feeling it

September 15, 2025

I’ve been in kind of a “meh” mood the past week. Nothing seems to be going as it should from quilting projects cut wrong to therapy dog events still in limbo to estimates to repair a leaking master bath shower that are coming in a lot higher than anticipated. I won’t even go into recent events in the news. Makes me want to hole up in my house and not go anywhere. However, I made commitments to certain folks. Sadie & I must appear for those events, but I can opt out of the rest.

At this week’s R.E.A.D. visit with the public library, the librarian’s expression matched mine. I remarked she must not be feeling it either. She agreed. By the time our last reader left 90 minutes later, I was in much better spirits. So were several patrons and library staffers. All due to the simple act of sharing my dog with others.

Thursday morning, we presented a program on therapy dogs as community helpers to a local kindergarten class. Several upper elementary students were waiting in the lobby as Sadie & I stepped off the elevator. Their faces lit up when when they saw us. Everyone had to come say hi. Big Girl was definitely in her element. After the kindergarten class, we found the 2nd grade classroom where many my former Monday enrichment regulars are now learning. It was wonderful to see them again.

Still showing up even when I wasn’t feeling it pulled me out of the funk that was starting to settle in.

I finally figured out where I screwed up on the Aloha Mystery Quilt – and am extremely grateful I had another jelly roll of the same fabric line in my stash. I spent most of Sunday fixing my mistake and getting the different bits color coordinated to make a controlled scrappy version of the Aloha Spirit design. There’s a celebration at the sponsoring quilt shop on October 11th. I plan to be there to share my completed quilt.

Now on to making pillowcase for my guild’s community service program.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

DIY Design Boards

September 8, 2025

Design boards are essentially a hand-held version of a design wall. I first learned about design boards at a retreat with Lori Holt back in 2019. We actually made our own design boards as one of the retreat projects. For quilters, they are great for holding bits and pieces of blocks or smaller projects. Ready-made design boards in a variety of sizes are available through Riley Blake Designs. Retail prices range from around $15 to $30 per design board.

DIY Design Boards holding M50 Aloha Mystery Project Components

You can DIY multiple designs boards for the cost of a single ready-made one. Basic supplies needed: a piece of foam core board, scrap batting and a couple of jelly roll strips. You will need either a glue gun or Heat & Bond Ultra (in the red package) with a mini iron to affix the border trim.

I prefer to make my design boards using self-adhesive foam core board (I find it at Hobby Lobby), felt and the Heat & Bond Ultra (on the roll) method. Note: a glue gun will still come in handy to hold the mitered corners in place. If I can’t find self-adhesive foam core board, I’ll use spray baste to hold the batting/felt in place.

Foam core board can be found in the school supply section at Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. It usually comes in a 20″ x 30″ sheet and quality can vary, so compare before you buy. I cut mine to the desired size using a 60mm rotary cutter. Personally, I like an 18″ to 20″ square board for larger quilt blocks and a 10″ to 12″ square board for smaller quilt blocks. And yes, I have been known to Frankenbatt leftover pieces of foam core board to make one more design board.

Design board made from leftover foam core board pieces (taped together with painter’s tape).

Design Board Tutorial using glue gun
Design Board Tutorial using Heat & Bond Ultra

Financing your new sewing machine?

August 28, 2025

Sewing machine companies often run 0% financing promotions if you buy a new machine that’s above a certain price point (say $3000 & up). Purchases are made via a special credit card usually offered through Synchrony Bank.

Let’s look at Janome’s current Labor Day promotion.

To summarize:
0% interest for 36 months if you spend above $3,000.00 in a single transaction.
OR
5.99% interest for 72 months if you spend above $6,000.00 in a single transaction.

This offer is for charges made on the Sewing & More Credit Card issued by Synchrony Bank.

Before signing on the dotted line, be sure to read what consumer advocate Clark Howard refers to as the mice type.
The default interest rate on this credit card is 34.99% and the penalty interest rate is 39.99%. This is a HUGE difference from a 0% or 5.99% interest rate for a fixed period of time.

Let’s see what the numbers look like if I were to buy a Janome 9480 with ASR + tax + acrylic table insert to make the total transaction $6,000.00.

Loan TermLoan AmountInterest RateMonthly PaymentTotal Paid
36 months$6,000.00Zero/None$166.67$6,000.00
36 months $6,000.0034.99%/39.99%TBD$9,769.76 to $10,390.53
72 months$6,000.005.99%$99.41$7,157.45
72 months $6,000.0034.99%/39.99%TBD $14,416.72 to $15,896.96

The “gotcha” here is that if you fail to make timely payments or pay the full balance off at the end of the special interest term, the credit card company could apply the default interest rate retroactively back to the initial purchase date and/or invoke the penalty interest rate according to the card agreement rules. This means your purchase with higher interest rates applied could potentially cost you anywhere from 50% to 122% more than your original transaction amount. Ask yourself, “Can I make payments according to the schedule to avoid the high interest rates?”.

My personal take:
I’ve been saving up for a new sewing machine. When I’m ready to buy, the current plan is to time the purchase so that it posts to my travel rewards credit card right after the monthly statement drops. I pay my credit card in full every month, so the payment due date for this new charge would be almost two months away. I’ll earn rewards that I can later apply toward my credit card balance.

If my 8900 were to give up the ghost and I need a new machine before having the entire amount saved up, I would be totally fine with the 36 month special offer because: (1) the monthly payments fit my budget and (2) I have no concerns about paying the balance off by the deadline. If (1) and (2) weren’t true, I’d keep saving or consider alternative machines with large throat spaces that are within the amount I have saved.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com