A Good Day for Serging

My serger class yesterday went very well. I had four students, all with Bernina L890 sergers. I was supposed to have had five students, but one lady—who takes every class I offer—had company and had to cancel. Two students were new, a mother and daughter.

Like a dingbat, I left my phone at home, plugged in and charging. Sue, one of the students in my class, works at the store and does their Facebook posts. She almost always remembers to take photos in class, so I am going to borrow a picture of her bag:

Sue teaches bag-making classes at the store and has a wonderful sense of design. She left with more fabric and plans to make a second, larger version of this bag that will be big enough to hold a tablet.

The mom and daughter signed up for my July class. I think they were pleased to have learned so much about the capabilities of their machines. We tried out several different feet in the course of making this bag, including the piping foot.

I realized at the end of the day that it was a good thing I had to teach that class, because it provided some much-needed inspiration. It’s time for me to start getting some fall classes on the schedule. I love teaching, but the prep work is a grind. Sarah and I talk about this often. Our favorite classes are when we simply ask the students what they want to learn and teach on the fly. Stores tend to want more structure, though. And this group of serger students keeps pushing the limits. They want to learn everything they can.

The husband worked around the property yesterday. He also shot another ground squirrel last night. Our neighbor got one a few days ago.

This was waiting for me when I got home:

The Juki 1541 came with a plain throat plate. Shortly into the first grocery bag, I decided that not having measurement markings was going to drive me nuts. (Why isn’t that standard?) I have some stickers I bought from the now-defunct Sew-Classic.com (I miss them), so I put one on the throat plate that came with the machine while I waited for this one to arrive. This came from SewingGold.com. It must be their design and manufacture because their name is stamped on it. I also ordered a narrow presser foot from them. Narrow presser feet used to be standard on vintage non-zigzag sewing machines and I find that I like them better than a wider foot.

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I am currently in software hell—Intuit is forcing people away from the desktop version of QuickBooks and into their online “software as a subscription” model. I’ve resisted as long as possible, but I’ve had to capitulate. Unfortunately, the desktop app associated with the online version doesn’t work on my computer, and I think it’s because my operating system is out of date. My operating system is out of date because of some goofy glitch that Apple has yet to fix, and it is beyond me to hunt down and resolve the incompatibility. I am going to have to take the computer in and have an expert fix it and update the operating system. I can use the online version of QB in my browser, but I HATE THE LAYOUT. (Yes, I am yelling.) It doesn’t look anything like the old layout and every 10 seconds, some screen pops up to ask me a question.

Arrggghh. When I was checking out at Costco yesterday, the cashier asked me if I was enrolled in their auto-renew program and I said, “No, I would prefer to be in charge of when I renew my membership.” She muttered something about Costco eventually forcing everyone to sigh up for auto-renew and I thought to myself that when that day comes, they will lose me as a customer.

I am annoyed by this constant intrusion into my life and privacy. I don’t need computers to take care of my every need.

Somewhere, recently, I saw the results of a random survey that indicated that something like 66% of GenXers would prefer to go back to the time before the internet. I guess our demographic has reached the point of longing for the good old days. Truly, though, some of this is getting ridiculous. I managed just fine without my phone for eight hours yesterday.

The myth of progress. Everything new is not, by definition, improved.