34 Years and Counting

Today is our 34th wedding anniversary. We’ve been together for 37 years. I wonder where the time went, because in my mind, the husband and I are still in our 20s. LOL.

Class submissions are open for Sew Expo 2025. I love that they changed the submission process for this year. Instead of requiring teachers to submit fully-developed class proposals—with no guarantee that a class will be chosen—they are asking teachers to submit high-level class ideas for review. After a class is selected, the teacher is responsible for submitting a complete proposal. I can’t tell you how much that simplifies things on the teacher’s end. I’ll be submitting quite a few more class ideas now that I don’t have to do all that extra work. Proposals aren’t due until August 1, so I have time to think about what I’d like to teach. I’ll submit more knitting class proposals, definitely, but I might also screw up the courage to submit some sewing class proposals.

I ran errands in town on Friday and stopped at Joann Fabrics on the way home. I haven’t been in there in several weeks. I know Joanns said they wouldn’t close any stores as part of the bankruptcy reorganization, but our store is well on its way to being out of business. Shelves are empty. The home dec section only has about half the stock, and the rolls that are left are down to a few yards. The employees look like they are at a funeral. I won’t be the least bit surprised to see a “Store Closing” sign in the window before the end of the summer. They are rapidly running out of anything to sell.

The commercial pattern companies have released their summer lines and so far, I am underwhelmed. That’s not a bad thing as I am not lacking for projects. The only pattern I might get is this McCall’s apron pattern:

I don’t have any apron patterns in this style.

The husband is home from Colorado. It rained again yesterday, so I cleaned our bedroom and ran the air scrubber for a few hours while waiting for him to arrive. I am glad to have him home. Keeping all these animals (and plants in the greenhouse) alive, dry, fed, and watered is a lot of work.

Susan had to make an unplanned trip to Oregon to help care for aging parents, so I’ll have a few extra tasks on my plate this week for the plant sale. I will manage. She will be back in time for the sale next Saturday. The weather is supposed to be lovely. I have a Serger 101 class scheduled for Tuesday but I need to check to see if anyone is registered.

I took some time yesterday afternoon to clean up and organize my sewing area (again) while watching weather coverage. The husband laughs about my channel watching habits, but I don’t think they are any weirder than his channel watching habits. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I pulled out the patterns I want to make soon and put them with a stack of fabric. I am starting to feel like I am getting near the end of my closet makeover. What’s hanging in there now is certainly much more colorful—and fits better—than what was hanging in there two years ago. I am conscious of the fact that I don’t want to switch out fast fashion for fast sewing. I know it doesn’t sound like it sometimes, but I have cut back on fabric acquisition quite a bit.

My friend Christi, who lives in California, has been taking some sewing classes locally. She sends me periodic updates and photos of her projects. I am blown away. She just finished this shirt for her husband. Look how well it fits!

I love to see people being creative.