Tough Babies

Hens hatching their own chicks is infinitely easier than buying and raising chicks from the farm store. I am a nervous wreck with three-day-old chicks in a brooder box, while mama has hers out in the chicken yard:

Dave is very protective of the babies. He let me know yesterday that I was not welcome to get too close. (I was trying to get a look at their wings to see if I could tell if they were male or female.) And he makes sure none of the other hens hassle them:

We should know within the week if anyone else is going to hatch any babies.

I need to check the chicken yard today to make sure there are no openings big enough to allow chicks to escape.

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My sewing area is mostly back together and the workflow is much better. It rained off and on all day yesterday, so I worked on the Fat Quarter Fancy Star quilt. I am not feeling the love for that one. I’m going to finish sewing the blocks, I think, but not the quilt. I’ve decided to package up and donate some of my UFOs to the Ritzville relief sale in October. In addition to the quilt auction, they have a “yard sale” area with craft supplies and fabric. My friend Margaret used to buy half-finished quilts there, finish them, then donate them back to the auction the following year. I haven’t devoted the time to making quilts for the auction, but I can donate my languishing UFOs. Someone may come along and decide that’s the perfect project.

If nothing else, making quilt blocks has given me time to get to know the 880. I’ve also watched several Bernina videos about that model and they’ve been very helpful. Yesterday afternoon, I went through a video about using and manipulating the decorative stitches. That machine is so powerful, with so many features. I think it’s unfortunate that it got something of a reputation for being difficult to use. Some of that can be attributed to a lack of communication between Bernina and its customers. The bobbin threading is a perfect example. The accessories kit includes a dental mirror because the threading path for the bobbin is underneath the bobbin race and impossible to see without using the mirror. Owners were told to use the mirror to look underneath the bobbin race to determine if the thread was seated correctly. I watched a video hosted by one of the Bernina educators and she said that there was no need to use the mirror if the sewist pulled the thread up and to the left about 12", which makes the bobbin rotate twice and automatically seats the thread where it needs to be. And yes, that works, because I tried it several times. 🤯

[I like those videos because that educator thinks like an engineer and explains the “why” for everything.]

I submitted three additional class proposals to Sew Expo yesterday. The teacher coordinator specifically asked for more fitting classes, serger classes, and knitting/crochet classes. I’ve already submitted proposals for six knitting classes, so the second batch of three class proposals were for my thread class (I got the okay from Wonderfil), a serger class on using the cording foot, and a class on basic pattern fitting adjustments for newbies. I added a note that I feel like something of a poser submitting a class on fitting because I have no formal training, but I know what skills I had to learn to fit myself and I think there is a real need for a class that introduces new garment sewists to basic adjustments so they don’t get overwhelmed by all of the technical information. Sometimes learning from someone else who isn’t an “expert” is helpful, because experts often forget what it’s like to be a newbie.

I’ve got an appointment to visit with the teacher coordinator by phone next Tuesday, so I should know by then what classes she’d like to have me teach.