Sometimes the Teacher Learns, Too

I had a machine mastery class yesterday. That is definitely the most challenging class I teach. I never know who is going to show up, with what machine, or what topics they want to cover, so I really have no way to prepare for it. I have a core group of students that attend almost every session. Four of them came yesterday. They don’t mind going over the basics each time, but they are also there to sew with their machines. We started by practicing combining stitch patterns in combi mode. I demo’ed the the cordonnet foot that is the Bernina Accessory of the Month for November. And after lunch, we made custom quilt labels using the embroidery module. That process really stretched me, mostly because I am not yet familiar with all the embroidery capabilities. Between the students and myself, though, we managed to figure it out.

They all signed up again for next month’s class.

I had a serger mastery class scheduled for today, but no one signed up for that one. (Breathes a sigh of relief.) I have another mountain of paperwork on my desk that needs attention, so that’s what I’ll be working on today. We’re still tying up loose ends on my FIL’s estate.

I am not quite sure how the schedule got away from me this fall, although the construction company and the estate did need a lot of hand-holding. If I make some headway today, I’d like to can pumpkin tomorrow. Or beans. Or something else we’re almost out of. 🫤

The potholders are all quilted and cut out. I need to make bias binding and finish them. And projects keep adding themselves to the sewing queue. One is the Chloe Coat from Sew Over It:

I bought some beautiful black and green and turquoise tweed fabric last year that was earmarked for a coat like this. (Some women buy shoes; I seem to be fixated on coats and jackets.) I like that this one has a zipper front.

[When I was at Pacific Fabrics in Seattle, I was accosted by a bolt of Hugo Boss deadstock coating fabric in a lovely black tweed with flecks of lime green silk. It was GORGEOUS. It was also $75 a yard and I would need four yards for a coat. I did not buy it, but it was touch-and-go there for a while as I argued with myself over it.]

And Sinclair Patterns just released a new hoodie design called Libby, which is a raglan/princess seam style. I can’t show you a picture because the photos on their website are protected and I can’t grab one, but I like Sinclair Patterns because they come in Tall versions. I wear a lot of these kinds of tops during the colder months. (Aside: We got a couple of inches of snow overnight.)

I’ll just keep chipping away at the sewing queue until I get a chunk of time to work on these larger projects. And I’ll have to find a way to stop adding projects to the list.

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Spider update: It is still hanging out in the kitchen. The husband fed it a couple of flies while I was gone, but flies are few and far between now that cold weather is here. I may have to stop at Petco and pick up a few crickets or something. I am determined to keep it alive through the winter.