Well, it has been some time since I sat down to write here, hasn’t it? As I’ve said before, life gets busy, and before you know it, months have flown by without me taking the time to sit down and think about what’s been going on. But as you know, I always have a way of coming back to this forum and catching everyone up on what I’ve been doing in the intervening time between posts. So grab a drink, and get comfortable, because I’m here to catch you up on what I’ve been doing since May (if I can remember).

Let’s start with the big news. Chris was promoted in June! I am so very happy for him, and super proud. This promotion is the culmination of months of preparing for, and passing, a very difficult interview process. I think we were both on edge in the months leading up to this, but in the end, all the hard work paid off. This promotion has led to big changes in our home life.

This promotion requires a lot more travel than he was doing previously. He has made trips to Dallas, Phoenix, Seattle and Nashville since June, and there is little chance of a break in the upcoming months. Travel isn’t the worst thing in the world, I suppose.

We have also made the life altering decision that I will retire early, probably around the end of next year. It won’t be an official retirement – I’m still a little too young for that – but it will be an end to my professional career as a finance manager. I’m not at all sad about that. I am looking forward to spending time in my studio, and being able to get more things done around the house, because frankly, I just don’t have time to really get anything done around here. I usually work at least 50 hours a week, and by the time I get home, I’m exhausted. We spend most of the weekend running around getting things done for the coming week, seeing family, and trying to spend a few hours relaxing, then it’s back to the grind. Monday morning comes a lot faster these days than it did when the kids were little!

So I’m going to retire and take care of the house, and puppies, and husband, and the studio. And honestly, I cannot wait. I’ve been working since I was 11 years old, when I started my first babysitting job. I’ve taken off less than 5 years total since then, so for 40 of the last 45 years, I’ve worked, sometimes multiple jobs, sometimes jobs while managing a side hustle. And I’m tired. I’ve raised two adorable kids to be two amazing adults, and been the primary breadwinner, and the supplemental breadwinner, and I’m tired. I am so excited that we have a plan, and the plan is for me to retire!

Of course, I have all sorts of plans for my retirement, mostly centered around my studio. Toward that end, I have made some investments in making sure that I’m going into this new endeavor with some great tools. In June, I made the decision to buy the Bernina 770QE Kaffe Edition.

This machine is just wonderful. It is the big brother to my 570QE, but it doesn’t have some of the idiosyncrasies that the 570QE has when it comes to the quarter inch seam. I will be writing a review on it when I’ve had more time to get to know it, hopefully after my vacation, which is coming up soon. Since it is a limited edition machine, it came with a lot of extras, like a rolling bag, embroidery designs, additional stitches, fabric, thread … it was a full package! I got a great deal on it since my dealer, Sew Special Quilts in Katy, Texas was having a floor model sale. I think it did not hurt that the new Bernina 990 was slated to come out in July/August, either.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was at the quilt shop when I spotted the Bernina L890QE, which is a serger/coverstitch combination machine. I’ve been eyeing the air threaded sergers since Babylock first introduced them ages ago, but I never seriously considered buying one. I have the Brother 1034D, which is a great machine, and the Brother Coverstitch 2340CV, which I have never figured out how to use. I figured that was good enough, but I bought them both when I had a much larger studio. If I could combine them into one machine, that would be great. If I could also get it to be air threaded … well, I’d feel like I hit the lottery!

I hit the lottery for sure!

It isn’t the best picture, but I snapped it when I was threading it. Right out of the box, the stitch is perfect!

The different color threads were just for me to practice on, and get a feel for the machine. Each thread path is a different color, so I bought matching thread just so I could see if there were any issues, but I’m as pleased as can be with the quality of the machine and the stitch! If I’d had a serger like this before now, I’d probably make a lot more of my clothing at this point.

I do intend to do just that going forward. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to get this machine. I’m not a small person, and the clothing for anyone who wears anything above a size 8 doesn’t appeal to me. It’s all either too revealing, the fabric is too thin (and thus, still revealing), or it looks like a tent. And the fabric is still not quality. I’d much rather spend some time and a bit of money to make clothing I love, than to wear clothing that’s just ok and not really my style. Fast fashion has just about destroyed the clothing industry.

But I digress. This is a hot button topic for me, so let’s move along.

My decision to retire next year has also pushed me to make a list of works in progress (WIP), so I can finish them when I’m retired, or as I have time before then. And I’ve started to purchase and kit future projects, which is a new thing for me, but something I’m enjoying very much. I admit, it’s a little like I’m a squirrel stockpiling nuts for the winter, but I’m a quilter stockpiling projects for retirement. Yeah, I don’t get it either, but I’m having fun with it.

So in short, Chris was promoted, I’m making plans to retire next year, and I’m squirreling away future projects. What have all of you been up to lately?