Highs and Lows in the World of Finance

Here’s my story.  A few months back, I took a pretty darn hefty pay cut so I’ve been living a thriftier than usual life.  I saved all my Christmas and birthday present money and got a good tax refund so I convinced myself that I could splurge a little.  What did I want?  Another sewing machine.

The Brother PQ-1500S - Object of My Desire

Never mind that I already have three sewing machines—my fancy-pants Bernina which I love, my perfectly serviceable serger, and my old faithful Kenmore—I wanted another one to be fully dedicated to use on my quilting frame. The Brother PQ-1500S; a nifty machine that my friend Denise has and that I covet.

So I hemmed and I hawed and I changed my mind at least forty-three times, then I ordered it.  It was done.  Irrevocable.  That sewing machine was on its way.

Not an hour later I got into my car and the air conditioning died. 

Life without A/C in Arizona is hot.

I live in Arizona.  A/C is required.  Sigh.  I was being punished for my frivolousness. 

Oh well, no use crying over it.  I am going to have both a new sewing machine and new A/C in my car so I may as well be excited over it.  Yay!

A sneak peek at a corner of my handkerchief quilt.  You'll see the whole thing when it's done.

I wanted to be ready for the arrival of the Brother PQ-1500S so I spent some time on the weekend readying a couple of quilts for the frame.  The first one you can only have a little peek at.  It’s a handkerchief quilt that I made some time ago.  To get that ready, I needed to piece the backing.  This is a monster-sized quilt . . .  well queen-sized plus a little extra.  I sure am glad I have a frame to put this on.  Gone are the days of trying to shove these big quilts through the tiny sewing machine.  Oy!  My neck hurts just thinking about it.

Second quilt ready for the frame and my new sewing machine.

The second one is a little gem I whipped together recently.  The fabrics (except the border) came from my friend Sue M.  I believe they were leftovers from some project she did as when they arrived they were all bundled together.  Sue has exquisite taste so making something from her scraps is guaranteed to be pretty.  I intend for this to be a charity quilt. 

Closer look--pretty fabrics.

I bought the border, backing and binding fabric.  Okay, it’s been a long time since I paid full price for fabric in a quilt shop.  Holy mackerel, has it gotten expensive!  $11.50 a yard?!  Man, I used to think $8.95 was expensive.  I know, I’m sounding like an old person.  (Why, in my day, fabric only cost a dollar, but we had to walk 5 miles in the snow with no shoes to get it!)  I guess I’m lucky that I inherit scraps from so many people.  I don’t know that I could afford quilting if I didn’t.

Waiting impatiently.

Now, I have to wait impatiently for my new toy to arrive all the while sweating on the way home from work until my A/C gets fixed on my next day off.  I'm not good at delayed gratifiction.