Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens....My Favorite Things Part 2

Thinking about my favorite things brings to mind that song from the Sound of Music.  I don't quite have the same list of favorite things but do like the ones in the song too.  So I don't hurt your ears I will not sing it for you - I am definitely not known for my singing ability!

The first item I am going to show you this time is this pair of scissors by Elan.  I love them as they have about a 2" blade length but the scissors themselves are around 6 1/2" long.  The blades have a fine serrate edge that grips the fabric as you cut it so you can be very accurate with cutting and they have wonderful big finger holes.  My hands do not get cramped using these scissors.

Next are a pair of scissors by Havel I use at the machine.  They are small being a little under 3" long.  I wrote about them here on this blog post.  Love them, love them, love them!


I really like having the small pair of hemostats to use for sewing also.  I can grab a piece of thread and they lock to really hold it.  I have also been known to take them to the bathroom mirror to grab one of those pesky hairs that want to grow on my chiny chin, chin too.  They work better than any tweezers as they lock on the the hair, er..thread, so it can be pulled out.

Before I had this brass stiletto I used the point of a seam ripper for the same jobs.  I can hold the fabric and guide it under the presser foot with the stiletto and still see where I am stitching.  I use it to hold down things that I am pressing to avoid getting burned fingers too.
The next item I have used quite a bit lately is this Dritz Ezy-Hem Guage.  I just estimated where 1/4" was and pressed the ends over this to make them nice and straight when I was making the luggage tags.  There are markings on one side to press creases starting at 1/2" up to 4".  It is a thin piece of metal and works pretty slick to get sharp, straight pressed fabric.  I have had this tool since I was first married, back when I sewed clothing where it came in handy to press in hems.  I was surprised it was still being sold when I found it online.

Of course my most favorite tool is my Bernina sewing machine.  The one I have now is a 730 but owned a 150 before that (sold it to one of my sisters), and before that had a 930 which one of my daughters has now.  I love the stitch it makes, the quietness of the machine...could go on and on about why I love my machine.

I have used the 1/4" foot especially made for stitching 1/4" seams and it works OK but my favorite foot to use is the #20 foot.  This is an open toed applique foot I got to go on the 150 and kept it to use on this machine.  There is an open toed applique foot that is made for the 730 but the space is too wide since this machine can do 9 mm wide stitches and I don't feel it holds down  the fabric as well as this one, especially when I stitch miniatures.  I use this #20 foot to piece with and to do invisible machine stitching on applique and buttonhole stitching.  I can see really well doing foundation piecing with this foot too.

When stitching seams together I move the needle to the right a couple of clicks to make the perfect 1/4" seam.  Got so used to using it on the 150 I have to force myself to use the regular 1/4" foot on this machine for seaming blocks together.  You can read more about this foot on this blog entry.

Come back again for another installment of my favorite things.  Have added a couple things to my list of sewing things I want to look for in Paducah - thanks for leaving the messages.

Happy Quilting,
Lynn

My Favorite Stuff ....Part 1

Here are a few of my favorite quilting/sewing things that I want to share with you.  Hopefully that will spur you all on to share some of your favorites with me.  Some of these I have probably already shared with you in past blog posts but since they are things I use all the time and really love I will repeat them.

The first one I am going to show you is a magnetic pin cushion.  I purchased mine when they first came out many years ago and it is shaped sort of like a rounded square but is large like the Grabbit ones you can buy now.  I like that I don't have to take time to stick the pins in a cushion as I am sewing.  When stitching on the sewing machine I take the pins out before I get to them and kind of toss them towards the pin cushion.  Calling it a cushion is really stretching it since it is not a cushion at all but old habits die hard.  The pins all line up the same way so you can pick one up without sticking yourself with another one.

When we had a house cat I had to lay a paper or fabric over the magnetic pin cushion or Toby would get on my sewing table and grab a mouthful of pins and take off down to the basement.  She never poked herself since the pins all laid all the same way but scared me a couple of times.  She liked all shiny things and one time took my wedding ring off of my dresser in the bedroom.  I later found it in the living room under a quilt rack where she liked to lay.  Boy was I relieved when I saw the diamond sparkling as I walked by it as I had searched everywhere for it!  Our girls soon learned to keep their necklaces and earrings put away too as a few of them got either carried off or batted off the dresser tops as well.

Speaking of pins, my favorite kind are silk pins.  They are really sharp and so fine and easy to pin fabrics together for piecing and don't leave large holes.  The brand I buy is pictured below.

I have two different needle threaders that I love and both are made by Clover. The one is a Desk Needle Threader and works so slick.  You put the needle eye into a hole, lay the thread across a groove and press the lever down and presto it pushes a loop of thread through the eye.  The older my eyes get the more I depend on it to thread my hand needles.

The second one is more like the traditional needle threader.  What makes it special is it has two sizes of wire so the fine one will pull thread through those really tiny eyed needles.  I have these needle threaders with every ongoing project I have and some to spare.  I can hardly thread the size 11 sharps without a needle threader.

The last "favorite" I am going to show you now is this folding seam ripper.  It has a sharp point and cuts well but the best part is that it folds into the lid so you never have to look for a lid when you want to take it with you to a class or workshop.  The point doesn't get bent or dull from banging around in your sewing box either.

Will share more of my favorites in future posts so come back - also post a comment on what your favorites are too.  The best way to find out what your favorites are is to look beside your machine or where you were working last and I would guess there are a few things you would not like to be without.


Happy Quilting,
Lynn

Paducah On My Mind

I have been thinking of the trip to Paducah off and on for sometime but since yesterday it is about all I am thinking about. I just got this brochure in the mail from my friend. It is chock full of maps, dates and times of events in Paducah and area communities. Have been pouring over it since then.

My two sisters, a niece and good friend and I will be traveling to Paducah to the AQS show on Wed. April 21. I talked to my sisters this weekend and they are getting excited about the trip too. I have gone the last two years and it was the most wonderful time. The quilts are magnificent and the shopping is mind boggling. The first year I didn't even know what to look for first and did a lot of going back and forth to vendors. The second year I made a list and knew if I saw what I wanted I better get it because I might not see it again or it would be gone if I waited until later to purchase.

This year I have had a list pinned to the bulletin board in my sewing room since the first of the year, adding things as I think of them. The items aren't necessarily things that I am going to buy but some that I just want to see in person before I decide if I need/want to buy.

Here are some of the things on my list:

* Jacquard colorless Textile Extender - read that some use it to set colored pencil and printer ink. Have no place locally to get it so hope I can find it at one of the vendor booths.

* Pageboy Template - with it you can cut printer sized paper. I am always cutting freezer paper to size and invariably cut it wrong.

* Piping trimming ruler - used for doing piped binding

* Rotary Blade Sharpener

* Titanium topstitching needles - need to check with my Bernina dealer to make sure I can use them on my 730.

* Masterpiece thread in cones - use it for piecing as I love how fine it is and it doesn't add bulk to the seams.

* Viking Mega Spool Stand - have heard Bernina owners use this accessory on their spool holder and it works like the extra cone thread holder so you don't have a thread stand sitting behind the machine.

Now I want you all to get your thinking caps on the give me some ideas of other not to miss notions, threads, etc. that you absolutely love. I do like that quilters are always willing to tell about their most loved items so am anxiously waiting. I know that this is a wide open request but I really would like suggestions - anything - scissors, rulers, templates, threads, books, patterns, seam rippers, anything that has to do with sewing, designing, ironing, quilting, etc. Please take a look around your sewing area and take time to leave me a message.

One thing that I am curious about is are there any longarm accessories, tools or templates that will cross over to domestic machine quilting? I am always looking for new stuff to help my machine quilting.

I have never had a chance to go to Houston to the big show there but surely do enjoy the Paducah show and after the long winter we have had I am going to bask in the nice weather (I hope.) I feel really lucky to get to go, have a great time with my sisters and niece and friend plus we get to stay with the sweetest woman right in Paducah. Betty Jane is the mother-in-law of our friend, she is such a sweet woman and so generous to let us stay in her house so we try to be good guests. We don't want her to have to work while we are there so do what we can to make our stay enjoyable for her too. We like to take snacks, a meal or two, and a few bottles of wine. (Have to have happy hour each evening after we get back from the show don't you know.) We get the sheets all washed and put back on her beds before we leave so we hope she doesn't have so much to do after we leave to go home on Saturday morning. We all know how much work having company is and sure appreciate her letting us stay with her.

I am waiting for your suggestions.

Lynn

Invaders...YUCK!

When sweeping the floor after lunch yesterday I noticed some little, little ants. Hmm....wonder where they came from? I looked around and saw several more on the wall and followed the trail of ants across the wall into the family room. When they got to the bow window they followed the trim down to the window sill and across the sill to the other side. These ants are less than 1/4" long so are very tiny but I could sure see them as they trailed across my cream colored walls!

At the far side of the window they were going in and out a small crack in the trim where it meets the window. We had problems a couple of years ago with these little ants and finally had to call an exterminator and have not had any show up since then. At that time they were coming in and out of a crack in the window trim above the kitchen sink and were all over my counter tops. I had to have everything put in air tight containers and leave nothing on the counter tops or there would be ants in it.

I did get good results with the following product - Terro ant killer. We just had so many it would have taken years to get rid of them all this way so opted for the professional. Today I pulled out the ant killer stuff again and started using it. Will see if I can get rid of them on my own again first.

To use this product you put a drop of it on a piece of cardboard or foil and the ants love it. I used the macro setting on my camera to get a photo of all these ants bellying up to the bar. They carry it back to the nest and get the rest excited about the new source of food so they all want some too. The directions say it is just sugar and borax and is not supposed to be harmful to pets and people but would be careful if you have children or pets that might take a taste too.

This is what the 3 drops of the Terro liquid looked like after about 1/2 hour. You can see the ants are ringed around each small drop. With many ants eating you will have to replenish the drops and put more on each spot every so often.

I did use soapy water and washed the walls and woodwork off where the ants had been trailing. Ants will follow the sent trails of the ants before them so want to confuse them so they would look for the Terro spots of poison sitting on the window sill near where they were coming in and out instead. It worked.. soon after I saw ants gathering around to eat on the drops of Terro.

They may be enjoying their treat now....but just wait. My belief is they have the whole world outside to live they do not have to live in my house!

Lynn