Let's talk tools

I'm the first to admit that I'm a tool "junkie"  and am always buying tools that I think will be fabulous and they are a dud.  But I've had some good luck lately and this first tool is absolutely fabulous and there are just not enough superlatives that I can use to describe it... If you have ever had a problem threading needles you will love this.

First it is about the size of a donut and fits perfectly in any sewing tote.  Second your hands are free when you use it...





The lid goes up and it telescopes out and HAS A LED LIGHT (battery operated).  You can get
your hand with a needle right under it.  It came just before I went to Kansas City and everyone saw me doing a happy dance every time I used it...  I keep it wherever I'm working when I am at home.

This would make an excellent gift for any friend with vision problems.  It is available at Amazon/






Next when I stitch away from home I use a travel light...  I have at least 5 or 6 of them... Some too big, some not enough light but my favorite up until now was this OTT led light which can be used with either batteries or electricity....

It is nice and compact to take in a suitcase and give good light with AC/DC.  I took this one to London.  Hotel rooms are notorious for inadequate lighting.

But it is going to be discontinued and my new one is better.

I just bought this one before we left for Seaside and it too folds down perfectly to fit in a suitcase or sewing bag.  It is about 5X6"....not much bigger than my cell phone but thicker.

But it too telescopes out and is very adjustable.  It can be used with batteries but it can also be used with electricity which gives a better light. I really like the option of either power source.  It is very adjustable and I can bring it right over my needlework...

The light is led and very bright.  In fact it has two brightness settings.  I've only had it about a month and have only taken it on one trip but so far I love it.

It   is available at Amazon.

Now I am never without these glasses with the flip down magnifying lenses. They are very light weight and I can slip them on quite comfortably over my prescription glasses..  Mostly at home I work directly under my large magnifying lamp but there are times that I need  to see close and also farther away and then I can look right over these magnifiers.

I do NOT like the ones that clip onto my regular glasses where I would have to constantly be putting them up or down and the weight of the clip-ons drag my glasses right now my nose and are also very uncomfortable.  These are working great.

Again... Amazon 


These have become a godsend for playing cards where I have to see the cards in my hand and look  at the cards on the table.

I've saved the latest new tool for last.  This does count as a stitching aide as I am usually off stitching when the kitchen is filling with smoke. I recently blogged about our loss of Molly and how she was so diligent about alerting me when the stove timer went off... I am constantly "overbrowning" things without her... For me this is a very big problem.   I began searching for timers but almost all just ding or buzz for a short interval and quit and also the alarm levels were not adjustable.  But I have found this.  It is designed for a noisy restaurant kitchen station.

It is large and plugs into electricity.  The alarm is adjustable up to 90 decimals and will not stop until you turn it off manually.  Besides the siren it has a flashing red light.  And once it goes off it begins recording the length of time it has been ringing.

It too is available at Amazon and is quite large (about 5 x 7" and weighs a pound) and also very pricey but Molly would approve...  I really miss my "kitchen buddy."

Product Features

• Volume Control Dial - Adjusts Alarm Up To 90 dB
• Large, Easy to Read Display
• Flashing Red Alarm Light Can be Seen Across a Room
• Automatically Counts Up Once Timer Has Elapsed
• Non-Skid Rubber Feet

PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT!

SOMEBODY SHOULD PATENT THIS!!!  I blogged for a year about how I love having my threads on rings like JMB but I wanted ALL at hand where ever I was stitching in the house.  Recent I blogged about how I converted a revolving shoe rack into a thread merry-go-round. (http://olderrose.blogspot.com/2014/09/could-i-be-more-hoop-happy.html BUT it was a little shorter than I liked... so back to the barn this morning.  With an old broom handle and a couple cotter pins, it is now a perfect height.  I also added some plastic to the bottom of the basket to store tools in use... and a ring at the top to move it about...  It is so wonderful that I'm doing a "happy hoop dance!"

Two Useful Tips!!

I know I blogged earlier this summer about the Berol R-77 Ellipse Master but if you want to add a most useful and versatile tool to your arsenal of seam templates, this should be at the TOP of the list.  I started Lisa's blocks this morning and am using it.  It is so much fun. By combining different sizes ellipses and changing the direction, the possibilities are endless.  The cheapest place to find one is on E-Bay.

When I am stitching my little birds I like to outline their eyes with a white ring...  Now we are talking REALLY small.  The eye is the size of a #15 bead or about 1/16 of an inch.  Trying to use an outline stitch was impossible that tiny but I found if I stitched a thread at a time AND alternate  from side to side on the circle, I could get a very tidy tiny circle.... I love it when I find a solution for a irritating problem and this is one I'll use all the time...

DH is out of town for 3 days and this is the first time I've been alone that long since the shooting.  Since he is gone often I'll have to get used to it...  BUT I am locked in and except to go bathe my mother tomorrow I'm keeping it that way...

We are adding an alarm system but since we are so isolated  it is pretty much useless..and there only one patrol car for our whole part of the county...burglers realize that they can do whatever and be long gone before anyone can arrive.  But at least if the alarm is ringing when we come home, we won't go into the house.

Seam Building tools...one old and one new!

 

This template is something left from my years in graphic design and I only recently started using it for seam building and now it is my favorite tool .  I just love the flexibility it gives me... Now these templates are not cheap and this one is available for $29 at Amazon but I see them on Ebay for as cheap as $7...  This particular one is R-77 Berol eljpse master and is about 6x9"

  

  I love using loopy curves and so love having a guide that fits my seam ideas.  It's also great for adding fancy little finials to curves.

My most recent discovery was quite by accident.  I was going through a bag of craft stuff from the thrift store...and notice "plastic canvas" sheets in several sizes.... One of them had a grid exactly the same as the grid of the graph paper in my seam book... So I cut off a narrow strip and now I whatever I plot out in my seam book I can reproduce exactly.