Wanted

I sometimes refer to one of my quilting students as "the queen of the unpicker". It's not that she makes any more mistakes than the rest of us, but when something goes wrong, she almost always says, "I'll unpick it". It doesn't seem to bother her. Maybe this is part of the reason why. 

I took the photo on my phone, so the focus isn't great, but see that clever gizmo she's holding? It's the sharpest, neatest little stitch ripper I ever saw. The point is fine, the blade is sharp and it folds back into the handle for safe and convenient storage. When I saw it again the other night I made a decision on the spot. I must have one of those! I made a special trip to my local Quilt Store yesterday. There they were on the counter. The colours weren't so neat as the one my student has, but who cares? I bought two: one for my sewing machine and one for my teaching kit. I'm happy to report that I didn't buy any extraneous fabric. Next time I make a mistake I hope to be able to say "I'll unpick it" in a bright and breezy tone of voice just like my student does.



Working with Wire

I like working with wire. To me it's an extension of my textiles and a way of giving more structure to some of my work. I bought myself a gizmo at the Craft Show the other day to help me with my wire. I do love gizmos and this one is actually technically called a gizmo: The mechanism is remarkably simple. I've been tempted to buy it before, but was put off by the price. I'm not very good at remembering numbers, so I can't tell you whether the price last weekend was lower than usual, or if I was just in the mood to hand over the cash. Whatever! I bought it.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of beading magazines. What did I find in one of the feature articles? Yep, some beautiful coiled wire work by Darius Q Seeto. So I have a bit more inspiration to go with my gizmo.

Today I do have a list of things to get done, and playing with coiled wire is not on the list. I think I can solve that little dilemma by making the wire work a reward for accomplishing some of my other tasks. Now: a coffee, clear the sink and on to my list.

Cafe Knitting

I caught up with my friend M after spinning yesterday afternoon. I arrived at the cafe half an hour or so ahead of time and sat sipping my smoothie and knitting my scarf--a pleasant way to wind up a Sunday afternoon. When M arrived we ordered coffees and compared knitting progress. M is about to become a grandmother for the first time. She's been knitting up a lovely nest of cardigans and blankets for the little one. When she pulled out her latest effort I spied a cute, clever little gizmo. You know, I love gizmos.

It's a teeny tiny stitch holder: About the length of a teaspoon! It's like a miniature knitting needle with a springy strap and a little end cap to secure the stitches. It looked just perfect on a cream wool newborn sized cardi. M reckons she's had these at least thirty years and was surprised at my fascination. Oh, so cute and functional--there's nowhere for the stitches to get snagged and they're not going to fall off.

Well, we knitted a little, chatted a little, enjoyed our coffees and headed our separate ways home. But I took a picture of this clever cutie with me to share.

Gizmo Gift

There's a new member in my gizmo collection. It's a home-made swift or skein holder. I received it at the Neighbourhood House yesterday, as a bit of a surprise. I was there to borrow L's car and sort out keys for my evening quilting class. One of the key members of the craft group happened in. When she saw me she couldn't quite remember my name, but she excitedly started to describe something she had for me at home. It too was nameless at this stage. I gathered it had to do with winding wool--whether it was a warping board or a skein holder or something entirely different wasn't clear. The only way to solve the mystery was to see it. She was enthusiastic enough to drive home for it and bring it back for me. Here it is: Just the right size for my 2 metre skeins, low profile so it doesn't want to tip over and with fixed arms, so they don't want to collapse in. Having said all that, the skein I tried it on wasn't in the best shape to start with and I did have a few tangles to sort out. Overall: I love the home-made ingenuity of it and I'll happily give it another go. Better yet, the generous unexpectedness of the whole episode makes me smile.

Great Gizmo!

I know, it's a bit naughty to be posting about a new purchase when I've been bemoaning the lack of space for all the things I already have, but this is such a little purchase, and so very clever! I couldn't resist: I do a bit of beading and jewellry making--just for fun really: things for me to wear and the occasional gift. One of the really fiddly bits in making jewellry is opening and closing jump rings. I either need to use two pairs of plyers--which makes me feel like a robot animation--or kill my finger nails holding the teeny tiny ring still, while twisting it slightly. This clever gizmo slips on my finger--like a ring--and the jump rings slot into the little spaces. Then it's just a simple twist to get the ring open and there you go! I haven't actually tried it yet, but there's half a big table clear in my living room, so maybe today. As for the beads you can see in the background of the photo, I'm not going to talk about them. Impulse buys? What impulse buys? I don't know what you're talking about!

Edited to add:

My friend V just dropped in and saw the real thing of the gizmo, and gave me some friendly feedback. Here's another pic which gives the order of magnitude and a tiny little demo if you can work out that it's the tip of a pair of pliers holding the jump ring in the illustration. Hope that helps.