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.



Zip Zing

I removed this zipper from a t-shirt yesterday. What was a zipper doing in a t-shirt? Well may you ask. Apparently it was there as an embellishment. I liked everything else about the garment when I tried it on. The shaping suits me. The colour is one of my favourites. There's a bold black print, nicely placed across the front. Add to that some interesting hem details in a tunic-length top and I thought I had a winner. All except for this zipper. It was securely stitched to the left shoulder. Please note the use of the past tense. Now I have a spare zipper in a colour I like: I've noticed a trend to zips as embelishments over the past few years. At first I thought of it as an anti-establishment statement: something tough and functional, unusually placed to make an impact. But when I saw zipper rosettes on sale at a craft show last year I figured the trend had come full-circle.

Anyway, the unpicking went smoothly. I was afraid of damaging the underlying fabric. That would have been another statement which I didn't want to make. And if I get the time, I might make myself a little bag to go with this outfit. Then the zip will have a purpose in life.