An Ode to My Favorite Tools

I was passengering in the car on Friday on a little bit of a road trip.  Given I had time and daylight, I thought I'd work on one of the penguins I'm crocheting.  In the midst of getting things transferred from my work backpack to my car bag, my Furls hook ended up in the trunk.  Thankfully, my straight set was in my bag.  And while my straight hooks are perfectly fine and they work and I used them for years, those were two long hours without my Furls.  It got  me thinking....it's easy to take the tools we use for granted.  

It's about time these tools get the attention they deserve (in no particular order)

Furls Crochet Hooks (www.furls.com)

Their website claims (in a nutshell) these hooks are a more natural feel and result in less fatigue and such when crocheting.  Yeah, I can tell you, it is absolutely NOT in my head; I can sit with these for much longer than standard hooks.  My hand doesn't get tired or cramp; my forearm doesn't get sore.  I think my stitching is more even, too.  Sure, each hook cost somewhere in the same vicinity of my entire interchangeable knitting needles, but....some days comfort (and, ok, these are beautiful!) is worth the price.  

The Binding Tool (http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=5582724174265582&Store_id=399&page_id=23&Item_ID=1500) 

I purchased this from Missouri Star Quilt Company, but am sure this can be purchased in other places.  To see this tool used and then actually use it to be sure a quilt binding has the proper overlap and such was so nice.  

Lantern Moon Knitting Needles

These came in a "mystery knit box" I received (and then a bonus set b/c they shipped an extra knit box instead of something else, but I digress) and I love them.  They are just so nice and smooth.  They don't have a metal "click" to them, but still a nice soothing sound.  Yarn slides along them nicely--not to slick and not too sticky (like plastic).  

There are so many  other tools I have that I use.  My trusty Kenmore sewing machine, Fiskars rotary cutter, mat and rulers, KnitPicks interchangeables (LOVE the color) and so on.  

What are your "must have" favorites?

UFO Sightings!!

I walked through the house tonight and was a little surprised (and embarrassed) by the UFOs I found scattered about.

• Penguin parts in the living room.
• A dishtowel requiring three rows & blocking until complete.
• A cowl that just needs the ends woven in and trimmed off.
• The quilt blocks that just requires the top half and bottom half (one seam!) be stitched and pressed.
• The two snap bags that are halfway complete (hidden under the January 2012 BOM).  

And that is just what is plainly visible!  It doesn't include the WIPs stuffed inside a closet or sewing basket like:

• The quilt top that needs pressed and mended before I call to schedule long-arming.
• A skirt that needs a hem (not that it would fit now anyway--2004?)
• "Footprints in the Sand" cross stitch (easily circa 1993)
• A flower needlepoint (likely to end up a pillow
• The second in a pair of tea towels
• A Care Bears cross stitch Christmas stocking
• I'm sure there is at least something else that isn't done!

As much as I want to look forward to what to start next (like my knit-along or crochet-along or the two twin quilts I have planned with the Moda Independence Trail fabric line pre-cuts I have), I suppose I should finish a thing or two (or three) before I start anything else.  

Any ideas on a good incentive plan?  Am I the only one with this kind of problem?

**update**
So just a quick update on the in-plain-sight UFOs

• A dishtowel requiring three rows & blocking until complete.--DONE
• A cowl that just needs the ends woven in and trimmed off.--DONE
• The quilt blocks that just requires the top half and bottom half (one seam!) be stitched and pressed.--DONE

Pin, no pin, unpin

Pin

Anybody who ever stitched two pieces of fabric together -- even if only in middle school / Jr. high Home Ec-- knows pinning is part of the rules to sewing.  Pinning and pressing are, I think, the two steps that are most often skipped b/c it's tedious work.  With some experience, I know these (and accurate cutting) are so important to having a successful finished product.  In quilting, it's even more important since we all want the edges and corners to (mostly) line up.  

I spoke with my neighbor about this  just yesterday.  She is an AMAZING sewist.  The daughter of a tailor and seamstress, I have every confidence she knows what she's talking about.  She pins everything.  And it shows.  Her one-of-a-kind handbags look better than anything I've seen in a store.  The detail and accuracy of the corners and edges is a testament to her skills.  

Ok, so what is  my point?  I suck at getting good results with pinning.  I line the seams of my blocks up, pin, sew and they still are off.  Sometimes, not too much, and other times, it's time to get out the seam-ripper and try again.  How timely it was to see a blog post come across my Facebook feed about nesting seems given my "jelly cakes" quilt top.

No Pin

The "Sew Can She" blog had a tip on nesting seams that involves NO PINNING.  You didn't read that incorrectly--check it out:  Sew Can She: Quick Quilting Tip Nesting Seams.  A chance to have blocks that line up AND not have to pin...what the hay...I'll try it!  I already had to rip apart two rows b/c the blocks were so misaligned.  I really had nothing to lose.  The picture below shows the results.  It worked!  It worked!  I admit, they aren't all aligned, but the most misaligned are equivalent to my best alignment when pinned.  This doesn't mean I will never pin again--far be it.  It just means, I probably won't when I need to line up seams. 

Unpinned

I found as I was trying to piece together rows during the girls' nap today, I realized I somehow mirrored the layout of my blocks.  I fixed the two rows I'd put together and had to either rely on my pictures to figure out the layout (in reverse) or redo the layout.  I opted to go by picture.  My opportunity to do this was after I'd put the youngest to bed while the oldest watched "Frozen"  (what? you haven't heard of that movie?!?!).  I'm sitting on the floor in the next room with my phone in hand trying to lay everything out in the proper order.  Isabel comes in, sits down and says "What are you doing?"  "I'm trying to fix a mistake I made."  "Mama, I want you to teach me to do that.  Because I'll be bigger and you're going to get old.  Like Rara.  And you won't be able to so I want to."  "Um, OK, Iz."  

And the "unpinning" (touching) part of this for me is that my 5-yr-old wants to learn a skill that doesn't involve a screwdriver, hammer or some other tool found at the hardware store.  This is the child who would rather help Dada change the oil in the car than help Mama bake bread; would rather watch Dada tune his RC truck than bead bracelets with Mama.  It has nothing to do with enforcing gender stereotypes (I'm truly thankful she wants to learn how to fix things and be knowledgeable of mechanical "things").  It is that she wants to learn quilting and she asked me, and I will do my best to teach her.  And...I'll tell her she has to pin everything. :)

In an effort not to end on a sappy note, this picture (below) shows how much is pieced together.  I have five rows done and the other six rows are 3/4 complete.  Barring any great mishaps, I think I'll have the blocks completely pieced together tomorrow (technically, today). I did order the fabric for the border, the backing and some extra to try my hand at a couple simple pillowcases.  I need to get a solid brown for one round of the border, but have some time.  I need to start work on a pair of matching twin quilts that I also purchased everything for....update on that coming up.  

 

Pilates Posture-ing

Despite a really crap night of sleep due to a sore throat and achy body, I still kept my Wednesday Pilates session at Pilates Sol (www.pilatessol.com).  I missed the last couple weeks and really looked forward to this.  

I am SO glad I went.  I actually felt better after I left than I did before I got there.  How often do you exercise when not feeling well and feel better afterward?  This is one of the things I absolutely love about Pilates.  Yes, I worked my body--it certainly was not an easy / lazy reformer workout.  I've had tougher, but Marcie (my teacher) is amazing and knows when it's time to push and when it's time to not push as hard.  Absolutely love her.  (I say this, but if she'd made me do the "series of 5" I'd probably be cursing her for the next three days).  

This had me thinking...why did it make me feel better?  It wasn't as if there is some miraculous Pilates move that has anesthetic properties to make my throat not hurt.  It does, however, make breathing easier.  Chest open, breathe, exhale move in opposition, controlled movement.  So I think breathing easier made the stuff irritating my throat to lessen.  The stretching / strengthening movements did help with the achy-ness alleviating the discomfort in my shoulders and back.

This then led me to think about why those areas were so achy. I'm sure it had *nothing* to do with my "sew-cation" and kneeling on the floor to cut pieces for quilt blocks or standing to press seems and layout blocks.  It probably had even less to do with sitting in an incredibly non-ergonomic seat to try to actually sew.  I know when I knit, crochet, sew....I do not sit with proper posture.  I didn't stand at the ironing board in with proper posture.  I basically let myself be a hunched, mushy lump.  It completely serves me right to be sore.  

What is the point of all this "posturing?"  Pilates is more than just going to get a (really good!) low-impact workout.  

Pilates is:

• strength.  
• flexibility
• confidence
• standing tall
• mind-body
• AMAZING

Pilates is physically possible for most people; but not for everyone.  It is not aggressive like weight lifting and it isn't as passive and some of the common Yoga methods.  It's sort of more passive-aggressive.  It's pretty pervasive, though, and, as I hope I got across, it can be such a part of daily life (in a good kinda way)

Sew-cation coming to a close

I took five days off of work for the purpose of sewing.  Yes, I took vacation to sew.  The kids still went to school and I sewed.

I did have a little bit of an agenda.  The first task was to create little drawstring bags for my eldest's Kindergarten-Prep graduation.  Nine kids (including her)....really, how hard could it be?  This was a free Craftsy class (http://www.craftsy.com/class/bag-making-basics-drawstring-bag-and-bucket-bag/149) intended for beginners.  In fairness, the pattern is NOT hard.  Just some straight cutting and straight sewing.--OK, I'll be honest.  I totally suck at both of those. I managed to complete ONE bag on Wednesday.  In fairness, I did manage to cut out 4-1/2 other bags.  One of them I cut a part of the exterior too short so had to do some creative grafting.  My option was to buy another fat quarter, but this was or 5-yr-olds.  I also managed to screw up the layout (and therefore cutting) of the lining for (of all people) my daughter's bag.  Thankfully, the exterior was John Deere fabric I had from another project and not a fat quarter.  Oh, the other "fun" part:  the drawstrings.  The drawstrings are a total pain and I swear it took almost as long to pull them right-side-out as it did to sew the pieces together.  Thursday, I managed to end the day with seven completed bags which left me with only two on Friday (my deadline).  SUCCESS!

The weekend was a bit of a bust since we spent Saturday at an airshow and Sunday is a bit of a lazy day.  I did break out the pre-cuts I purchased for a "Jelly Cakes" quilt.  The fabric is Sun-Kissed Spa by Michele D'Amore for Benartex.  I ordered it in 2012 (I only know this because I ran across the packing slip yesterday).  I have it laid out and hope to have it all pieced together today.  I will need to buy the fabric to put a border on it and the backing / binding.  We'll see how the day goes if I do that today or schlep the kids to find it next weekend.  Guess ther eis always the Internet route, too.  Here is how it's currently laid out.   

It ends up being short of a queen size, so I think I'm going to put a border around it.  I think I'm going to edge the blocks with a brown--maybe a solid Kona just to frame it and then a thicker border around that--just not sure if I want print or plain or which color.  Then to figure out the back.  If I go out, maybe will see if the LQS has anything from this line.  Though, guess I better get sewing if that has any chance of happening.