July's Must Have Tool? Ott Light

The Ott Light, natural light for your tasks! I love having this when I am trying t
to match fabrics, and when I embroider or do beading work.

June's Must Have Tool~ A Stash

Collecting has had a bad rap of late, with several shows on the air
 telling of people who have allowed their need to collect and shop
become deadly or at least unhealthy.

However, I pose a different story, I am a costumer, or I am a Semptress,
what we would know as a seamstress today.  I create things from my
imagination.  Sometimes I copy awesome things from Stage or Screen.
I research my the periods in time that interest me, and I strive to be as accurate
as I feel I need to be.  This means I need to have things on hand such as;

• Buttons
• Fabrics
• Trims
• Ribbons
• Threads
• Needles
• Beads
• Pearls

And much much more, why? Well during my experience with fabrics which
now spands more than 25 years, one year?  Something will be in and it
will be gone the very next year. So I purchase, when I can afford it,
and then place in a storage bin for when I need that specific fabric. 
I do use clear storage bins. I label each of the bins as well.
I place a nice smelling potpurri bag of goodness in each to keep out
vermin such as moths (ick).  I do go through the fabrics, and if I find
I pass over a piece for more than 4 years? Then I deem it okay to donate
to someone else or sell or make something to give to someone else.

May Must Have Tool

Really tired of pins? I know I am, but many times I must use these sticky owie pieces of torture since there is nothing else right?


Meet my little friend  Wonder Clips!
They can be feed under the presser foot and no worries on snapping your needles!! 

April's Sewing Organizers!

I don't know about you all? But Spring has me thinking of organization!  I find it difficult to sew or even begin to create in a messy space.


So here are some of my favorite organizing supplies.  For today, buy them quickly, I have some from the past that you simply can not purchase anymore they are not made!


These are from JoAnn's.com, this is a great holder, it is a  medium sized piece not too heavy and you can carry loads of needed items within!


  
This is more than one thing, you can stack these, and if you pick up any of these boxes: 9000AB,9001AB,9007AB,9100AB,9101AB.







But perhaps you are looking for a smaller tote?
 
This is offered at Amazon.com, just do a search on Artbin Sewing Organizers to get them all, for you to check out!  The one on the right is a perfect piece to hold threads, did you know? Threads especially cotton threads deteriorate in the light? So keeping them enclosed is supposed to inhibit that.  Below is the ArtBin Double Take Translucent Container


 


As for carrying the sewing machine?  Hemline has a line of rollers for your machine and embroidery machines, currently they do not have one large enough for the Viking Diamond Series embroidery, that I know of!  

March Tool of the Trade

March Must Have Tool~

The Needle Nest

I know it sounds easy, however, I have several of these gems, I place my embroidery needles in one in another are  my beading needles. I even have one that holds larger eyed needled for when I need to make lacing holes with linen or silks.  It is limited in size so some of my larger needles are not able to be fit in, you can find these at almost all stores, however it seems Walmart has different colors of Purple and Green, I have only found Blue at JoAnn's and Micheal's. 

February Marking Fabric

I always go to the Quilting aisles to find the good interesting tools. So being able to mark fabrics~
 


So how are you to figure out which ones work? I have spent a while playing with many 
the ones with the powdered chalk I had issues with loss of chalk and having to play with it to get the correct amount coming down, owning several so that I can do both dark and light fabrics, Pencils I had to have a separate sharpener so that I can get a good point and the triangular one, would get broken and then I had to try to use a bit I could find...so I began to see what was out there here is my choice!


Chalk Pencil Cartridge Set, now by Clover


I Love this pen, it's width allows you to see the chalk and with all of the colors it gives you the ability to work on dark and light fabrics, You do need to have patience so that you do not skip your line, it is easy to break these and the carrier for the extra is flimsy, do take the time to tape one side so that it opens and shuts, or you will drop the extra chalk out!

 Again now packaged by Clover,

This one I did not like....the pencil is very fine and comes in White, Pink, and Green.  I found the pencil lead would break easily while trying to make a line, and so this was very frustrating. I also have to say the thin line was hard to find on dark fabrics.

January's Cool Tool

Hello Everyone,

January has been hectic for me but I wanted to get the cool tool together and it is the bobbin
Saver!! I have owned one of these for the past 10 years, my 3 year old at the time was just tall
enough to find knocking my bobbins down, his personal joy in life.  Enter the Bobbin Saver,

He  became bored once he saw none of the bobbins fell out but then