A Notion to Retire

Over the years I have managed to dull or break every seam ripper I own, with the exception of this cheap little plastic one that belonged to my mom (the one at the bottom of the pic.) Yet after something like sixty years of service, the blade finally grew dull, and there's no way to sharpen it. I've struggled on using it as it is because it was Mom's, but my hands aren't thanking me for that. Finally I invested in a new seam ripper/stiletto combo tool (in the little purple bag.)

The two-in-one tool is really beautiful, has a nice weight to it, and is self-capping. To use the ripper or the stiletto, you just have to pull out and reverse the ends.

I got this from Quill and Hive on Etsy. It was a bit pricey, but I wanted to invest in a better ripper, too, to save my hands.

As for my mom's old seam ripper, it's been with me too long to toss out, so now it will retire to my antique sewing box.

Comments

Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...

Rayen

Search This Blog