Tool Time: Scissor Location System

I'm up past my bedtime to bring you today's craft. It was supposed to be something entirely different but there is no way I would have had time on this crazy day!

I may have stretched the definition of a needlework tool, but I would argue that the best way for me to find my scissors--which have a tendency to locate themselves somewhere between the end table, the arm of the couch, my lap, and between the couch cushion--is to have something on them that nearly doubles their size.

Tutorials:
SoEasyQuilts has a video tutorial
Abbie has a tutorial
Anne over on Focus on Finishing does too.

There are lots of ideas out there for these if you have trouble picking beads and colors!

Finish: Scissor Fob

This poor little scissor fob. I don't know why I haven't gotten to this sooner. I completed the stitching in July 2005. And according to that post I took the class with Lauren Sauer of Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches in 1995 or 1996. So this has taken 20 years. (I need to let that sink in!) You can see that it has a companion pincushion which has been finished since at least 2004, perhaps even earlier. The scissor rest and the needlebook still need to be finished, but we may or may not see them this month.

This finish uses an overcast backstitch. (If you click through, you will see how to make a piece of stitching into a bookmark. Jen is very clever.) I like this method because all the finishing is on the outside and is decorative. (I plan to show you a couple of even more decorative ways to do this.) Even better, I don't have to do any blind stitching. I'm so bad at it, it usually distorts my finished object.

If you'd like to see more action shots of this finishing technique, check out these blogs:

• Annette's Acre
• Focus on Finishing

This type of finish is often coupled (as I have here) with twisted cord. There are loads of tutorials for this.

• Vonna can show you how, using the Krienik Cording Drill.
• DMC shows you how to do it with just a pen.
• Head here if you want a video.

I do intend to add to the knowledge here, but not just yet.

I Made It Monday: Finished Fob

I stitched this in October of 2006 when my stitching friends from camp met up in Maine. So this 52x52 piece has taken me eight years to finish! (If I spend more time finishing, I am going to out myself as a procrastinator.) (Oh, really? You don't say. I hadn't noticed.)

Pumpkin Keeper, Drawn Thread

That fabric is not the backing. I went through the origami machinations of finishing the way Cynthia of the Drawn Thread outlines on the pattern (pdf). As my mother (the sewist) used to say when I tried to fold my way to sewing success, "That is not the way fabric works." It will do.

You can't tell from this photo, but that ribbon matches the vine exactly. Kind of a mushroom soup color.

This puts me at having finish-finished two projects for the year (of 12).

You See I Got Right On That

Running out the door to start the trip to help my parents with the house (again!), but needed to post. Will respond to comments from yesterday's post tomorrow. Lots to say, I think.

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A mere six days ago, I posted a list of things I planned to do this month. You will notice that "stitch a scissor fob for myself" is decidedly not on the list. But I did it anyway.

When I started it, I looked all over the pattern to see if I stitched with one strand or two. I couldn't find the instructions anywhere, so I went with two. I was nearly finished the front when I realized that I was going to run out of guacamole. That's when I reexamined the instructions and right there, right at the top of the page, one-over-two. D'oh! So I went out and got myself a skein of WDW so I could finish it--because if you're going to start something not one your (overly ambitious) list, you have to finish it. Even if you are not known for your ability to get things done.

Shepherd's Bush 2009 Scissor Fob
Kitted materials

Princess Sews Trim

Whoa. I guess a tutorial is in order. Thanks for the interest! I'll work on that this weekend.

In the meantime, I've been sewing trim on things. These pieces have been nearly finished for a long time. I just had to make and sew trim. Apparently, my princess self doesn't really like doing these menial tasks...I forced her.

This is an EE&F scissors fob. I think I bought it because people kept telling me that bestpal and I were two peas in a pod. She bought it too. She's probably been using hers for years. Anyway, I found that pea fabric--which is brighter than the stitching and even brighter IRL--at Keepsake Quilting, and just had to have it, even though I had to buy much more (like a yard) than I needed. I made the cord the same colors as the checked border. I like how it came out!

This was a camp project from 2005. It's Mary Garry's freebie needlebook. I completed the stitching in 2005; I think I sewed it up last year, but never got around to doing the trim. Now I have! Wow! I can bring it to camp with me next month!

I think this princess and I are going to have some more talks!