Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:
Do you have a favorite needlework tool that you like to work with? What is it and why do you like using it?
I don’t really use a lot of specialty tools for regular stitching. I just need a fresh, smooth needle, a good pair of scissors and my Ott-Lite when it’s too dark. Sometimes I use a dololly, if I need to tuck an end. Hardanger or other cutwork is a slightly different story. I break out a different pair of scissors – ones that have tiny, curved tips and are wickedly sharp – and sometimes I use a pair of tweezers to remove the threads once they are cut.
I’m trying to get into using a needle minder, since the ones from Kelmscott are so gorgeous, but I haven’t stuck to it yet. I’m trying to keep my projects relatively small and portable right now and the needle minder doesn’t quite fit into that. It’s easier to sink a needle into the margin of the fabric for portability than risk whether or not it’s going to stay on the magnet while being jostled about in my bag! Then, when I’m home, I find it’s easier to keep my needles in a pincushion. I’m using a tuffet right now that has a ton of eyelets. I keep the needles for different projects and uses in specific eyelets, in specific sections of the tuffet.
I use the stand that Terry made for me for bigger projects, but I haven’t had any time to work on anything like that in a while.
