Tools of the Trade

Every trade (or hobby) seems to have its own tools. For gardening my favorite, must have tools are my Felco pruners and the leather holster I keep them in when not in use. Since I work at a nursery and love to garden at home I use them almost every day. Sooo, I had to add another tool which was a good quality leather belt that I could strap on in a flash and get to work with my tools near by. Next thing I have to have with me is a good pair of gloves. I keep them in my pocket so the ones I use most are thin, washable and fit like 'a glove'.


A wife of a friend was moving recently and didn't have the space for her quilting frame so she gave it to me. I really don't have room either, but hope to one day. Curiosity got the best of me the other day and I just had to set it to see how it worked. It was easier to set up than I expected, but took up too much room to leave up if anyone wanted to watch the TV. I did use it though to pin a quilt top. This required using another tool that saves my hands, it is a wooden dowel with a brass fitting on the end that helps to push the pin closed and it helped me to work faster too. It is called Kwik Klip and can be found at most quilting stores. We were able to store the frame behind the couch after we took it apart, and it really didn't take very long to set up. I should be able to put it to good use one of these days. Thanks Gail!

I also tried my hand at hand quilting which has lead me on a quest for a perfect thimble. Anyone reading this please leave me a comment if you have any to recommend. I have to go back to The Quilt Show and look up a video I saw a while back where Alex Anderson covers the subject. I have never felt like I needed a thimble before because I like to feel what I am doing, but those little quilting needles are really sharp! I also started working on some embroidery and found some really nice needles, nice because they are sharp. Not only is the point sharp, but so is the head of the needle and I actually drew blood which doesn't look so nice on your beautiful embroidery project. I use to garden without gloves too for the same reason I like feeling what I was doing, but soil really dries out your skin and I got tired of having rough hands and ugly fingernails so I searched for gloves and found that I now use different gloves for different gardening jobs. The same might apply to thimbles...hmmm...I could start a thimble collection to add to my pin cushion collection. The search could be fun!


I did finish another project the other day that I am quite happy with and will use it to take my notebook and other odds and ends to class. I love the fabric and have no idea where I got it or what line it is from... isn't that the way it goes? I think it will be quite handy. This is the 4th bag I have made with the same pattern by American Jane. It is pretty simple and really nice size.

What is your favorite thimble or thimbles and for what kind of job?
Thanks for sharing!

Ferne