Calling All Critics

OK Girls....lets talk....openly and honestly here.

How many of us have paid good money to buy sewing tools that we thought were going to be the next best thing since sliced bread and it turned out to be a total frustration or waste of money?

Look around your sewing area right now (well...you don't have to get up out of your computer chair literally....you can sit back down for now and do it mentally...or do it later :) what have you bought that you wish you hadn't? How many things have you bought that you have never used? Why have you not used the item? Don't ya ever wonder what sort of money we would have for retreats, fabric, threads and chocolate for crying out loud....if we had not bought all these things we don't use or need?

I have an idea. How about we all share a few of the tools/gadgets/organizers etc. that we have bought and wish we didn't as well as share some of the tools/gadgets/organizers etc that we love and would recommend?

This is how it will work....cuz it is the best way I know how to do this for now....later when I'm more hip to this blog organization stuff it can be done differently.....OK send me pix of the things you hate and the things you love and tell me about each item. I want the nitti-gritty here and the details too. Send this to my e-mail with your pictures attached and I'll put them on my blog. My e-mail is IHaveANotion@yahoo.com . Put LOVE/HATE in the subject box so I will know how to sort the e-mails.

I thought to get things rolling I would post a few of my most favorite tools and some that I'm just not quite sure why I have them.



This bobbin box...waste of money and space. I hate the plastic lid that always seems to fall off and I hate putting it back on. Why? I don't know. I just have never liked any storage method for my bobbins. I have thought about the Easy Reach Thread Carousel however because the thread and bobbin can be stored on the same peg.



These little guys I really like. I make bias tape to use for straps and bindings for my projects. I really like them but I have to say....I LOVED the bias tape maker coming out in Aug by Simplicity. I think I'm so taken by that one because I don't have to keep checking to see if it is even and I don't have to keep moving the iron to check if it is all going well. That thingy-mo-bob machine did it all.

This little Clover iron is a conundrum to me. I bought it for applique....but I've never used it for applique. I have used it to heat hot crystals to set in hairbows and I have always burned myself. I think it is very hot and the tip is very small. I think it would be great if I just knew exactly what I really wanted it to do.

Here is this tiny iron by Drice. The directions clearly state "do not put water in it." However, the top has holes like you would think water would go in there. Why are there holes then??? The cord plugs into the side making it sit sort of cockeyed and a bit awkward to handle. I bought it to seal the edges of my Bag Tags so my really nice Rowenta did not get any adhesive on it. Well....I'd say this little fella bombed. I'd give it a minus 5...GONG. Remember that program? The Gong Show? This guy would have been Gonged for sure.

Here is a very pleasant surprise. This little Gypsy Gripper. I really thought who really wants or needs one of these. Big deal who cares....just pick up the ruler you lazy thing and move it around. Well....that is what I get for thinking....this little tool is wonderful. I can pick up my smaller rulers and move them around and I don't get the slide or visual distortion from moving them (my eyesight after 40 is not what it used to be....which is not so bad....that in turn keeps me from seeing my mammary glands on my waist in the mirror) :Q

This tool was given to me by my girlfriend, Mary Jane. I honestly think it is for putting in screens in windows. I call it my "Rolly Tool" and it is great for pressing seams open or to one side. I remember being told to thumb press things....well that never really worked well for me. Then Mary Jane showed me how to use my Rolly Tool....and it works great. I you have a high tech gadget and you want my advise on giving it a name....feel free to call me on the ma bell...I'm all over it.

Ok, another box I hate. Normally I love boxes....I even collect boxes because you just never know when you are going to need a really good box. Anyone else guilty of that? I prefer to have my thread on my gridwall because I can see it better. I bought two of these boxes so I use them. I wish I had not bought them at all. I don't like them stacked on the table and I usually have to move one to get to the other and then I have to lift the plastic lid. Oh just forget it. What a pain....I like to reach right up and grab my thread.....not pile through boxes. I hope I'm not sounding like a cry baby. If you think I am.....well.....I can't wait to hear your complaints!!! :)

I love, love, love my tweezers with the bend at the tip. There is a technical term for these....but I forget what it is right now (part of that growing older thing). They work great for threading my serger, my sewing machine, grabbing small needles and pulling them through a tough piece of fabric, picking up small beads....you name it....these tweezers will pick it up or pull it through.

Why oh why do they make wooden hoops that are flimsy and truly junk? I probably should have thrown this out a long time ago or used it for a frame and given it to someone I didn't like (I didn't just say that did I?) Well, its true. I don't like things framed this way and it does not hold needle work for a darn. Gong!!!

I did not realize this would go on so long. The last two pix are of scissors I love. My applique scissors at the bottom are excellent for trimming up close to the edge of fabrics. The smaller clippers are bent and are great for snipping without catching other threads or fabric. OK...I'll stop now and give you a turn.

Fill me in....give me all the details....I'll share them with others....and we will have some laughs and learn something from one another.

Smiles,

Kelly