Thursday, October 8, 2009

New Temari; scissors and cutting tools

Here's the second of my Level 1 JTA temari. This pattern is called mitsubane, or tri-wing. It is very interesting to stitch, since one row in the pattern gives you the three points and the central hexagon. I'm pleased with how the colors worked out as well.

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You can see, peeking from the back, the completed squares temari. I just added a metallic thread around each square. It can hardly be seen from farther than 3 feet away, but I think it really dresses it up, and adds a perfect finishing touch.

When I was cleaning out my guild tote bag the other day, I found 3 scissors in the bottom of it, and I hardly recognized the pretty one. It made me start to wonder how many scissors I have (dangerous question, I know).

So I started digging in my stitching corner, and this is what I came up with. I was a little shocked. I don't consider myself a scissors collector, but I do like a nice cutting tool.

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Two seam rippers, grey handle for cutting paper, orange for cutting fabric, my rotary cutter for cutting out quilts (low tech, because my quilt phase was 20 years ago). Silver scissors with a lucet cord that hangs from my Ott light, this is the workhorse. My pink Gems live in the Quaker turtle's traveling bag, the blue/aqua scissors with the fob and the ribbon live in my Advent Calendar traveling bag. The folding scissors and the red handled scissors (and the plain silver scissors that looks medical) are the ones I found in my guild tote. The gold with the green fob and the stork scissors were in the work-box next to my chair (along with the seam rippers) and the silver pendant cutter on the beaded necklace also hangs from the Ott light, but I don't think I have ever used it.

The red handle, the gold handle, and the stork scissors have hardly ever been used, eve though they are the prettiest ones. It might be because they are put away for "good."

There are more that I couldn't find. There is a black handled one, shaped like the red handled one that DH considers his. I have a pinking shears that needs to be sharpened, and a drawer in the kitchen with scissors for opening packages and plastic bags.

When I was young I always used to bite my thread to cut it (and get yelled at for doing that) but my teeth are not sharp any more. If I try to bite my thread it just gets a little mashed. You will also notice that the small scissors I use the most have long tethers on them; I have a tendency to lose things. I feel guilty having all these scissors that are not being used, I don't know whether to rotate them in and out of projects, or if I should figure out a way to display them. The only thing I would consider getting rid of is one of the two (duplicate) seam rippers. I guess I'm a scissors hoarder.

1 comment:

temari by the sea said...

Hey Jane, well done on the new L1 ball, love them together too!