Of course I am talking about your seam ripper. This little gem of a gadget is ubiquitous. Most people have one, those of us who sew and quilt have lots, and have probably lost lots of them over the years. They are so indispensable to the process of making with fabric that sewing machines come with one. You can get one for about a dollar, you can spend some serious cash on one with a fancy handle. My beautiful maple wood turned one that matches the wood on one of my guitars was a gift. A nice comfy handle is helpful if you need to remove machine quilting. That usually takes a long time and is accompanied with a great deal of frustration and sometimes even anger. A good tool helps make it better. But a seam ripper for more than just undoing poorly executed stitches. It splits apart chain pieced units faster than scissors with less chance of snipping something critical and it opens up seam allowances when you need to spiral a bulky intersection. It can be used to keep you from burning your fingers when pressing a seam by holding it in place. At the machine it can help guide materials under the foot, once again keeping your fingers safe. So here’s to the lowly seam ripper. Be sure you have one is every sewing bag and box, and I even have them attached to each machine. Oh and just like scissors, needles and pins, they lose their sharpness over time. Is it time to treat yourself to a new one?
On March 2, we will have the final meeting for barbara Brackmans Civil War Quilt. 50 blocks, Five possible settings, I promise that as finishes come in I will post photos. It has been an amazing project. Our next Block of the Month is called Alaska, by Laundry Basket Quilts, and hopefully it will begin in April. There are still spaces to join so check out the details on the Alaska page. You will also want to mark your calendars for our annual Mardi Gras celebration, Fat Quarter Tuesday!! This year it is March 5. If you wear beads to the shoppe you can have your fat quarters for a dollar each!! I play some jazz, and if anyone has a good slow cooker gumbo recipe I would love to have it. See you soon!!!