the right tools

The right tool for the job

 

My dear old Mum once said to me ‘why do you have so much fabric?’ and I laughed and said that until I had the full set I would keep on buying and adding to my stash.

 

I am pleased that she didn’t open a little drawer that contains my scissors. It is a little drawer as I said but when I tipped the contents out the other day looking for the right pair (and are they called a pair because they have two blades? P’raps we should call our rotary cutters scissor, without the ‘s’) … But I digress. I am the proud owner of at least 27 (pairs of) scissors – there must be others lurking with the various projects and beside the armchair and the sewing machine.

 

Some are useless. Like the pair that used to cut the kids hair and it’s 30 odd years since I was allowed near them to do that. Like the ancient pinking shears where the blades have become like a divorced couple – barely on speaking terms. Like the equally old dressing-making shears that still cut but require wrist supports to use for any length of time.

 

Mind you I have the superb, and expensive, plaster cutters that are really effective if you are into making chenille quilts (well I have made one); the brass handled tailors scissors sharpen up beautifully so can take to paper as well as fabric with them. Then there are the little scissors for embroidery work, a plethora of those plastic handled ones for paper, others that came out of the ark and my favourite, comfortable, use-for anything ones that I spend ages looking for and seem to have a life of their own.

They ‘wander’ to the other side of the work-room, sit on the warmth of the ironing board, stay in by the fire or supervise on the cutting table – anywhere but where I want and need them. Maybe they know I’ll go looking for them.

 

And then I have probably a dozen rotary cutters (or scissor) all with varying sharpnesseses of blades. Try as I might the one used for cutting paper (and substances not fabric including pins) always seem to be the only one at hand when the fabric has been smoothed and the ruler positioned.

 

Have you noticed the variety of sizes, shapes and colours available in cutters these days? Do I feel another ‘collection’ coming on?

And speaking of sets what about the assortment of snips, un-pickers and others blades that are available to use in our craft.

 

I was going to write about the ‘universal’ tools. When you start out you have the mandatory one rotary cutter, ruler and mat. How quickly they go forth and multiply!

 

Look closely at the sewing machine needle packets. That little work ‘universal’ features quite prominently and yet they are not (or shouldn’t be). If you follow the rulez each thread has a different needle according to its composition yet how many of us check we have the right one in the machine (mind you how many of us can now read the number etched on the shank of said needle? Our arms are far too short).

 

So, the right tools for the job quite simply comes down to what each of us are comfortable using. Does it matter that it is not the correct one as long as the end product is achieved?

 

My dear old Mum never did understand me. The stash is a lot, lot bigger that it was; the scissor set continues to grow and I’ve not even touched on the threads and the books and the quilts and the boxes, baskets and containers; and then there are, oh the sewing machines and …