Best stitching accessory survey

I remember the red "sticks" of sealing wax. As a small kid I burnt my fingers many times on melting it. Do you remember presents didn't arrive in the mail in boxes. The "thing" whatever it was was put in brown paper, string , sealing wax etc. Many times it was a nighty( nightdress) case, and also something soft. Going back to the same era. When you bought something from the shop (there we no stores as we know them, you went to the counter, asked the assistant for what you were looking for. He ( occasionally a she if a female item) would pull a magic drawer out from behind the counter, and show you what was there. After the purchase was made, that package was in brown paper, tied with string, and a little loop to put it over your finger.

Damn!!! I am getting sooooo old! I even bought a top from Bon Worth today!! Basically to wear to Japan, because shorts and rarely jeans are my mode of dressing! ladylike just isn't me!!

Gillian

There are several - I agree with the magnets (though mine aren't particularly heavy duty). I wear them on my shirt, one on top, one underneath, right where I usually try to put the needle in my clothes (top right chest.) But I can stitch without them. The reading glasses - fancy, sparkly, or plaid - are also really useful. I can, however (though with some difficulty) stitch without them. What I find almost indispensable is my Loran needlethreader. I bought 25 of them the last time I bought any because I have a fear of being without.

Alison

25 of them? Oh my word! I thought I had a lot of scissors! Cheryl

I used to love anything that involved lighting matches lol I could fire them out of the meccano guns we made and if it hit right (not Swan of course) it would ignite. Sealing wax disappeared at a rate of knots.

My brother and I stoked the fireplace with the CO2 tubes used for making soda water - it blew the coals everywhere. Little bonfires throughout the room. The insurance man commiserated with my grandmother and declared that one just didn't know what they left in the coal 'these days' - war time lol

Do you remember presents didn't arrive

I remember that. I also remember buying groceries that way, standing at the counter asking for what one wanted, a pound of flour, which she measured out, 2lbs of sugar etc. That was after the war, well after, maybe 1957 or so when I was first housekeeping.

Well depending when you are going, don't forget Japan is pretty much on the same latitude as us, cold in winter, often snowed in Tokyo and baking in the summer.

You'll be fine, I suggest you don't put in too much worry over this. Perhaps ask your son to find out how much formality they will expect and then you can feel comfortable.

I feel silly saying this, but they're my orange and yellow pencils, used to mark up 'done' areas on charts. In second place, an old pair of cuticle scissors with extremely fine points.

I'm getting good at throwing pieces of less that two inches on the floor for the vacuum to collect.

This explains your fascination with scissor fobs.

1. My favorite comes from the quilting world - a pair of snips with a cover on the end so I don't end up stabbing myself with the points.
2. Also a narrow drawer divider thing (maybe 2" X 12") to corral all the miscellaneous tools I'm using.

For me this are my hands , my thoughts and feelings , these are my BEST ACCESSORIES ,,, For all my craft and art works mirjam

Only in part. I also love beading and think of fobs as scissor jewelry.

Cheryl

Yes - my retractable pink highlighters are also really really important.

Alison

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen said

Excellent answer. What non-organic items in your tool chest do you like best?

"anne" wrote What's your favorite stitching accessory or utensil?

My cat Evil Louise. I stitch to relax--or at least, I try to--and nothing is more helpful in relaxing than a purring cat on one's lap. It is worth the odd bit of soggy floss when she wakes up and decides to gum the passing thread. Dawne

Probably My LOOM [ big floor 8 harness 22 " wide , My knitting and crocheting , and sewing needles and sewing machine ,, but i still think that None of those has any value Without my hands feelings and thoughts .... mirjam

I'm a minimalist as well. Other than scissors, needles and a hoop, there isn't much else I use for needlework, and I'm a bit peeved at the scissors at present. I can only find one pair, the Ginghers (fortunately).

I'm accident prone, and so don't use markers on my charts - so the plastic page covers are probably my favorite innovation.

The accessory I need is a needle roll. I use a child's quilt on top of my worktable, and a small needleroll would work so much better. Dora

HMMM -- I would have to say it's my Grip-It frame stand even tho' it doesn't fit into my "tool chest". Even projects that are very small get put into some sort of frame and then mounted on the Grip-It. As for things that could actually fit into a tool chest of some sort -- I'd have to say I like my pretty little magnets with kitties painted on them. I have several sets and am always on the prowl for more. I wanted a sit-on-it type stand for ages and knew that the one sold in the Herrschner's catalogue was probably not the best. The search for info on a better product is what led me to RCTN and my very first post was asking for advice on this type of stand. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

For me it is at least 3 things.

Gingher scissors Bohin Needles Wonderful Craft bags and organisers by Yazzii

And fabric that is nice to handle............... Joanne in a hot Perth where summer seems to finally have arrived..........

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I'm at that awkward stage that I actually take *off* my glasses to read or to stitch! Even with bifocals, it doesn't work as well as just the naked eye. So one of my newest "needlework accessories" is a beaded glasses holder chain, so I can let the glasses hang when I'm stitching and have them near at hand when I need to look up at the TV screen for an important scene/headline!

Sue

It's that youthful 'invincible' thing lol