I learned from my parents how important tools are in achieving success with a handcrafted endeavor. I’ve collected my favorite tools over the years and keep them ready and handy for my projects. When I’m hand sewing, I’m often in the sitting area of my studio, not at my work table. This very cool vintage carved tray is the perfect place to keep the items I need corralled on my lap. My husband found it in the ice cream shop in historic Foxburg, PA and thought it would be useful. He was right!
I stitched the felted wool butterfly pincushion and attached a soft leather strap that allows me to put it over my head. It’s balanced to hang centered on my chest, a handy catch-place for needles and scissors. The little embossed brass case was at one time a cover for Avon lipstick. Now, with a wad of wool in the bottom, she makes a perfect case for my needles. Hemostats work great to provide an extra set of fingers, or to pull a needle through a tight bit of wool or linen. Two of my favorites were given to me by my dad when he was teaching me how to tie tippets and fly fish towards the end of his life. I moved them from my tackle box to my sewing kit after his health no longer allowed us to wade in the creeks together. The magnifying lens with the reclining green jeweled panther atop it belonged to my mother’s mother. Long after NeNe passed, it hung from a hinge in my mom’s kitchen. She gave it to me when she gave me her sewing machine. It has more elan than my dollar store magnifying glasses, that’s for sure. All of these things and more are part of the love that goes into everything I make.
Thanks for taking this little journey with me through my sewing tools and my memories.
#handmadedolls #handsewn #handmadedollclothes #felted #feltedwool #Foxburg
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