The Right Stuff

My Grandfather was an engineer. He taught me that to do a job right, you need the right tools. I have a lot of tools for specific jobs and I love the tools as much as the finished project. I enjoy looking at and handling the tools.


I love the floss colors used in cross stitch, the subtle shading that can be accomplished with the right floss. One day several years ago, Rob and my best friend, Sue's husband, Steve went to a craft store and each bought two skeins of every color of floss for us. It was a wonderful surprise and I laugh when I visualize them going back and forth in the row picking up floss. Yes, my best friend is also named Sue and yes it can get confusing at times. I have a storage box of floss so that if a bobbin runs out I usually have a spare. When I use the spare I buy two more skeins.


For knitting, of course, you need needles. I had needles in most sizes that I had purchased over the years, but when my Mom died, I inherited hers, too. I also have the sets of double points and the circulars. They didn't make it into the picture. I have never figured out a good way to organize my needles. I keep them all in a box and have to sort through every time I need a pair. There must be a better way, but it needs to be easy or I won't keep it up.


Knitting requires other tools besides needles. I keep my finishing needles in an old prescription bottle so that I can always locate them. The stitch holders are kept in a zip lock bag. I lose a lot of markers. They pop off when I'm moving stitches and I can never locate them at the time. Later I find them between cushions on the sofa or stuck in my clothes. I'm sure a few have been eaten by the dogs.


Sewing projects have their own set of tools. There are lots more, including the sewing machine, patterns, thread, etc. I keep patterns in big boxes and have smaller boxes for thread.

I love buttons, too. My Grandmother had a tin button box and I played with the buttons every chance I got. I sorted them and lined them up and passed many hours with her button box. Now I have my own button box that holds buttons I bought for a certain project, then changed my mind and didn't use them, or buttons left over when I only needed two and the package held four, or buttons I just liked and bought with no specific project in mind. A couple years ago I saw that someone was selling his mother's button box, full of buttons, on e-Bay. I bought it and had so much fun looking through it. It was just like being six years old again.

I have a section of our office in which I keep my crafting supplies. My sewing machine is there and my craft books. Thanks to Gaylen I am now thinking of it and referring to it as 'my studio'. That makes me happy for some reason. We hope sometime to enclose the shelves with mirrored sliding doors. That will not only keep my supplies clean, but look less cluttered in the room.