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Marking Pens
What is it? – “The devil is in the detail”. It’s a common enough phrase. Perhaps some of us has even used it. But what does it really mean, “the devil in the detail”? How often do we start a project that looks like it’s going to be a snap, only to get bogged down in all of the details. You know, all the little things that consume so much time, make us a little crazy and eventually affect the quality of our finished project or maybe even determine…
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A Few of My Favorite Clover Tools for EPP by Diane Gilleland
A Few of My Favorite Clover Tools for English Paper Piecing By Diane Gilleland My new book, All Points Patchwork, is all about English paper piecing (otherwise known as EPP) – a lovely hand-sewn patchwork technique. I’m a big fan of hand-sewing in general, and my toolbox is brimming with Clover! So I thought I’d share some of my favorites, and how they make my EPP easier. (If you’d like to see some EPP in action, by the way, check out these videos.) Applique Pins, Fabric Glue Stick The first…
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Tool School: Mini Flower Loom
What is it? – “Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into.” That’s what Henry Beecher thought anyway. So how important are flowers? Claude Monet once wrote that he may very well have become a painter because of flowers. Art, literature, music, culture . . . all are replete with references to flowers. Can you imagine a Spring morning in the Colorado Rockies without fields of wild flowers? Or Japan without cherry blossoms? A prom without orchids. Perhaps Valentine’s Day without red roses?…
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Tool School: Jumbo Amour Crochet Hooks
What is it? -There was a time when almost all of the gals and some of us guys grew up learning how to crochet from our moms or grandmothers. It was a necessary skill that seemed to play out as life became more fast-paced. All of a sudden it was more economical to purchase finished goods than to buy materials and devote the time required to complete a project. Times have changed and creativity is making a comeback. Crochet now goes to places where grandma never imagined. And what takes…
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Jumbo Amour Crochet Hooks
What is it? – Crochet is cool. There was a time when almost all of the gals and some of us guys grew up learning how to crochet from our moms or grandmothers. It was a necessary skill that seemed to play out as life became more fast-paced. All of a sudden it was more economical to purchase finished goods than to buy materials and devote the time required to complete a project. But times have changed and the creative itch is back. Crochet now goes to places where…
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Tool School: Bodkins
Class 19 Tool School with Instructor Steve Butler What is it? – Bodkins. Only someone who sews would know what a bodkin is. Simply put, a bodkin is a tool that is used to pull various thin materials through a sewn fabric casing. Elastic, ribbon, cording or other “drawstring” type materials can all be pulled through the casing to serve any desired function. A bodkin usually resembles an over-sized sewing needle with a blunt point and a large eye. The bodkin is attached to the cording and manipulated through the…
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Nancy Zieman Bodkins
What is it? – Bodkins. Only someone who sews would know what a bodkin is. Simply put, a bodkin is a tool that is used to pull various thin materials through a sewn fabric casing. Elastic, ribbon, cording or other “drawstring” type materials can all be pulled through the casing to serve any desired function. A bodkin usually resembles an over-sized sewing needle with a blunt point and a large eye. The bodkin is attached to the cording and manipulated through the casing by hand. The round point prevents…
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Rainbow Booties with Repeat Crafter Me
I had the pleasure of trying out the Clover Amour crochet hooks this past week! This was a big deal for me because I’ve been using the same hook for 3 years. But when the Clover hooks arrived in their pretty packaging with 10 brightly colored hooks in a rainbow of colors, I couldn’t wait to get one in my hands and around some yarn! All Clover products can be found at www.clover-usa.com The colorful easy grip handles inspired me to make these rainbow baby booties! The first thing I…
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Straight Pins
What is it? – In some of the oldest archeological digs around the world you can find ancient straight pins. They’ve been around that long and probably always will be. There are so many uses for them and in many cases there really is no substitute. We use them to hold patterns in place on our fabric, bind fabric pieces, tailor fabric to our bodies, hold seams together, anchor trims, beads or other embellishments in place and even block knitted products. Because of this wide variety of uses for…
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Tool School: Straight Pins
What is it? – In some of the oldest archeological digs around the world you can find ancient straight pins. They’ve been around that long and probably always will be. There are so many uses for them and in many cases there really is no substitute. We use them to hold patterns in place on our fabric, bind fabric pieces, tailor fabric to our bodies, hold seams together, anchor trims, beads or other embellishments in place and even block knitted products. Because of this wide variety of uses for straight…
