Product Review – Fruit From My Hands

Mobile Sewing Center Of My Dreams

I have found the perfect mobile solution for my sewing needs! Thanks, Happy Zombie, for your blogpost. I’ve searched high and low for some sort of storage and travel option for my treasured featherweight and associated sewing notions. My husband’s shopping gravitates toward sporting goods stores and home improvement centers so I tend to make the most of it and do some creative re-purposing that I’m sure would surprise the tool makers. I had not noticed the Stanley-3-in-1-Rolling-Workshop until your posting. “Walt’s cherry new ride” is indeed perfect. If Stanley were smart, they would market a version in the sewing and quilting industry.

My as-yet-unnamed, treasured 1946 featherweight slid down in the bottom like it was made for it. I had tried to find a way to jettison the original 1946 box because of the extreme weight and molded mildew smell that was embedded in it.

All my tools fit in either the compartment tray with the bright yellow lid or the sliding tray in the top toolbox.

The handle is very functional. I was not a fan of the telescoping ones but this one seems very sturdy. The upper toolbox is so spacious that it inspired me to whip up a quick iron cozy since my iron had plenty of room to ride in the box.

This rolling workshop, coupled with the portable folding cart that I received for Christmas have allowed me to take my sewing “on the road”. I stuck a large cutting mat, ruler and small ironing board in the portable cart along with fabric supplies. I rolled into teach my first Learn To Sew Class without the need of multiple trips to the car to pack in multiple boxes of class supplies. I feel confident that I can sign up for any workshops that require a sewing machine now without fear.

Now, I need stickers….some sort of creative embellishment…….’cause that is how I roll! LOL

Product Review: Clover Protect and Grip Thimble

My hand quilting has been on a hiatus for a couple years while I have been doing the whole “get healthy, get active” thing. When I returned to my project, I quickly found out there had been a change. My favorite thimble no longer fit. I had no idea a 45lb. weight-loss could affect the tips of my fingers. So I frantically began searching for a new thimble.

REVIEW: The Clover Protect and Grip Thimble is an innovative thimble trying to satisfy two sides of the thimble-wearing community. It features a dimpled and ridged metal tip attached to a flexible rubber body. The flexible rubber body has an unusual scallop design that is “for air flow keeping your finger cooler”. I picked up a hot pink one in a size medium from my local fabric shop. My finger fit comfortably through the size guide that is provided on the packaging although I think perhaps I would find a size large more to my liking. The thimble goes on easily, a problem I usually have with metal thimbles. A round thimble does not fit on my oblong-shaped finger. Once situated, the thimble was securely in place and I did not worry about it slipping off. I tried a few stitches with it. The metal tip seems to be off-balance and perhaps even too thick. It was difficult to judge the tip of my finger with the added length of the metal tip. I generally push with the pad of my finger and that is not possible with this thimble. The flexible rubber sides are too soft and will puncture so there is no pushing with anything except the very top of the tip. I find this awkward considering I’m not quite sure where the tip of my finger is with the added length of the metal tip. Instructions on the back of the package, in fine print, instruct users to remove the thimble by rolling the rubber sides up instead of pulling it off by the metal tip. I imagine that it wouldn’t take many tuggings and the tip would come off the rubber body. All in all, the Clover Protect and Grip Thimble is not a bad thimble but it will not work for me as a daily workhorse. It would be an excellent choice for a beginner that needs to become accustomed to wearing a thimble but is not a good choice for experienced quilters that are accustomed to a metal thimble. I will probably keep it as a backup thimble to use on small projects. It is not a bad value at $8.99, although I would like to try a larger one to see if the metal tip would be more balanced for me.

NOTE: This is an unsolicited product review. All opinions express are those of the authors.

I will revert back to a very old metal thimble that I have taken a hammer to until I can attend the American Quilter’s Society Quilt Week in Paducah, Kentucky at the end of April and search for a better thimble.

Thimble Problems

I’ve been on the a health and fitness kick for the past 2 years. You know, the whole “Get fit, get healthy” thing? I have been doing Weight Watchers and while, yes, it works, and yes, I did lose weight, I have had to give up so many activities that make my soul sing. In getting fit and adding exercise to my daily routine, I have trashed my knees and feet while being separated from quilting, sewing, and knitting, and all for what? That is for another post and another day.

Now that the knees are injured I have returned to quilting and sewing. Recently, I slipped on my old trusty thimble to find that I could not keep it on. My fingers had lost weight! I know I should be rejoicing but I spent years trying to find the perfect thimble. I have agonized over all types of thimbles and have tried almost every one on the market until I found a wonderful thimble called the PQF thimble. (It is not the thimble shown in the photo.) The PQF thimble was perfect for me. It was made out of an indestructible black rubber and was guaranteed to last a lifetime. I have the hand strength of a lowland gorilla and can snap or bend a size 10 quilting between needle in one stitch. The PQF’s rubber body would conform to my not-round shaped finger where metal thimbles had never been able to fit securely. I was able to push the needle with any part of the PQF thimble through multiple layers of fabric and batting with no fear of puncturing the rubber or my finger. And now, this miracle of modern engineering does not fit!

So, being a modern woman, I turned to the internet to see what the current technology is providing by way of thimbles. First I searched for my favorite, the PQF. Every link to those thimbles leads to a Japanese website or a woman’s fashion store. I had to take a few hours to mourn the passing of my thimble. A lot of good the lifetime warranty has done me. So now I find myself in desperate need of a thimble that fits and works for me and the industry has little to offer.

Stay tuned for more thimble agony as I search for that thing that has gone the way of the DoDo …….the “perfect thimble”.