Stilettos - Your opinion is invited and a giveaway

My brother is a woodworker and over the years he has made an assortment of treasures for sewists. For Christmas last year he made seam rippers for Mom and me.

I love my seam ripper and when I saw him making a scratch awl for cabinet making it reminded me of a sewing stiletto so I suggested he consider making me a stiletto! Well really I did ask him to consider it - I asked him to make one for me! He has made two stilettos and as you can see in the picture above he likes to use exotic burls for the handles so in addition to being functional they are also very beautiful.

These are the first two stilettos he has made and he is asking for my input and in turn I'm asking you for your input! To make it exciting, if you provide input you'll be entered in a draw for a giveaway (keep reading to find out what it is)!

The stiletto on the left is very much like a sgraffito or a scratch awl. The wood handle measures 2 1/4" from the base to the base of the needle at the brass ferule. The needle also measures 2 1/4" so the total length of the stiletto is 4 1/2". The stiletto on the right measures 5 1/2". The needle is 1 1/4" from its base to the tip. This stiletto is convertible so the needle can be removed and inserted into the wooden handle when not in use.

I also wanted to share a comparison of the needle tips. The stiletto on the left has a rounded blunted point whereas the stiletto on the right has a sharp needle point.

So here is where your opinion is needed: what features do you think are the most appealing? Do you like the longer stiletto or shorter? Do you prefer a convertible stiletto where the point can be tucked inside or do you prefer the non convertible model. And what about the point - blunted or sharp?

If you leave a comment you'll be entered in a draw for one of my pincushion scissor fobs! I'll custom make the fob for the winner! This is a picture of some scissor fob pincushions I made to sell at my Guild's quilt show. I'll announce the winner at 9:00 am October 8th. Please be sure that you are not a no-reply blogger because if you are I have no way of contacting you. I reply to every comment so if you don't get an email from me in response to you comment then you are a no reply blogger.

I'll be off tomorrow but Friday morning will post Block 13 in my Value Proposition Hexagon Quilt Along. Until then, happy sewing!
Karen H

Award ribbons and scissor fob pincushions

I have finished the award ribbons for the Quilt Show and I am pleased with the results. I was able to print on the ribbon with my inkjet printer. This is how I did it:

I cut the ribbon to the desired length and painted the raw edges of the ribbon with clear nail polish to prevent fraying. I am using a soft satin ribbon which is difficult to trim with pinking shears. When the edges were painted with the polish I was able to pink them with no problem at all (I did this after the printing was done). 

I printed the text on paper, drew guide lines the width of my ribbon and applied double sided tape.

I placed the ribbon on the paper making sure to line it up with the guide lines and then ran it through the printer. Mine is a bottom loading printer so the ribbon was loaded facing down.
Once the ribbon was printed I let it sit on the paper for a few minutes to make sure the ink was dry. I carefully removed the ribbon from the paper and pinked the bottom edge.

The remaining award ribbon construction was according to the instructions on Nellie's blog. 

I've made some scissor fob pincushions to sell at the Members' Boutique at the Quilt Show this weekend. I've priced them at $4 each and hope that they will sell! Each one has a fussy cut front and a pretty backing to complement the front. I printed some little cards with scissors and strung the fob's loop through the scissors so people would understand what they are and how they are to be used. I think they would make great stocking stuffer gifts for sewists. Sure hope others feel the same! If you would like to make your own I published a tutorial here. In the tutorial I beaded the edge for a little sparkle.

When the quilt show is over I have some fun things planned. Next week I''ll be framing my Mom's latest small quilt. I wrote about this method here and have been asked for more detailed instructions with pictures so I'll share with you next week.

Tomorrow is the launch of Block 12 in my Value Proposition Hexagon Quilt Along. It is another fun, simple hexagon block. I used some striped fabric so start looking through your stash if you are sewing along! Until tomorrow, happy sewing!

Karen H