Fun Stuff!

Okay all my lovely creatives out there let's have some fun and fun this time means let's make some needle minders (or needle nannies if you prefer). Now I found this fabulous website called Stitched Modern and she had so much neat stuff it was hard to pick and choose while on budget. However, one of the things that really caught my eye were these button covers. Now I know these things have been around forever but I never really paid much attention to them figuring they would probably be too complicated for me to deal with but when I got to looking at them this time I realized what terrific needle minders they would make.

So let me explain. I am a pin cushion kind of gal, not surprising since I was raised with them. So when needle minders first showed up in the cross stitch shops I was eager to try them out. I got a couple but soon realized the magnets were not very strong considering the amount of tossing my projects get. So I went back to my pin cushions. Fast forward to now and they have come a long way. The magnets are improved and they come in a gazillion different shapes and sizes. I even know needle workers that collect them! For me, and maybe it's because I like things a bit more personalized, they just didn't ring my chimes. The button covers changed my mind. I thought about all the amazing fabrics that were out there and how much fun it would be to use them. So the first one I made was an experiment with the fabric I had on hand. It was Halloween bat fabric and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make and changed my mind about needle minders forever.

Here is what it took:
Dritz Button Covers in three different sizes.
Fabric scraps I got at the Wal-Mart paying about 0.99 each
Earth Magnets in various sizes in a tin from Amazon (Can't recall the price)

Following the instructions, I traced a round circle from the template on the back of the package. Then I cut a piece of cloth to the template size. Now there is a shank on the back of the top part of the cover. It is so easy to just push it down flush to get it out of the way. For the larger size I pulled the wire out. Next you just push the fabric onto the teeth that go around the top part, doing opposite sides first and then the remaining sides. They say you can use a pencil eraser but I just did it by hand. Once you have the fabric on and centered the way you want, you just push the back onto it. Then just glue your magnet on the back. Voila! A needle minder customized to your taste. I love this idea! Plus after you buy the covers and magnets, you can make several cheaper than sourcing them from retail. I realized that smaller patterns work best since these are buttons and not huge if you have a repeating pattern that is spaced significantly on the fabric. Just something to keep in mind.

Here are the different sized button covers, a nice variety.

Here are the backs with instructions and the templates.

Here is my first needle minder with the bat fabric I had on hand. Perfect for Halloween!

I got this tin of different sized Earth magnets since I didn't know what size I would actually need. These are incredibly strong and stick together hard so it takes some work to keep them apart! I used Gorilla Glue to fasten them to the cover.

There were lots of fabric samples to choose from but these caught me eye. Less than $1.00 each!

Here is the wire shank. It was easy to remove from the middle sized cover.

This is the shank wire after removal.

Just cut the material to the size of the template then push it onto the teeth of the top cap.

 

Here is the final product. Crayons always make me smile!



So here are the four finished needle minders. I can always make more if I get tired of these designs and use them for refrigerator magnets!

Okay, onward and upward. A few other things I purchased was a 3"x3" wooden square that is used to measure where to start on your fabric. Why is this great? If you are like me, you are used to starting somewhere in the middle of your fabric after you have folded it twice to determine the middle, hoping beyond hope that you folded it correctly and got the right size cloth. With this, you just put it up in the left corner of your cloth and start at the bottom right hand corner of your wooden square. You are starting your stitching where you are supposed to be, including your three inch margin for finishing it. Easy Peasy!

Decorative as well as functional, this thin wooden 3" guide is a real time saver.

Love the imaging!

It also has measurements for 1 inch and 2 inch borders you can easily mark on fabric through the holes. They were easier to see from the back side.

Now there were some others that I will share in a future post but we have to get to other business here.

StitchedModern.com
https://stitchedmodern.com/#

More Blithe Stitching (or BLT Stitching for Short)
Remember I mentioned this type of stitching in my previous post? Well I received the fiber I told you about and here it is:

The floss on the bottom is the one I am BLT stitching with. and the other two above it I am experimenting with for a design. I ordered them from Colour Complements on Etsy. She has all kinds of sizes and colors for any kind of needle art.

You can really see the beautiful colors after it was stretched out.

It's easy to keep track of what you're using with the information labels the fibers come with.

So I busted out one of my small hoops and just started stitching. Didn't matter where and it doesn't matter how big or small. I find this kind of randomization a true adventure and very relaxing. When was the last time you did something without expectations?

I have absolutely nothing I could use this with but I had to stitch with it because of it's lovely colors!
This is so relaxing to do because you really don't stress over a pattern or using different types of stitches. It is you, the needle, the fiber and the cloth. How much simpler can it get than that?! The lovely thing is you can take it with you wherever and start on it right away. It is surprising how much stitching you can get done in a short period of time when you aren't working from a pattern. It's kind of like doing a color study and if you decide you like it enough, you can still frame it and hang it! It's all good no matter what you decide. So grab that beautiful piece of fiber you have been hanging onto but no way to use it and get stitching the BLT way!

I have more fun stuff to share with you and will get that to you soon so stay tuned!

Thought Nugget:
"The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke."
~Jerzy Kosinski

Keep Creating!