Sunday, April 13, 2008

A seam ripper named Jack

As quilters we all seam (oops, seem) to find ourselves facing that dreaded event: picking out, reverse quilting, un-sewing or ripping out the work we have just tried to do. Whatever the reason for undoing our work, we have to do it sometimes, and my comment on that topic is DO YOURSELF A FAVOR!!

Buy yourself several (as in 5 0r 6) long-handled, comfortable seam rippers.

There are several reasons for this recommendation.

A long handled ripper is easier to use. Your fingers/hands don't cramp and a ripper with a rounded or ball end fits comfortably in the palm of your hand (I like the red and white ergonomic rippers by Fons and Porter....OK, OK ....$o find a coupon or watch for a $ale).

Having several rippers means that they are all fairly sharp since you haven't dulled one by overuse. If you find one is dull and won't cut easily, Throw It Away! This tool uses the small muscles in your hand, and should not provide a major muscle workout.

Placing rippers in a variety of locations means you can find them easily and that they are available when needed. Try the side of your sewing machine, the ironing board, by the chair you sit in, in a workbasket or box and, my favorite, in front of the TV. The less time you spend searching, the quicker the job is done, the lower the frustration factor (as if it isn't high already) and you are back making forward progress on your project.

Finally, no matter how many rippers you have, they can all be named Jack, as in Jack the Ripper (Thank you Lisa Boyer!) The more seam rippers you have means the less time you will spend screaming "Jack!.....Jack!" as you search for your one and only (and the less time you will spend explaining to your family what, why or who "Jack" is).

11 comments:

Cheryl said...

It's a proud moment little grasshopper!! You did great. I am going to put you on my bloglist.
See you Tuesday :-)!!!

Donna said...

Hey Susan
Great Job I will have to put you my blog friends list. Keep you the good work. Started your quilt looks great so far

Lorraine said...

I am with you - not many things more frustrating than searching for a seam ripper....I bought a couple and keep one in my sewing room and one by my chair in the lounge (where I do most of my hand stitching. Welcome the blogging...I am only very new too and am having fun with it...

Dandelion Quilts said...

Welcome to the land of blog. Come on over my way for a visit.

Leanne said...

Welcome to blog land. I'm not sure I have seen a long handled seam ripper here in Oz I must look more closely.

Ginger Patches said...

Welcome to blogging!! Great first post...I love "Jack the Ripper" lol!!

Anonymous said...

OoooOOOOoooh so you can not only see sue sew, but also see sue blog. Hmm. That doesn't quite have the same ring to it as see sue sew, now does it? Perhaps it needs to be see sue scribe--or see Sue scribble. Or even see Sue scrawl. Nope. Stick with the sew thing. Next thing you know you're going to be posting photos and doing tutorials and then quitting your job because you make more money blogging.

*gasp*

Oh, Sue! Say it ain't sew! Then you'll go off and become the talk of the town and they'll all think you're extra swanky ubercool and all those peeps on the interweb will start calling you S3. Or S-cubed. And then they'll confuse you with a rapper, and there will be a ridiculous amount of hullabaloo over some sort of scandal that didn't even involve you and you'll sigh and think back fondly on the days when it all began.

Congrats on your venture into geekdom ;)

Ulla said...

abaker, Sue will most probably not be the rapper but the ripper, occasionally, when working with Jack! I find the blog most enjoyable and put it in my favourites list right now.

Auntie Darla said...

Hey friend!!!! Glad to see you in blog land now too... Miss you in person... Actually made it to our little local quilt show this last weekend... "Best of the Valley" .. got a few little things... Hopefully will be quilting again soon....

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Welcome to blogland Susan and thanks for saving my buddies life!!!!

judee said...

You were right,Susan. In addition to being convenient and useful,having to buy more seam rippers gives us an excuse to hit the store! Does Calico Horse have an adequate supply?