I have to say I am often a forgetful person. To minimize this effect I came up with a plan several years ago to help me help myself by making my things work for me.
It’s something which is easy to do and can help keep your life organized and make your stitching easier.
The key is to have multiple clues for each important object. So you always put your keys in the same place. Therefore the place=the keys.
If you have a special pair of scissors for cutting metallics they should be a different color (clue #1) and have a different kind of fob (clue #2).
We already do this in other parts of our lives — where’s the serving spoon? Where are my short-sleeved shirts? But often we don’t do it with our needlework tools.
Two things recently have brought this to mind. When working on the Witchy Basket I wanted to fluff the Petite Peluche and couldn’t find my Floss Fuzzer. Why? It wasn’t in its place. Yesterday I was making Point Protectors. I keep my tools out on the desk in front of me. I picked up the wire cutter not the crimping tool. I almost used it but then realized I had the chartreuse handles not the blue ones, so this was the wrong tool.
How does this help stitching? If you keep your needles in one place, then you can find a new one easily. You reach for the right scissors. You know if a particular thread is in your stash.
In countless ways it makes your stitching life easier.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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