Monday, December 23, 2013

The Rippers

I love gadgets. My brother calls me the Gadget Queen. Over the last few years, I've bought several different seam rippers.

 This is the seam ripper I've had for years. It works fine, but the cover keeps falling off.

This engineered beauty fits nicely in the hand, but the tip of the blade is hard to use.

This one is easy to hold, and the tip is better than the one above it.

 This handmade gem is beautiful, and it has a chain so I can loop it around my neck so I won't lose it, but the tip is very wide and blunt. Hard to use to get into the stitches.

This one has a tip that makes it easy to remove the excess threads. I'd like it better if the the cover fit on the other end when I'm using the ripper itself.

These are all very nice, but I found myself struggling to get the pointy ends into my tiny stitches.

Then I found this little gem. It works like a charm.

See how much finer the tip is?

It has two distinct disadvantages. One, it's very small and easy to get lost. Secondly, is the cover is clear, so it's easy to misplace on my worktable. Ask me how I know this.

However it has become my favorite seam ripper, so when it went missing a couple of weeks ago I practically tore my studio apart looking for it. I didn't hold out much hope. The thing is so tiny and light I could have easily thrown it away the last time I cleaned.

This past weekend I went to the lqs, but they didn't have it. So when I was ordering something from Amazon, I decided to see if they sold it, and they did. The price was more than reasonable, so I ordered two. When I woke up on Sunday, I received an email telling me my order has been shipped.

So what did I find when I opened the tool drawer yesterday?



9 comments:

Fran said...

Definitely my favorite seam ripper, too. I order them in sets of three. I'm sure when I finally do the master purge in my studio, I'll find a dzen of these wonderful tools.

Mary said...

Another advantage is that they have a flat handle and won't roll off the table.

Alice Turcotte said...

I'm sure there's a law that covers this. Whatever's lost won't be found until a new one is purchased. I like you're collection.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Figures!

Maybe add some bright paint, nail polish, or tape to that clear cover so it shows up more easily?

Is the tail just big enough to drill a tiny hole for a screw eye? Then you could add a length of "ribbon" to hang it around your neck . . .

Or, now that you'll have three, maybe there's no worries!

Terri said...

It's the only sure way to find something... buy a new one!
I have a lighted, magnifying seam ripper that when I use my readers makes the 15 sts/inch stitches so visible that I never worry about ripping out. Now I sew with wild abandon. (Hubby got it for me from Keepsake Quilting.)
Hugs

Just Ducky said...

Never hurts to have a couple of spares! Also, if you have something clear you want to find? Buy some bright red nail polish and paint the clear part.

Dee W said...

Maybe you'll find a friend who doesn't have one and you can be magnanimous and give her one. You'd still have 2! Merry Christmas!

Megan said...

Ain't it always the way?

Megan
Sydney, Australia

Rose said...

I had to come read this...I have that clover seam ripper and it is a favorite...I have one Fons & Porter that I loved, but got a second one and it was dull, so I ordered the clover one. I also got the dritz one, and it is surprisingly good. Besides the little ones that comes with machines....I really like them but wish they had a bigger handle. And feel like I am forgetting one but cannot think for the life of me. I have sewing machines in the basement and showing machines up here, so I have doubles of a lot of things...