Awesome alliteration. Who knew I'd be writing to tell you about my fifth November finish today? Certainly not me. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had a bunch of running around to do yesterday. When I left the house yesterday morning, I'd snipped the first three rows of the Flannel Four-Patch quilt, and that was my goal for the day.
I had three stops on my agenda: (1) pick up our Thanksgiving turkey from a local farm store; (2) stop at Joann's for some embroidery floss, and (3) pick up some apples at the grocery store and whatever else was on my shopping list.
In my wondering wanderings about snipping the rag quilt, I saw several mentions of these "spring-loaded" scissors that could make the snipping easier. As long as I was going to Joann, I figured I'd look for some. They had several different kinds, all with long blades. I worried I wouldn't have enough control for my snipping with such a long blade to contend with, but then I saw these from Fiskars. Cool! It was exactly what I was looking for.
And indulge me my usual short rant about Joann and their coupons. As anyone who shops at Joann knows, their coupons are only good on full-priced items. When I saw these scissors hanging on the rack, they were priced at $34.99, and there was no indication anywhere they were on sale. In fact, none of the hundreds of different scissors on display were marked as being on sale. Cool!, I think, because I have a 50% off coupon on my Joann app, and I think I'm going to get a pretty good deal on this! Only...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...fooled you! Because when they rang up at the register, they rang up at 20% off...so the coupon couldn't be used. Surprise, surprise! So, here's my question: Is absolutely
everything in a Joann store on sale
all the time? Why even bother with coupons? Okay, stepping off my podium now. But in closing, it's just one more thing that makes me despise shopping at Joann. It is the best place for certain items, but this coupon scam really chaps my hide.
Okay...scissors. Let's talk about these great scissors, because I am very stoked about my purchase. They have a safety catch to keep the blades closed when they're not in use.
Release the catch, and the blades open. It's an improvement over regular scissors because I only have to squeeze them closed, and then they open again on their own. It's much less taxing on those gripper muscles.
But here's the best part. They allowed me to hold the scissors at odd angles as I snipped my seam allowances, and so I wasn't having to turn the quilt in every direction to get all the sides of my blocks.
Here's another odd angle I was cutting.
So I still had six more rows to snip, but I was so happy about this new and useful tool that I just sat and finished up the whole thing.
And how could I go wrong with such an excellent kitty cheerleader by my side.
Ordinarily, the table is off limits to cats. When there's a quilt on the table, all bets are off.
Okay, and so I was excited to wash it and dry it so I could see its ruffly, raggedy seams. It turned out so cute! Mike likes it too. It finished up at 56 x 72 inches.
Here's how it looks from the back:
That brings me to the WIP's section of my workflow. Today I'll be making another block for the Vintage Linen quilt. If there's time, I'll continue on with my projects. I forget which one would be next in line after Vintage Linen. Shop Hop, I think. I'll be making three blocks for the Shop Hop quilt this time around, but I first need to embroider the names and places of the various quilt shops. Also, Jenny of Elefantz has finally posted
the last two Books & Roses blocks, and so I'll be preparing those for slow-stitching. I'll probably do them all at once. Once again, here are the blocks I have for this quilt so far. There are five more to finish all the blocks for this little quilt.
There are some other domestic things on today's agenda. It's going to be a busy day and leading up to a busy week. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. There's always plenty to keep me busy at this time of year. How about you? Are you cooking this year?
17 comments:
My mother is the kind of woman you don't want to be in line behind at the supermarket. She has coupons for coupons. ~ Chris Rock
Congratulations on yet another November finish and on finding a great tool!
As far as Thanksgiving goes, it will be just the two of us, as our kids are scattered and no one has taken up the mantle of family holiday host that my husband and I wore when the kids were younger and we were geographically near each other. My husband is a great cook, he will prepare the main dishes, our veggies will be simple-roasted or steamed. The stuffing will be a bit decadent though. I think we will get a turkey breast to avoid the hassle of dealing with a lot of leftover turkey. I will make cranberry sauce and a small pie. My favorite parts of the dinner are the stuffing and cranberry sauce, lol.
There are so many things about JoAnns that drives me nuts, but the checkout lane and the coupon thing - ugh. Does it really have to be that complicated? Anyhoo, that is a great little scissors for that type of task! I'm sure Mike and the kitties will enjoy snuggling under that one!
I don't think I've been in Joann's in almost 2 years, probably more due to Covid. I don't even get emails from them any more. Same problem you had, either the items are on sale so you can't use the coupon, or they don't have the item you're looking for (usually basting spray, about the only reason I go there). Thanksgiving is just me, myself and I, so I won't have to cook, but then I miss out on all the good leftovers, especially pie.
Pat
WHOA, you are CRANKIN' em out!! I made a couple of rag quilts like that with the 4 patches and after having snipped those, I said 'no more 4 patches, just same sized (which I think I cut mine at 8" and batting pieces at 6"). But I've had snips similar to yours for quite awhile now and they DO make a difference--it goes so much faster!! I do a lot of baby rag quilts for donations. I was just in Joann's today just looking after having my oil changed. Walked out with nothing.
You are really making up for lost time churning out those quilts. I like how Smitty positioned himself on the blocks of the rag quilt. Of course, some of him spilled over but his front feet are purroperly placed on the solid square.
I needed a particular color of yarn that Hobby Lobby didn't have so I checked Joann's website a few days ago to see if they had it. I wanted Red Heart. Yes, they had it and yarn was 50% off. But when I got there today, the small sign on the giant floor to ceiling wall of yarn (I actually quietly gasped at that sight, not having been in Joann's in about 4 years), said it was $4.49. I thought it would ring up as being half off, but no. I mentioned to the clerk that I thought yarn was 50% off and she just shrugged her shoulders. I checked their website when I got home and no mention of the 50% off now. The sale must have ended but who ends a sale in the middle of the week?
At least I didn't come out of there smelling like pumpkin spice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and whatever else saturates their stores from August to November.
Teresa F.
Interesting scissors but frustrating about the coupon issue at Joann's. Sounds like it's a come on. Guess I should be happy we don't have them here (Joann's, not come ons because we have plenty of those).
I'm sure Mike is going to appreciate his new quilt and obviously it's already been kitty-tested for quality control.
I love your rag quilt. So cozy looking. I have made several rag quilts and I enjoy how fast they go together. Count me as one of the many that have given up on Joann's coupons. I don't even bother with a coupon unless I'm going to spend more than $50.00. Happy Thanksgiving to all at Three Cats Ranch.
Yeah for useful tools that really do make your life easier. I don't often shop at JoAnn's as the nearest is an hour drive from the house. It's just easier and usually cheaper for me to order on line.
I made a rag quilt years ago and remembered my hand being so tired. I wish I had those scissors! Thank you for the gingerbread biscotti cookie recipe the other day. I am definitely going to make those!
I couldn't agree more about Joann's coupon system. I don't go there very often
and when I do I just forget about coupons. Happy quilting. Dine
Congratulations on another finish. Joann's is too inconsistent with their coupons and pricing. If I order online to pick up in the store because the store doesn't have the items I want in stock, the prices aren't the same. Customer service in the store used to be fairly good, but in the last few years it has not been so good. It has been several years since I stepped foot into a Joann's and I only did then as my sister asked me to get her a couple of pillow forms. They were on sale on the website, but they were out of stock. They told me the Joann's near me had them in stock and I could get them for the sale price. The clerk told me I couldn't even though I showed her the message from the website. I was finally able to convince her supervisor to give me them at the sale price. I emailed the company and told them my experience and said their inconsistencies have finally convinced me to shop elsewhere. They did not even care enough to respond to my message. So, I don't shop there anymore. We used to have 4 Joann's stores in our metropolitan area, and now they are down to 2. Is it any wonder?
Now that you have that very cool tool you will need to make more of these quilts!
Whenever I go to Joanne’s I open up the website on my phone before going in and bring up their coupon page. Then if I purchase anything I just hand my phone to the clerk and she collects the coupons that are valid. I go in not expecting any discounts so when I do check out and one is valid I consider it a win. A good friend used to work at Joanne’s as an assistant manager. Not only do they not pay well, the shifts are not consistent. She worked really bad hours. Often she would be on the night shift receiving goods and stocking shelves at 3 in the morning. The next day she may start her shift at 2 PM and work until 11. She eventually found a better job at a sew & Vac store.
The joy you put into your posts about finishes has me smiling. What a find on the rag scissors. It won’t surprise me if you put rag quilts in your rotation from time to time after scoring this big time and hand saver .
I am glad you were able to find the scissors. They really help!
Those scissors look very useful. I have a hard time using the big coupons because there is generally a sale on the things I want to buy. Hopefully they forgot to put up the sign, and aren't really trying to cheat you.
It's always great to find a tool to make a tedious task much easier to accomplish. The rag quilt looks great!
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