Product review: BIHRTC 3.6 Inch Scissors Small Embroidery Scissors Sharp Stainless Steel

 

These small scissors are very cute.  They are also comfortable to hold and pretty sharp.  I do a lot of crafts and sewing, and I am enjoying having them in my toolbox.
They are slightly longer than 3.5" end to end.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★
 

Product review: LIHAO 25 PCS 3/4" Black Plastic Side Release Buckle for Paracord

I purchased LIHAO buckles on Amazon. That listing offers a variety of buckles, I got the 7/8" and 3/4" buckles.

5/8" buckle is a fairly small buckle: when closed it is 1.5" side to side and 7/8" wide. It comes in a bag of 50 plastic side-release snap-fit buckles. Because of the small size I found some somewhat difficult to open.

3/4" buckle is a medium buckle: when closed it is 1.75" side to side and 1" wide. It comes in a bag of 25 plastic side-release snap-fit buckles. These buckles are easier to open than the 5/8" size.

The few buckles I tried so far worked smoothly. This is a cost effective way to get a large set of buckles for any crafter! What can be better? The buckles come in a non resealable bag, I would have found a zip lock bag more useful as it will take me a while to use all the buckles in various projects. This was my storage solution - I transferred the buckles into zip lock bag of my own.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: BSTPOWER Activity Fitness Tracker Smart Wristband Bracelet Bluethooth

There are many things about this wrist tracker than I like, however it is not perfect. I like having the information it shows right on the wrist, I much prefer it to the trackers that only collect and require you to look at the smart watch to show the collected information. However, the display show so many things on one screen that they are hard to read. There are some things in the display that I don't need to see all the time, it would have nice if I could remove them and what is left could be displayed in a larger font.

The app shows the same info as the watch, but also provides historical information for the day, week, and month. It also has social features that allow you to share the stats for those who are interested in doing so.

The watch displays 11 different stats :
The display shows:
~ time
~ steps
~ calories
~ heart rate
~ wrist humidity
~ barometric pressure
~ millage
~ sleep time
~ wrist temperature
~ wrist skin temperature
~ period date reminder

The pedometer appears to be reasonably accurate. The band is comfortable. It is 7/8" wide. The size of the display is 3/4" x 7/8". The font size is slightly smaller than 1/8". The screen has a back light activated by a button below the display.

Another strong point of the watch is the battery life. The display is black and white and is very efficient. I recharge the watch once a week. It take 2 hours to fully charge the battery. I have been using the watch for 3 weeks. The first time I fully charged it and let it run until the battery was exhausted and that took 9+ day.

The charging port is on the side of the watch, and the first time it is a little difficult to open. The port cover swings open to the side (shown in my video).

The default measurements are metric (the watch is made in China and they use metric measures). Even though there is an options under Settings to switch to British measure units the information is displayed in kilometers anyway. I also could not find a way to change the temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit.

I am using the watch with Android OS. I had no problems connecting via Bluetooth or synching the information.

Overall, I am pleased and I hope the issue with the metric units gets fixed on the future app update.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Evriholder IOM-FNL Iron on Mat with Funnel

In my spare time I am a quilter, so my ironing board in the study is always out with the iron is on it. I also use my ironing board for doing art layouts as it allows me to do so without bending down (important because of my back problems). Since I am around my ironing board a lot I have knocked down the iron to the floor quite a few times. Not good for the iron (had to replace at least one iron) and not good for the floor (have a gouge in the wood floor).

I have tried several iron rests, which improved things but did not totally resolve the problem until I bought this silicone iron rest pad.

Not only the silicone iron rest pad is heat resistant, it is non-slip. Since the iron sits on it with the business side down (not its end) it is very stable, it is pretty impossible to knock down. As an added bonus the pad is water proof, so when you use steam and iron has water in it, if a little of it leaks out it stays on the pad. I am attaching a collage of two photos. In the photos you can see the pad with my iron on it in two different orientations, so you can see how it fits.

The pad size is 14.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches. It weights 2.4 ounces

This iron pad is designed to resist hot temperatures for short periods of time only. The warning on the package says that it should not be used with temperatures of over 500 F (260 C) even for short period of times. It also warns not to use it if the pad gets cuts or pierced. The pad itself does get heated up with a hot iron on it, so let it cool off before handling. One of the pad ends has a funnel that is normally collapsed and flat. It can be used to make it easier to add water to the iron without spills. I have not found much use for this feature although the funnel does pop out nicely and does fit into the opening. This product is made in China.

Overall, I am very pleased - a very inexpensive solution to a really annoying problem.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Kindle book review: Quilts Their Story and How to Make Them

I am an experienced quilter, who enjoys creating quilts and is interested in the history of quilt making. This book contains no illustrations or instructions on making quilts. However, it contains a very detailed and interesting history of quilts and quilt making. I learned a lot of small new details that I did not know before and enjoyed reading this book very much.

The book was written n 1915 and starts with a brief explanation of quilt making. Then it starts its journey into the history of quilt making. The roots of quilting and weaving are dated back by their appearance in ancient art work. For example, the images of a loom appear in 2650 B.C. The old piece of patchwork can be found in a Museum of cairo and dates to 960 B.C.

The book traces the appearance of patchwork during Trojan War, Middle Ages, Renaissance. Appliqué makes it appearance in Florence (described as cut work). There a very lengthy chapter on history of quilts in America, which I found very interesting. There is an interesting chapter on quilt block names. I never gave the block names much thought but the author organized them by themes such as political, religion, sky. and it gave me a fresh new way to think about the blocks I know and love.

I found the book educational and enjoyable. Great trip into history!


You can find "Quilts : Their Story and How to Make Them" on Amazon by following this link


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Olfa Rotary Blade Refill, Ritate Blade resharpening

I had my Olfa rotary blade for over 10 years. I use it practically every week, so it gets a lot of work.  I use my rotary cutter for quilting fabric, cutting photographic paper, cutting regular paper. My blades do a lot of work!

I use a rotary blade sharpener to prolong the life of each blade for a long time. I have re-sharpened each blade at least 10 times each. I see improved cutting (for example, on fabric you stop getting a few threads that did not get cut on the first stroke).

These blades are very high quality, they take many re-sharpening and continue to work as new!

For most part of the 10 years I have re-sharpened my Olfa rotary blade, I used a rotary blade sharpener like this one Rotary Blade Sharpener For 45mm Blades on Amazon.
To sharpen the blade, you to disassemble the rotary cutter, which has a number of pieces including the blade. Then you place the the blade between two round circles the sharpener. Each side facing the blade has sand paper, that polishes out the nicks in the blade. You sharpen the blade by rotating the two pieces of the sharper against each other. After the sharpening you have to move the blade back to the rotary cutter, and then reassemble the rotary cutter correctly (one has to remember how pieces fit together exactly).

Recently I discovered a sharpener that works without having to remove the blade from the cutter. It works by using the same motion as you cut, by moving the cutter in the sharpener itself. Not having to remove the blade from the sharpener is a *huge* advantage. It is faster, less chance of cutting yourself, and no chance of assembling the rotary cutter the wrong way (been there, done that). It is called "TrueCut" TrueCut Rotary Blade Sharpener

Both rotary cutters work well and prolong the life your blades, and thus save you money.

So I highly recommend this blade refill and its usage with the blade sharpener.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Clover Leather Coin Thimble for Sewing and Quilting

My favorite thimble, combines comfort and strenth

I am a quilter and have a collection of thimbles. This review presents the comparison of the thimbles along with images of how they fit.

Clover Coin Thimble is made out of pliable leather and is very comfortable. It has a metal plate at the tip, which can be used to push through needles with strength without hurting the tip of your finger. This is my favorite thimble, and I own two of them as I often use it in two fingers (second and third) at the same time.

I am attaching comparison and pictures of the thimbles in my collection. In one image you can see the thimbles by themselves, and in another picture of how they fit on my fingers. The numbers in the images correspond to the numbers below.

1.    Leather thimble with a metal plate (marked #1 in the photos, this is the product in this listing) is my favorite, most versatile thimble. Because it is leather it become shaped to your finger and gets more and more comfortable with use. The metal plate on the tip allows to push through and not hurt your finger. It does not have an opening at the top, so it may not work for those who have long nails.

2.    All leather thimble (marked #2 in the photos) is extremely comfortable, but because it has no metal parts it provides less protection. I often use it as a second thimble on the hand to protect another finger because it does not get in a way. It has an opening at the top, so it works for those who have long nails.

3.    Strip thimbles (marked #3 in the photos) turned out not to be very useful. The leather itself can be penetrated by the needle, the pink plastic insert does protect the finger. However the string that holds thimble together on the back broke very quickly. I was able to repair them by stitching them together on the back to replace the string that broke. As you see from the photo they don't cover the very tip of the finger, so they did not work well for me.

4.    Plastic thimble provides good protection, but hard plastic makes it a bit hard to work with. So I usually put it on only when my needle is stuck and needs an extra push. It has an opening at the top, so it would work for someone with long nails.

5.    Thimble #5 is a thimble I made myself out of band-aid wrapped around my finger. I needed to protect my thumb, and my home made thimble worked best. If you have hard time finding a good thimble, give it a try making it yourself out of Nexcare bandages. They seem to hold the shape well, and I could put my home-made thimble on and off, so I could re-use.

6.    Thimble #6 was a thumb thimble I bought, but I found that it got in the way because it was a bit too long and made my hands less agile. It has no opening at the top, so it might not work for people with long nails.

So if you have to buy one thimble I would go with the Clover leather thimble with a metal plate.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Maxi-lock Cone Thread 3000 Yards-White

Good Quality thread

Maxi-lock thread is a good quality thread and is cost effective. I don't have the serger sewing machine, yet I find it very useful for my quilting, embroidery, and sewing needs.

I use it in two way:
(1) I use it as a top thread using thread cone holder.
(2) I use it as a bottom bobbin thread. To wind it I use thread cone holder.

For general sewing I use Maxi Lock in top and bottom of my sewing machine. For embroidery and quilting I use Sulky thread as the top thread, and Maxi Lock thread as the bottom thread.

I am able to find tension on my sewing machine, which allows me to use Sulky thread as the top thread and maxi-lock thread as the bottom thread. I do this by setting the top tension to zero, and making small adjustments to the bobbin tension. This works particularly well when the bottom thread is close in color to the top thread. Maxi Lock has a huge variety of colors available. I have a large selection of bobbins with different Maxi Lock colors sitting ready to go to match whatever my top thread happens to be.

Using these large cones saves me a lot of money. They are so much more economical than the small spools, especially the wonderful (but expensive) Sulky threads.

I noticed that the price on the on this product on Amazon fluctuates. With a good sale I can find this thread at around $2 a spool. There is a nice online tool that I use to help catch a good price on Amazon, this tool is called "Online Price Alert". This tool will send you an email when the Amazon item price reaches the target price range that you specify. If you search on "online price alert" in Google it will be come up at the top. I find this tool to be very helpful.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★