Siberian Gold Tigers - Day 45

I'm very pleased to report that my normal routine on a Monday - where I can't seem to get my stitching head on - didn't happen. I was able to sit down and really get going.

It probably helped that I was listening to some great musicals: Heathers The Musical and the new Broadway Cast Recording of Aladdin (both reviewed here on my blog).

Then a couple more Dynasty episodes were watched before I stopped for the day to watch a movie.

Well, that's not much is it? That's the only problem with doing a design with a lot of repetition - you run out of new things to say about it. Oooh, I did lots of orange today or Worked on a stripe today.

Still, at least I'm making progress...only a short way to go.

So, what else am I going to talk about in this entry?

I think it's time to mention Needle Minders.

Yes, I know that most of you already know what they are - but I also know there are plenty of people out there who don't. I only discovered them a few months ago.

So, what is a Needle Minder?

Simply put it's a magnet that you attach to your work or have sat next to you. It's somewhere to put your needle so you don't use it. At first you may think: What a waste of money, I'd never use that!

That's what I thought.

I was eventually tempted when I saw one I really liked:

This one is called 'Cat Snips Scissors' and it's from Kelmscott Designs.

I bought mine from Sew & Sew here

(NOTE: It's only a needle minder, NOT a pair of scissors too).

All you do is put the round magnet on the underside of your fabric and the minder on the top. Then you must put your needle on the top and it stays there. Simple.

Mine has rapidly become a must-have piece of stitching kit. Every time I tie off and need to sort the next piece of floss I put my needle on this little gizmo. No more sticking it in the arms of the chair, the side of my design - or simply dropping it.

Needle minders come in all shapes and sizes and can be found on Amazon, eBay and Facebook. There are some beautiful designs out there, so I'm sure you'll find something you like.