I love doing custom orders. It reminds me of when I worked in bookstores and customers would be looking for that perfect gift for a special someone but they didn't really know what they wanted. I was pretty good at asking just the right questions and making just the right suggestions, and I loved it when their eyes would light up and they'd say, "That's it! That's perfect!"
When doing a custom order for an Etsy buyer, I can't see their eyes light up, but I do enjoy working out the details with them. Taking their vision they've described to me or adapting the shop's banner and fine-tuning the design till I get their buttons just right and they convo me with "That's perfect!"
So, when I found out the Blog Carnival topic for this week was "your favorite tool" I thought about my button machines. But I recently finished sewing a Blue Jean Teddy Bear and I decided to go in a different direction....
My favorite tool (this week) is my needle:
This particular needle is a quilting between, although it's been a few years since I've made any quilts with it. Mostly I'm using it to make my patchwork Puzzle Ball toys and Christmas ornaments or my Teddy Bears that I've blogged about before.
As I was finishing up this latest bear I decided to take a quick picture of my needle as I was completing the last step, attaching the head, so I could show you this favorite tool of mine. If you look close you may notice this needle is a little bent. It's the same needle I've been using for years on these projects because it's the perfect size for making the tiniest stitches the way I like to. I think it's bent just right because I can work really quickly with this one.
My daughters are used to seeing a half-finished Puzzle Ball or Teddy Bear parked on the table next to my rocking chair because I've always got something in the works. When my firstborn told me she had chosen me as her subject for a class photo essay assignment I told her it wouldn't be very exciting since I was just sitting around the house, sewing a Teddy Bear. She said that's just what she wanted. I've seen the pictures and I have to say, I was impressed. She got an A on the assignment. Here's my favorite:
how sweet is that, to have your mom as the subject of a school assignment. It's a nice photo - moody and mysterious! Tell her congratulations.
ReplyDeleteI would have guessed your button maker tool :)
ReplyDeleteneedle is my favorite tool! Some are definitely better than others!
ReplyDeleteI think the needle must be mine too, that or my favorite scissors!
ReplyDeletegreat assignment subject!
Love the photos. Great read, thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great daughter! i think I would have cried:)
ReplyDeleteHow sweet! :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about working out the custom orders with customers. There's something extremely gratifying about fine tuning and tweaking the details until it turns out to be exactly what your customer had in mind.