7 Ways to Make Magnetic Embroidery Needle Minders

If you do a lot of hand sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, beading, or other needle crafts, you know eventually you will play the I put my work down and where did my needle go? game.

Slipping the needle into the fabric works to keep track of your embroidery needle but can leave permanent holes in certain fabrics. In that case you can keep track of your needles with the power to science: a magnetic needle minder!

Basically, a needle minder is a magnet that holds your needle and is glued to the back of a fairly thin decorative piece on the top side of the work in your embroidery hoop that is held in place on back side by another magnet.

DIY Needle Minder Tutorial

I am hand sewing beads on a super size beading project – an Elizabethan under skirt. Since I am using a small beading needle on such a large and busy fabric, a magnetic needle minder will help me keep track of and find such a slender needle when I take a break.

Let’s make a needle minder!

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How to Make a Flannel Sleep Mask

The only way I can get to sleep and stay asleep at night is in a super duper cave like dark room. Unfortunately, curtains in every room on the planet (and especially in hotel rooms) conspire against me.

No matter how well I think I close them, there always is a hairline sliver between the curtains that shoots the early morning light directly into my eyes like a laser beam and wakes me up hours before my alarm is set to go off.  Every. Single. Morning. ARUGH!

Fortunately,  wearing a sleep mask thwarts the Sun Beam – Curtain Conspiracy. Take that sunbeam hahaha!

Unfortunately, most sleep masks are backed with nylon polyester, which doesn’t breathe making it way too hot to wear.

Fortunately, I reorganized and unearthed more scrap fabric than I realized I had including some nice, soft, cotton, and breathable flannel that makes an excellent and super cute sleep mask!

How to Sew a Super Cute Sleep Mask

 

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Friday Favorites Linky Party 363

Sunny days are here again! We moved our clocks forward which is a sure sign Spring is just around the corner. I   found a stash of viable seeds when Spring Cleaning and I can't wait for the weather to warm up enough to put them in the ground.

That is the inspiration behind my featured pick from last week's Linky Party The Three Easiest Vegetables to Grow and Enjoy from Green Talk. Anna is a terrific gardener.  I practically have her on speed dial when I have gardening questions but it sometimes feels like I  kill more plants than I  grow.

Let's Party!

Tiny Mall Micro Loft House Tour

Tiny houses are all the rage, so it should be no surprise that city dwellers can live cute and with a ridiculously small carbon footprint in tiny micro apartments – in a converted historic shopping mall!

Photos courtesy of Ben Jacobsen/Northeast Collaborative Architects

 Pin this tiny house tour and share it with your friends!

You don’t have to be a shopaholic to live here. In fact, given that the average size of each tiny apartment is 220 square feet it is probably best if you aren’t.