Day off doings

Not on Tuesday's summertime bucket list, but definitely on The List was replacing the dead hibiscus tree by the garage. It was always a late starter/bloomer… and last year it was given up for dead as June, July, August, even September went by without a sign. Then, in early October, someone spotted some green sprouts, but man… that had to be one stressed out tree. Yesterday, we put it out of its misery and replaced it with a flowering pear (which we'll have to keep in check a bit in that location). Anyway, it looks great and nicely matches our color scheme.

I spent plenty of time in my workroom, cutting & tracing pattern pieces, cutting fabric, and seaming. So far, the center back seam is done, and I was thrilled to employ my new Clover Wonder Clips!

And also, the much less expensive Attmu Multi-purpose Craft Clips.

These clips are fantastic for a variety of craft purposes, but the main thing for sewing are the markings… I have those clips lined up along the edge of my fabric on the 1/4-inch mark.

The Clover clips are about $16 for 50, and the Attmu are $12 for 100. I used both yesterday and, from my experience, except for the Attmu clips being a bit darker red in color, there is virtually no difference… the Attmu clips' spring may be a tiny bit more stiff. Both brands come in a case, of sorts; the Clover is a rectangular plastic flip-top case (the operation of which took me way too long to figure out), the Attmu is a clear plastic cylindrical container with a screw top.

In the name of research, I now have 150 plastic clips and it's nearly certain that I'll never run out!