Welcome to Friday Favorites!

All quilts have a frame around their border.  The frame or binding, as it’s referred to by quilters, serves more than one purpose.  The obvious intention is a means to provide an envelope to encase unfinished edges.  I like to think of it as the ribbon around a package.  The finishing touch.

While recently applying hand stitches to the back side of a binding I reminisced about the encounters I have had when stitching similar items.  I remembered the pricks and jabs that have marred my fingers and often drawn small droplets of blood from the straight pins holding the binding in place.  While attempting to avoid such encounters I have, over the years, tried several solutions.  I have used

• Paper clips:  These worked OK but they often easily fell off.
• Binder clips:  You know the kind you can find in the office supply section.  I found these to be quite effective but I worried about the chance of paint transfer or rust.

Although the above options served their purpose I just knew there had to be a better way . . . an invention perhaps.  Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on these amazing clips made by Clover called Wonder Clips.  Wonder clips are made out of plastic.  To open them you pinch it much like one would a clothespin.  In fact they remind me of mini clothespins.

These minis clips are exactly what I was looking for.  They

• are easy to use
• don’t prick your body parts
• will not draw blood
• are durable
• and above all stay put

I just love using these little guys. Here’s a close up.

Wonder Clips can be purchased in quantities of ten, fifty or one hundred. The clips are available for purchase through Nancy’s Notions as well as many other vendors.  I just checked Nancy’s current pricing and she lists the cards of 10 Wonder Clips at $5.49, boxes of 50 at $24.99 and packs of 100 at $46.99. If you haven’t tried these nifty clips I would highly recommend you do!

Thanks for stopping by this edition of Friday Favorites!  Until next time, happy sewing.

Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting