I got to try out a new Olfa product recently and I really liked it. These are Olfa’s Precision Applique Scissors and they are 5″ long.
Like other Olfa products, they are beautifully engineered and they just feel great in your hands—doesn’t matter which hand you cut with, either! The symmetrical design works equally well for right-handed folks or lefties (I’m a lefty so I can vouch for that).
My favorite feature is the roomy finger loops. When I reach for these at the machine, there’s no struggle to fit my fingers into the handles. Just grab and snip with the super-sharp blades which are about 1.5″ long when measured from the rivet. Not too short, not too long. Just right.
If you need a good applique scissors, give these a go. They are supposed to accurately cut up to six layers of fabric at a time, but I actually cut eight layers with no problem. I don’t often need to cut multiple layers but it’s sure nice to know I can when I need to.
The Precision Applique Scissors are reasonably priced at $24.99. In case you need to know, these are US Model #:1096876. Visit your local quilt shop and see if they have a pair. I think you’ll like them.
I’ll be happy to share the pair I reviewed with a Quilty Pleasures reader, and I’ll throw in a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 4. Leave a comment by midnight Thursday, Dec. 8 telling me about your favorite scissors. We’ll announce a winner here on Friday.
The winner is Sharon S., who left comment #3, chosen at random.org. Sharon blogs at desertthreads.blogspot.com.
It was really interesting to hear how many people are using scissors that have been passed down to them from moms, grandmas and even great-grandmas. Who would have guessed that scissors are so sentimental?! Thanks for all of the great comments.
Linda Ferguson from San Jose was the person whose schedule could best handle our request, so her quilt was featured as the “Update” in Quiltmaker on pages 32 and 33. Linda wove a rainbow using reproduction fabrics for a lovely, traditional look. Here are some of the thoughts 
Paper piecing makes for precision. When I’m paper piecing, I still chain piece whenever possible. I made my flying geese foundations into groups of four.
A picture of a fabulous machine quilter Judy Castleman. Thank you, Judy, for quilting this so fast!
In every regular issue of Quiltmaker, the 
When I put everything together, the outcome was even better than I expected! I was going to make the flying geese border, but then I went to a restaurant where the ceramic tile design in the restroom caught my fancy! (You know, we quilters find interesting designs everywhere!) I drew the design on a slip of paper and when I got home, designed the border for my little Genevieve’s quilt.
It does indeed look like candy! See the similarities? Can’t you just imagine that her granddaughter will love it to pieces?! What a lucky little girl.
One thing he said stuck with me. “People always think they are having problems with their tension. It’s hardly ever the tension! Always remember T-N-T. Thread, needle, tension.
My quilt’s colors and fabrics symbolize different things about Christmas. The black background with Christmas trees and snow was the first fabric selected, and then I chose all the brightly colored “packages” to go around the trees.
I pieced a backing using a Christmas panel for the center. Turns out I have a reversible quilt that can be used as a throw, a wall hanging or a table topper. The blue you see at the top is a sleeve.
This is a bright, cheery quilt that will hang on my wall at Christmastime and will remind me of happy Christmas memories.
When one of my grandsons was about 14 years old, he told me, “I always like coming to Grandma’s house for Christmas. All you have to do is reach out and there is quilt to keep you warm.”
