My glasses. I already hate the fact that I now need my glasses to sew, but I was always leaving my extra(sewing)glasses in another room. I picked up a soft eyeglass holder and pinned it to my corkboard which is on the wall in front of my machine and keep them in there(at least I try).
I also keep extra scissors hanging on the board. I can't keep my tape measure there though, as a particular cat will inevitably pull it down, LOL.

If your machine is computorized,it's not a good idea to have a magnet of any kind on it.That's what the sewing store told me when i got my machine.

As for my small scissors i tied a ribbon around them and hang them around my neck.I also have a pair of scissors tied to the ironing board.

As for my glasses they are the first thing to go on when i wake up in the AM and the last thing to come off in the PM~~~can't do anything without them.I wear tri-focals.

I have 2 of those magnetic pin holders(grabbits) one on the cutting table and the other on the end of the desk away from my machine.Tape measure hangs around my neck also.

I did have to put black marker on the bobbin cover,seems i always knocked it on the floor,and since it was clear plastic,i couldn't see it,so i ,marked it.
Kathi

No computerized machine for me at this stage of my sewing. Can't justify it until I feel I've outgrown my current machine.

I am seriously considering getting one of those things that you can hang your eyeglasses on around your neck. I do need the reading glasses with my contacts for closeup work and it would be so much easier than trying to figure out where I put them this time.

Seam rippers and scissors......the seam ripper goes walking when someone else uses them for removing labels that have been sewn onto garments, funny how they end up being placed on a coffee table or side table and NOT back by the sewing machine. Ditto for scissors...... it doesn't matter if they are fabric only scissors..."I only had this little thing to clip and the scissors were right there handy!" Also my magnetic wand for picking up pins....that is handier than having to go to the workbench to find the two the resident machanic owns. Funny how my sewing items are communal property but the tools on the workbench belong to the male in the family. I don't remember reading that in the fine print of the marriage license.

My mind actually relaxes when I sew, so as they say sewing is cheaper than therapy. I stopped losing things when I placed a peg board straight in front of the machines along with the office can for pens, pencils and so on. I just had to stop putting things down and put them away. It took a long while to do this, but now I can find items in my craft room. 4-H members know to put things away making the projects so much more enjoyable.

Lizzie, I know what you mean. Besides having the corkboard in front of the machine(so I can look at pattern intructions while I'm sewing), I have a plastic bin on a small set of drawers next to the machine, in which I keep all those little things ie, seam ripper, bobbins, pencils, pins, extra needles. And all of those things have their own little tins. I also keep a chunk of styrofoam in there that I stick machine needles I use most often into, and their spots are labeled, so I can switch in a jiffy. I find the older I get the more anal(can I say that?)I get about this stuff.
Budster, DH has walked off with my household tools so many times that he doesn't dare touch my sewing stuff(tiny screwdrivers, magnet wand, etc), unless I give my permission in each instance, lol.

I made myself a sewing apron with pockets for all those little things. Perfect! The apron also helps keep threads and fuzzy fabrics off my clothing. Whether I'm cutting, machine sewing or hand sewing, everything is right here with me, well, everything but the magnetic pin cushion. It took me a while to learn to put items back into the same particular pocket every time, but now that I've mastered that, it's so much easier, sort of like a construction worker's tool belt or apron. When I'm finished sewing, everything is already put away.

Another thing - I put all sewing scraps like cut threads, clippings, etc. in empty facial tissue cubes. They're pretty and light, and the little oval keeps all the junk inside the box. There is never a shortage of those boxes in my house.

Like Kathi, I keep the scissors around my neck, using elastic instead of ribbon. This gives me a little stretch and the scissors don't poke my thigh as I sit. I have about 5 pin cushions around the area but the one I use most is on my wrist. Small tools like my Hera marker and point turner became more 'findable' after I looped a bright tassel through the handle or hanging hole. Now they stand out from the inevitable accumulation on my table as I sew.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tassled tools

Seam-ripper, scissors, glasses; those seem to be the worst for me as well. I sometimes think of buying a dozen seam-rippers so I can scatter them around the room. Then Ill be able to find at least one of them!

Rosefolly

once I enter my sewing room.. I loose my mind! then everything else after that! seriously, why is everything round? it seems to roll off onto the floor.. gotta get rid of the carpet so I can hear it hit the floor! then I would know where it went!

Dental flossers to thread my loopers on my serger is what I tend to loose most.

I wouldn't count on that Westbrook- I have dark hardwood floors. I saw the little flat metal screwdriver fall onto the floor, but I still couldn't find it for a three days!

If we ever either find the knife bar or go to Ikea for a new one, I'm going to put that on the shelf above my machines for scissors, seam rippers, machine screwdrivers and brushes.

I also have four pairs of sewing scissors (three for fabric, one for patterns) and I usually can't find any of them.

But the clear plastic ruler is by far the worst!

At a home improvement store you may be able to find one of these:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2048

to find and pick things up, maybe on of these would help:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/MAG-46/TELESCOPING_MAGNETIC_PICK_UP_TOOL/-/1.html

I end up on the floor, in a darkened room, skimming a flashlight across the floor occasionally, anyway.

The old addage "A place for everything and everything in it's place" seems to work for me. But, as we all know....those of us who have family find that no one but US wants to abide by that addage. I think that's why We are the one they ask..."Have you seen my...." It does take a little longer to put everything away but it really does help save time when you come back to work on your projects.

Definitely my seam ripper!! My sewing room is in my basement. I can come upstairs, have my seam ripper in my hand and lay it down somewhere. Then, when I'm back downstairs in my sewing room...."what did I do with my seam ripper"? So, I go back upstairs, and find it laying on the kitchen counter since I come up to the kitchen for something to drink or a snack. I have also lost it in my sewing room....the handle is blue and so is the carpet, which makes it hard to find when I have dropped it or it has ended up on the floor.

This post was edited by donnas on Sun, Jun 23, 13 at 21:18

One thing I have found that helps me keep up with things is that I try to buy different colored tools. I do lots of different crafting so I have about 10 sets of what all look like pliers if you just see the handles. ( I store them all in a divided box with the tips down.) I decided to buy them in different colors so I know that the ones with the purple handles are round tipped, the blue ones are needle nose, the red ones are cutters, and so on. I have several sewing machines so I keep little boxes with lids with each one that holds all the "gadgets" that go with each machine. (eliminates lots of remembering what fits what)

scissors mostly, that is why I have two of each. And I buy seam rippers in quantity and have them in a jar by the sewing machine. I have 5 or 6 so no problem with losing them, mid project.