While wandering around quilt shops in the USA, I saw this adorable clock.  It looks like it is made from ceramic, but is actually made from a strong resin.  
The clock is very light weight, runs with only one battery, and the little scissors swing back and forth like a pendulum.
Obviously this is not an item necessary to anyone's happiness, (but fun eye-candy for quilters)!  I was fortunate to have a friend who decided to gift this to me, so I'm looking forward to having such a lovely extra spot of joy in my sewing room when I get back home!

Another attempt at finding a thimble replacement for good old fashion thimbles.

Not everyone has the same tastes in thimbles.
I'd like to say that if you enjoy this style, you will not have to pay an outrageous price for a comfy thimble!
My personal choice is for a thimble that is both comfy and durable.  The only problem that I have with this little beauty is that the the holes are directional.  
This means that a quilting needle eye has no option but to rest at a particular angle.  Unfortunately for me, this means I often have to hold my finger in an awkward position, which makes quilting difficult.  For me.
​As this review stated initially, this might be just the thimble for you, but for me- this is not a useful product. 

In almost every shop I've gone into during the past few months I kept seeing these cute little boxes.  Eventually I decided to break down and purchase one.  Because I was in one place for more than a week during our travels, and could set up to quilt, I used the S&S for my scissors and such. Being able to find all my small tools without things rolling away or shuffling under bits of fabric was very helpful. 

(This adorable little needle threader is SO useful, especially for my aging eyes.
The little 'beak' is covered in a hinged plastic which lifts back as pictured in more detail below.)  The pointy nose under the cover is a small flat piece of metal with a little notch/hook in it.  The bit of metal is tiny,  but much stronger than the typical wire that is used in threaders. It even has a built in thread cutter in the back of its' neck!
Most threaders I've used have been super thin wires attached to "something" tiny.  These wires are easily distorted and the whole thing so flimsy that I usually only get a few uses before I've ruined the thing.
In the past I've also purchased a very expensive little gizmo that was fiddly and complicated. How disappointing to remove that product from the package only to find it wouldn't work on quilting thread unless the needle was much bigger than I actually used. My experience with le needle bird was much more successful.
Five positive things then in this product's favour.  
First: The bright colour (several bright colours are available.) and thicker size make this easier to keep up with.  It's small enough to be easily stored, but not so tiny to be easily lost amongst other sewing gear.
Second: The flat metal 'nose' is way more durable than the traditional wire, but especially useful - even with quite small needle eyes. The whole point is being able to poke a thread through the eye of a needle, without the complication of 'missing' and having wires bend all over the place. Having a protective cover adds to the durability of this threader.
Third: The retail price is completely reasonable.
Fourth: The threader is easy to use. No complicated instructions. When using the wire version the threader is almost as thin as the thread and hard to see, the thin metal piece is easier to see,.  This makes it easier for those of us with old eyes to use.
Fifth: the tool has three bonus conveniences which were un-necessary to its operation - but make this even more useful. One- an ergonomic design makes it easy to hold without slipping, there is a great thread cutter built in and there is also a tiny hole in the wing which I intend to thread onto a little cord and thereby attach this threader to my pincushion, making sure it is alway accessible and easily found!