Thread: household items used for quilting

Hi all, I have to give a short presentation at a guild meeting about household items that can be used for quilting. I'm hoping that you all will tell me things that you use, especially things that can be used instead of a more expensive quilting gadget or tool. Thanks

Hair barretts that "click" open and closed work well for holding binding down when hand sewing...

I use a large coffee cup near my machine to catch snips and threads,
a old flower vase on the table I cut on for the same thing,
Corelle plates and bowls and cups for cutting circles, since they don't dull my cutter,
sharpies to hide boo-boos,
old tupperware to store sewing gadgets,
cheap baggies to store cutting templates,
freezer paper for appliqué,
a kid's plastic pencil box to store my rotary cutter and extra blades in
A plastic box type embroidery floss organizer to keep track of extra machine feet
an inside glazed flower pot to hold cones of thread while using them with my DSM
An old beeswax candle for drawing my hand sewing thread through
Two office desk organizers for my small tools, bobbins, forceps, etc.
a hanging key holder on the wall above my ironing board to hold small scissors for snips while pressing, and a small bottle of distilled water for misting while ironing
a clipboard hung over my sewing table to hold patterns where I can see them and they don't get buried that way.
A desk fan that I clip near me while sewing to keep me cool
binder clips for holding the binding in place as I hand sew
a canning jar to hold my supply of safety pins for when I am pinning a quilt.
three old dressers for storing some of my fabric
A rubber eraser for pulling all the threads with I "frog sew" (rippit, rippit)
A bamboo spatula to hold creases while they cool while ironing
Gallon zipper plastic bags to keep things organized as I cut pieces for a quilt
extra paint brushes to keep the lint out of my sewing machine.
color books for applique
I could go on and on, but I will leave room for other's ideas.

I have a hanging closet, see through organizer for my pantographs. The organizer has pockets going down both sizes, and let's me see the design of the pantos. I only have 40 or 50 pantos and it's plenty of storage.

Wow, those are awesome tips.

Originally Posted by madamekelly

I use a large coffee cup near my machine to catch snips and threads,
a old flower vase on the table I cut on for the same thing,
Corelle plates and bowls and cups for cutting circles, since they don't dull my cutter,
sharpies to hide boo-boos,
old tupperware to store sewing gadgets,
cheap baggies to store cutting templates,
freezer paper for appliqué,
a kid's plastic pencil box to store my rotary cutter and extra blades in
A plastic box type embroidery floss organizer to keep track of extra machine feet
an inside glazed flower pot to hold cones of thread while using them with my DSM
An old beeswax candle for drawing my hand sewing thread through
Two office desk organizers for my small tools, bobbins, forceps, etc.
a hanging key holder on the wall above my ironing board to hold small scissors for snips while pressing, and a small bottle of distilled water for misting while ironing
a clipboard hung over my sewing table to hold patterns where I can see them and they don't get buried that way.
A desk fan that I clip near me while sewing to keep me cool
binder clips for holding the binding in place as I hand sew
a canning jar to hold my supply of safety pins for when I am pinning a quilt.
three old dressers for storing some of my fabric
A rubber eraser for pulling all the threads with I "frog sew" (rippit, rippit)
A bamboo spatula to hold creases while they cool while ironing
Gallon zipper plastic bags to keep things organized as I cut pieces for a quilt
extra paint brushes to keep the lint out of my sewing machine.
color books for applique
I could go on and on, but I will leave room for other's ideas.

Originally Posted by cmrenno

I have a metal magnetic dish that I bought at the auto parts store for my pins. It supposed to be for mechanics to put their screws and small tools in. I have wand that I used to use for magnetic bingo chips that I use to find fallen pins.
And those trays that Crisco sticks come in fit Schmetz Needle packs perfectly. I use that rubberized shelf line under my sewing machine and my sewing machine foot control to keep them from moving around.
I could probably come up with lots more.
Good luck!
Colleen

Recently there was a thread about a pad to prevent the sewing machine from moving. I bought a clear bath mat at Dollar General that has round holes in it. I cut off about 5" from one end to use under my foot control and folded the rest to put under the sewing machine. MAGIC--------for $3

I'm thinking the round holes in the mat will let heat dissipate from the foot control, too.

Anything round that I can draw around to get different sizes. Those wooden skewers for stiletto's for sew-ins. Ziploc style bags of various sizes to keep small items together.
My cutting station is a kitchen counter on locking wheels. I cut in the living room but put the station back in the studio when friends who aren't quilters come over.