do you use anything "unusual" around the house in your quilting?
 

My one quilt group is meeting in a couple of weeks and the topic of the meeting is "shortcuts"! I haven't been able to do much sewing the last couple of months due to BOTH my parents either in the hospital or in a nursing home. Right now Mom is in a nursing home for rehabilitation and Dad is in another nursing home due to Alzheimers. so enough about why I haven't been sewing! I thought instead of showing a shortcut it would be kinda fun to see some things you can use around the house for quilting/sewing that you might not think could be used. Any one have something they use? Thanks!

Different size cups and plates for round applique or for scallops on the edge of a border.

I use a small plastic paintbrush to clean down inside my machine. Works better than the brush it came with.
I have two rails with from Ikea that are supposed to be for hanging kitchen implements mounted above my cutting table - top row is for scissors and rotary cutters, bottom row is for small rulers.

I have used a phillips (sp) screwdriver as a point turner.

I use a long pipe cleaner to remove any dust or fluff from my machine. Much more pliable than a brush and can get right down into the machine. My mechanic has said on several occasions that my machines are the cleanest he's ever seen. He has told me I need only have them serviced every 2 years instead of every 12 months.

Used manilla folders to make templates
Red "Easter" celo wrap (for baskets) as a viewer for color value (for all colors other than reds & browns)
A blue wine glass as a color value viewer (to view reds and browns)
A large carpenters T square for cutting long lengths of fabric - mine has a "guard" on the cutting edge too!

Not a shortcut but I use an old prescription bottle to put my bent/broken pins and needles in. When it is full just screw the lid on tight and toss. No need to worry a that someone will get hurt on them. When I toss the rotary cutter blades I seal them in mailing tape for safety as well.
D

I keep a roll of blue painter's tape handy. I wrap it around my hand a few times, sticky side out, and stick it in a convenient spot on my sewing machine cabinet. All my thread ends get touched to this thread catcher. When it gets full, I throw it out and make another circle of painter's tape to replace it.

I use a large carpenter's T (purchased from a big box hardware store) to square my quilts after they are one.

I have a piggy bank that collects any discarded sharps!
Bonus ... it doubles as a "weight " when one is needed.

Here's some more ideas from an earlier thread .........
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...g-t152963.html

I use an old frosting can for a mini trash can on my sewing table.