I love my magnetic pin picker-upper, but so does Snooky the Evil Cat. It is her favorite toy. It's stuck to the metal leg on one of my sewing tables; and she bats at it for hours....

The sixth finger is also my favorite. I use it all the time to hold my material down and it will go a long way in close to needle. I use the flat side for that.
A little pink ripper. It is old can't do without it. fits my hands and fingers perfectly.
Several of my rulers.
One I didn't like and gave to my sister was one of those suction cup handles for the rulers . Wouldn't stay on for me or her..
My Plexi sewing extension table. I can not sew without it.
My knee eze. it keeps my foot pedal from moving and is at a slant. Love it.
Bill'sBonBon

I was having trouble with NEW olfa blades - it seemed like they would not cut one or two threads - very annoying. Would skip every several inches.

I also found the blade sharpeners to be a dud. Couldn't tell any difference whatsoever on the blade after trying to use it.

What do you do with your dull blades?

Maybe we need to have a garage sale or tool swap!!!!
:D
K

I love my Martelli rotary cutter and Olf Rotating Mat

As for the bad, I can't name them b/c they are out of sight. lol

Tool gadget swap sounds like a great idea!!!
Who wants to do it?????
I have a few bloopers to include gadgets books and etc :D :shock: :oops: :roll: :wink:

Love my rotary cutting board, Rowenta travel iron, favorite rotary cutter (I panic if I can't find it..), and of course my own space where I can leave what I am working on and get back to it when I want to AND my computer for all the wonderful quilting web sites and free patterns. So glad so many responded with things they did not like, was thinking of buying a rotary sharpening tool--not now. OH - forgot, my favorite tool is my GrandMarke cutting table - great for cutting perfect squares each and every time.

My favorite tools are my rotary cutter, rulers and mat, my Havel seam ripper with the interchangeable surgical steel blades, my Tin Lizzie quilting machine, my Viking Sapphire, and of course, my fabric stash!!! :D

My least favorite tool is my ironing board-not big enough!

I agree with Rose Marie about the Quilt in a Day flying geese rulers. I have made four Christmas quilts with them. They are great. The best I have used.

My favorite tools are the red rubber "fingers", the Clover marking tool, the Dritz pen with all of the white and colored chalk, and a foam paint brush for erasing the chalk lines.

Here's my favorite. I wrapped the rubberband around the hook so the thread would not slip off.

and the Clover Seam Ripper, I find is the best!!!!

I just purchased the Dritz marking pen and was having a little diificulty with erasing the chalk, I will try the foam brush and thanks for that tip..the pen works great!!!!!!!!

Has anyone tried the Mat Smoother yet?? I bought one recently and have tried it and I think it works great..You have to apply a little pressure when you are using it but it will save you from buying another mat sooner than necessary

I just got a Martelli Ergonomic cutter and two sided mat. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but the sales guy said that cutting with their cutter and mat will have the blades lasting at least 2 YEARS! He said he was on QVC cutting up soda cans with it, and it still cut fabric just fine afterwards.

The mat looks very cool because there is a yellow side and a purple side, to make seeing fabrics easier.

I have to practice, since he said you cut to the side of your body, instead of in front of you, which is how the blades get worn fast - from uneven pressure. He said not to use their cutter on any other mats because it would ruin the blades.

How do you like your Martelli cutter, now Lulu? Is the blade lasting that long?

I really scored on this, because the mat, ruler and cutter were free! I got it by chance through my work. When a girl who works for an associate company came to pick up drawings here, she saw my quilting stuff on the desk. She sent her husband, the travelling rep over with free stuff for me! He called later and said to come by the shop here in Pensacola soon and he would show me all their new gadgets and how to use them!

I love my Martelli rotary cutter, have had it for a long time now and use it on my olfa mat. Didn't know they recommended only their mat, works fine so far.

[I really scored on this, because the mat, ruler and cutter were free! I got it by chance through my work. When a girl who works for an associate company came to pick up drawings here, she saw my quilting stuff on the desk. She sent her husband, the travelling rep over with free stuff for me! He called later and said to come by the shop here in Pensacola soon and he would show me all their new gadgets and how to use them! [/quote]

You really did SCORED!!! I love my cutter. I used it with the Olfa mat and it works fine. I don't changed the blade that often, now that I think about it. I purchased the blades with them and I still have them.

If you don't like them, send them to me. LOL

I have one of those cutters as well. Love using it. Blades don't last 2 years, have to change them more often than that but much less often then I used to with my Fiskars cutters. I use it on one of those blue mats and it works just great. My cutter, however, squeaks when I use it. It is anoying and probably just needs a little wd40 or something but I don't want to drip grease on my fabs. I use olfa blades with it as when I bought the cutter, there were no special blades or mat, they only made the cutter at that time.

I enjoy reading the posts here, I like the humor used, as well as the tips and technics described. I use some "not originally quilt items":
I use office binder clips to hold things to my design wall- which is a 4x81/4'' wooden board. I also use them to hold the rolled quilt edges when hand quilting.
I use embroidery floss bobbins to hold my threaded needles for hand quilting. I put 10 to 12 in a gift card metal case, it holds them nicely, and use a pencil case to hold my thimble, scissors, bees wax, metal case, to carry when I go where I will be waiting. I hand quilt whenever I get time, so I travel with it. They might make special cases for this, but at what cost!!!!I spend next to nothing. I have even made some of the embroidery floss bobbins myself from an old fabric softener bottle. Then my case smells great.

Of course I love my rotary cutter and I love my side winder. Keeps me in bobbins so I don't have to unthread my machine. Little things keep me happy. :D :D :D

My favorite quilting "tools" are improvised from other items. I have a hard pressing board made from Corian. It was supposed to be a cutting board, but I wrapped a thin towel around it and it is great for getting a really flat seam pressed. Sometimes the ironing board is too squishy.

Best of all, I love my huge old drafting table. The boss gave it to me in September, and with the elevated surface (which has a level, sliding ruler!) I can cut pieces without an aching neck! It has two huge deep drawers and a butcher block flat area that holds my spare machine!!! I am soooo lucky!

Favorite Rulers:

Easy Rule 2 (6.5" x 24") by Sharon Hultgren. it took a while to get used to the extra half inch but the whole inches are very clearly marked; lots of handy 1/8" reference lines; the lines aren't too fat; it lays nicely flat, heavy and stable.

Easy Angle, also by Sharon Hultgren. I know it's handy because i'm forever misplacing it. if nothing else, it forces me to straighten up and reorganize while i'm looking for it. :lol: seriously, though, half and quarter-square triangles are so much easier to make accurately when i use it ... properly. :roll:

1" x 12" Omnigrid. i hate the stupid yellow lines, but it has reference lines for that annoying but often necessary scant quarter inch. which isn't a quarter inch at all.

Get Squared, 8.5" square ruler by [Gasp!] June Tailor. it has a nifty little 4.5" square hole in the middle; clear markings; the one i reach for first when it's time to square up the corners of tops and for mitering my borders and binding. (although i'm slowly getting into the habit of mitering with the Easy Angle, instead.)

Things I'm Glad I Bought On Sale, Because They Weren't Worth Even That Much (To Me):

Sidewinder. For sale, dirt cheap to anybody who wants to work that hard to wind a bobbin
Mat Smoother. the scrubby things from the dollar store work better
ironing mat on one side, cutting mat on the other. once it warped (which didn't take long) it made a handy lap desk. until it completely fell apart. :lol:
Grandma's Secret Stain Remover. may as well spit on the stain. the results are about the same.

Mixed Reviews:

blade sharpener. it does work if you do the twisty-thing often enough and on both sides of the blade and using both sides of the sharpener. not as good as new, of course, but it'll hold me over while i'm waiting for shipments of new blades to come in.

any brand of cutting mat. but i wouldn't want to try working without one.

mini craft iron. very handy in specific situations, but generally a pain to use. doesn't get hot enough, either.

Best Iron [so far] - Black & Decker Classic. a real workhorse.

Top Two Quilting "Tools" I'd be Completely Lost Without:
1. My Computer equipment
2. You Guys :wink:

My Scepter - Seam Ripper :roll:
My Ruler with the edge
My Joann's table
My Reading Glasses
My movable light for using my seam ripper oops Scepter! :oops:
Rowenta Iron - automatic shut off
The Internet!
My pentel pencil for drawing lines on the wrong side of the fabric

Thanks for the link to the yo-yo quilt. It's awesome. It does seem like yo-yo's would be a good take-along project. I'll have to add a yo-yo quilt to my list of Future UFOs. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Patrice: I am glad to read your opinion of June Tailor' Get Squared 8.5 Ruler - have been drooling over it for some time. Guess I'll put it on my shopping list!!

In regard to Grandma's Secret Stain Remover,I have had a different experience. I keep it on hand to get the stains out of my (5) grandchildren's clothes when they are here. (they HATE bibs!) :) My cupboard is full of the laundry stain removers you find at the grocery store, and Grandma's works better for me. Of course it would make a difference what type of stains it is used on. Mine are usually chocolate, spaghetti, and jello. :)

My only complaint is that the bottle is so small and it costs quite a bit proportionally! :(

The one tool I panic when I can't find is a sharp pointed tweezers I stole from my make-up kit. I use it for guiding fabric, picking out paper piecing, taking out pins as I sew, etc.,etc.

My relationship with the curve master improved a lot since last post...I think I actually like it and it does save time....but...I believe that my curves will never be perfect...This foot makes a different ....
The tiny clipper and ripper are constantly in use....and yes...some good rulers.....Stencils can be helpfull but books and magazines are invaluable because of all these great ideas.....and of course...our sewing machine (the more the merry).... :oops: :oops: :oops: Am I greedy?

curve master

I'm having trouble with my new Olfa blades also. Skipping every few inches, very frustrating. Some suggested buying a new rotarty cutter just in case it was defective. I did that and the blades are still skipping. Very fussy about blades. I like them sharp, sharp, sharp. Any suggestions, different blades....I thought Olfa was the best....

I have the June Taylor square it up ruler with the opening and I love it. I even have the 4 pack set of squares from Wally and they are great. I'm sorry others seem to not like them but it could just be that I'm so new to quilting that these are all I know and haven't had any problems with them. My 6 x 24 ruler is the Fiskars that came in a set from JoAnns of the ruler, mat and rotary cutter. Haven't had any problems with the rotary cutter either. I found replacement blades for $1 ea at the Current Outlet before I left Colorado and took all they had off the shelf. These blades are about $6 each normally. I got really lucky and I'm stocked for a while. Just bought the Brother XL-3750 sewing machine. It works perfect for me. Don't need anything big and fancy. This straight stitches for piecing and comes with an extension table and foot for free stitching for machine quilting. I love it!!!

Actually it isn't a tool but I love my Moleskin that I put on my featherweight to make even seams. I cut a piece off the larger piece(Usually about 1/2 inch) measure a slight 1/4 inch from the needle, peel the backing and stick it on the machine. I can zip right along on straight stitching. I change it when my seams look a little off. I have feet that are supposed to have the 1/4 inch but darned if one piece or the other doesn't slide under it. Have those that came with the machines and they aren't any better but I have friends that use them all the time. A useless thing was a piece of plastic that held two pencils so you could add 1/4 inch to an applique piece. Another thing a friend loves.

Wendy,
You showed us that drafting/cutting table before. I was jealous then and am still jealous!

I have a tiny pair of scissors that I use all the time. They last about 2 minutes in a drawer if I actually put them away.

An impulse buy online has become my favorite notion-- a pair of cheap spring loaded thread snips. I wish I could remember where I ordered them from so I could order enough to keep by each of my machines.

My least favorite notion is the Sidewinder. Thank goodness my old Bernina can wind bobbins perfectly for my Singer 15-91, too because I can't ever remember the trick to get the Singer to wind correctly.

Love my Creative Grid rulers. Love my Gingher rotary cutter. Love those flat flower head pins. I've sworn off being the first to buy another gadget...someone else has to guinea pig now...there's just too much out there that I can do without...sure wish I had learned that sooner!

My DH told me a few weeks ago that his school had just thrown out several drafting tables just like yours. He could have gotten one (or more) if he'd known I wanted one. :cry: :cry: :cry:

I'm still too new at this to know which tools are good, bad, or ugly for me, but one item I'm going to buy before I use my rotary cutter again is a Klutz cut-resistant glove. I cut with my right hand and I have severe lymphedema in my left hand and arm, which is worse than it's ever been, and I'm terrified of cutting my hand or finger(s). It takes forever for little cracks to heal; I can't imagine how long it would take a major cut. Not to mention the hassle of getting all the blood that would be involved out of the fabric. And I am a bit of a klutz, so I'm sure it's not if I have an accident, but when. Christmas Day I tried to use my DH's pocket knife to open Barbie doll clothes packages and cut two fingers before I had a chance to use it on the packages. :roll:

I told my DH about the glove last night and he said if he'd known, he would have gotten me one for Christmas. (Maybe then I could have safely used his knife.)

Hot glue sounds like a good idea. I know it rolls off if you don't want it on something. I'm going to try it and let you know!

For the people who are having trouble with their OLFA blades skipping, make sure you do not have two blades in the cutter. It is easy to do because they are so oily and tend to stick together. Be careful though, don't cut yourself. Hold the blade with your thumb and finger on opposite sides and push in oppossing directions.

My favorite quilting tool is a queen sized flannel sheet that I nailed to one wall of the sewing room. Large enough to lay out any quilt I've done yet, and cheap enough that if it ever gets too dirty, I can throw it away and start over!

I love the Simplicity Bias tape maker machine with 2 1/2" attachment. It works great. It can spit out binding for a king size quilt in no time.

The Simplicity 2 1/2" bias ruler takes all the frustration out of cutting bias. I'm glad I bought it.

The Go die cut machine is the best quilting tool I've bought other then my sewing machine.

I really like Inklingo. I use it more then I thought I would. It's great for hand piecing.

The one item that wasn't worth the money for me is the Alto Quilt 2 cutting system. It's great for cutting strips but I never get accurate squares or triangles using it.

I LOVE:
Sidewinder....fast, fully wound bobbins. My sewing machine stops winding before the bobbin is full.
4 Pincushions..one in each work area, so I don't have to move just one or two around.
Bamboo Chopstick...turns things and helps push corners out.
Lanyard...keeps my little thread cutting scissors around my neck so I can't lose them!
Old kitchen canisters...they hold my scissors, marking implements, and cutters on my work table..everything in sight!
12.5" square ruler...I use it a LOT...squaring up quilt corners is so easy with it.
That little metal seam gauge...I use it to check my needle position to get scant 1/4" from edge of foot. I don't like the 1/4" foot with the metal guide.

I could do without:
A bunch of specialty rulers we bought at a quilt show a year ago and have yet to use.
A small travel iron that can only be used for 15 minutes at a time, or it will self-destruct...or something. It says don't use it for more than 15 minutes. ????

I haven't bought a whole bunch of extra gadgets due to money. I usually am pretty careful what I buy to be sure I will use it.

I really like my magnetic pin cushions.