We travel alot and I like to quilt on the road. So I went to the local thrift shop and bought a lightweight wooden tray for $1.oo. Cleaned and spray painted it a bright color. I keep a project in the tray with pins, scissors, etc. When I come home I add or change items getting it ready for the next road trip. So when DH is ready to go I don't have to rush to find something to work on. I have the Omni box for traveling but the lid gets in the way. The tray sits great on your lap and when we get out I put the tray in my seat for when I get back in.

I use an old Chuck E Cheese token cup to hold my spools of thread since some of them are 2 big for my machine and place it behind the machine.

I like this idea, and will definitely try it.

i like that one too. i will try it!

That is an excellent idea.

That is good info.

That is genius!

I do the same thing but I use a very large fishing tackle box. I is probably about the same size as yours.

That's a great idea!

WOW way to shop gal. Harbor freight is very cool. I never thought about them having blades.

I keep a lint roller with my sewing supplies and roll it over everything in sight, when I am through sewing for the day. I even roll it over the carpet in the sewing machine area to pick up the threads from the carpet so they don't wind up in the vacuum cleaner brushes. I keep a separate lint roller to clean up any loose threads from a completed quilt top. My sewing machine is not computerized, so I can keep a magnetic wand nearby to pick up any loose pins, including any that fall on the floor.

Love the tip about the coffee creamer container for filling your iron. We never use coffee creamer but had one for company over the holidays. I just threw it in the wastebasket about 30 minutes before reading this tip. I took it back out!!! Thanks

I cut all scraps into squares of various sizes that I put into marked shoe boxes. I keep the 2" squares in a small box next to my machine and use as "anchor" cloth before and after I sew a seam. I take the sewn pairs on road trips and hand sew into 4 patches.
When my daughter wants to sit & chat while I'm sewing, or my granddaughters visit, they love to sew the 2" squares together on my extra machine. We get to visit and sew at the same time.

Also, when I square up blocks and have all those little bitty strips of fabric, I put them in a ziplock baggie and throw out in the back of the yard for the birds to use in their nests. If I have a strip about an 1" wide, I run my rotary cutter up & down it several times and "whiddle" it down to tiny strips.
A couple of years ago, one of my grandsons found a nest with some threads in it. So cool!!

I received one of these as a gift from a sewing friend ... just beautiful!!

I have been trying everything Jan. Thanks for this idea.

I use toothbrush for that.

What a fun idea!

Old medicine containers good for this as well or altoid cont

I make chenille blankets 4 layers of flannel and clean machine after every bobbin love to keep it cleaned out.

I save all the plastic containers that mints,gum or candy come in. "ice breakers"gum is in a round, flat container with a snap up lid. I can fit 8 bobbins in it for travel. Bought DD chocolate pearls $$ in a tin container at Michaels checkout. Cannot wait to grab that when she is done. Use your imagination they can be used fo any small sewing storage.

What is 505?

This only works on the older non electronic machines. I have a magnetic strip on my older Kenmore that works perfectly.

DD wants to write a book called 101 uses for binder clips---I already gave this one to her. Glad to hear others use them for that! I use them to hold the folds of a quilt that I was lap quilting.

For beer or thread?? :lol:

You know those bags with pieces of tape that they use in hospitals to attach to a patient's bedside table for trash? I tape one to my ironing board as my thread garbage bag.

I always seem to rip a pattern after one use so I trace the pattern onto a piece of interfacing (including all the markings) and cut it out. Now I have a pattern that won't tear and is very durable and will last forever!

One of my biggest problems is my cat. She would get up right behind my sewing machine and play with the strips coming out. I finally put a little chest right next to my sewing machine and made a little polar fleece top for it. Now she sleeps on that chest and stays away from my sewing machine. It is great, she is still right next to me but she doesn't get in my way any more. She is my sewing buddy.

I ran around for weeks looking for the perfect container to refill the iron at my church sewing group. I wanted one like I have for my own iron, but never found one. One day someone left their bottled water in our sewing room, just one of those simple disposable water bottles like you can buy at any store by the case. The mouth is small and easy to fill the iron, it holds 3 refills, and I don't have to tote the hot iron to the bathroom to fill it!

I use a strip of masking tape at the 1/4 inch mark to keep my seams perfect.

When I'm piecing, I try to plan my seams so that they will 'nest' when I go to sew my blocks together. Also when I have seams coming together in the middle, I iron them so they twirl around the center. To do that, I've had to learn to refrain from backstitching.

I've learned that when you ask a friend (or a husband) for their opinion, it's OK to NOT feel you have to take it as gospel. It's THEIR opinion... it's YOUR quilt! But I've NOT learned how to convince THEM that it's ok....

I have no idea if this is common knowledge, but I use two rulers when cutting. I am a right-hander. I use one ruler to measure from the right edge of the fabric to my cutting line, and I then butt my 6x24" ruler against the left side of the first ruler to make my cut. That way I always have the bulk of the fabric firmly under my ruler where it can't slip when cutting, and is especially useful when cutting narrow strips.

I took a class from Jill Schumacher awhile back, she taught the pipe cleaner trick to us and stressed how important it is to clean out the lint from the bobbin area at each and every bobbin change

This is no longer true now that we are no longer using floppy discs. The only magnetic thing in today's computers is the hard disc and those are magnetically shielded. My husband is a masters level electronics engineer. I trust him to know.

1. While wandering around in Harbor Freight I found these large plastic bins. They are $2.99 and hold about 20 yards of fabric. My shelves are too deep to use the mini bolts, so these bins work better for me.
2. I got a teflon oven liner and cut a small hole in it and use it on the bed of my machine while FMQing to help the fabric glide easier. I used my 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond so it was around $16.

I buy those plastic report covers and use them in place of "template plastic"

I use the large black clips to hold my quilt to the table for basting the sandwich.

I use old prescription bottles to collect bent pins, broken pins, etc....just throw the thing away when full.

I use a narrow paint brush with the really long, soft, flexible bristles to clean the lint from my machine.

I use parchment paper instead of "applique sheets"

I use used dryer sheets to clean the gunk off my iron.

Thanks for the tips, I love them!

Oh judy....care to share some of that gorgeous stash???? I'm jealous!

I can not take credit for this tip because I learned it from a post on the Quiltingboard. I have started saving my plastic (see through) food containers. They serve many purposes in my sewing room. I like them more than my $$$ purchashed Steralite containers because I can see through them better.
I cover my 'work bed' with plastic, when guest come the bedding is still clean and lint free.
I have enjoyed this post. Thank you for all the tips and tricks.

This idea I tell everyone because it works so well. Go to Harbor Freight and buy a glass pane suction cup handle. Less than $6. Put it on your ruler as a handle. Your ruler will not slip around because you have a better grip on it and it keeps your fingers away from the edge of the ruler so they won't get sliced. Yes I learned that lesson from experience.

I keep a jar next to my sewing machine and on the cutting table to toss thread and fabric that is too small to use. An old wicker basket is on the cutting table for small usable strips and another wicker basket for odd shaped usable pieces of fabric. The unusable strips go into a small basket and will go to the birds for their nests in the spring as some quilters here have recommended - love this idea!

This is a great post with so many wonderful suggestions! I have to finish reading what everyone has posted.

Wow what a find, and sew perfect for your needs! I looked all over for a toolbox and finally found a fishing tackle box with a top compartment plus 3 drawers beneath for all my paraphenalia.

I've used thread bunnies for 30 years, but if I can get a plan together I SO want to use the idea of "beginners and enders" and get two quilts sewn at the same time!

I tuck a small piece of foam in the top loop of my cone holder to keep the thread from raveling, especially monofilament. It is just enough to control the thread, but not add to the tension.

Last spring I found my 3' silk wreath on my front porch was being decimated by birds looking for nesting material. Sew I draped narrow strips of fabric scraps (14" or so) on the wreath and the birds helped themselves. I now save the narrowest little strips separate from larger scraps and will be putting them out on the porch again this spring!
The larger fabric scraps and leftover batting pieces are saved and chopped up for stuffing pillows for pet beds which my guild donates to the local animal shelter. We made 185 pet beds last year on our annual sew-a-thon ...that's a lot of scraps!

Wow I LOVE this idea! Thanks!

Oh, oooh! I have another one... I use empty TicTac containers to hold beads for embellishing

Never thought of this. I like this lots.