My sewing machines are in my small laundry room and I discovered by accident that sewing patterns fit very well in the drawer under my front load dryer!

I put an old tricot nightgown over my clothes when I'm sewing. Keeps the "quilt poop" from attaching to me. Just slides right off!

Instead of using safety pins on my sandwiches, I cut up those long red erasers into small squares, maybe 1/4" to 3/8". I use those on the end of my 2" straight pins. Works similarly to Pinmoors (and a heck of a lot cheaper). Those safety pins were getting way too hard to handle with my arthritic hands. The pins work great with much less effort. I don't get stuck by the end of the pins because they are embedded within the eraser and they are easy to remove as I quilt.

I have never heard of a pin moore. But this sounds like a great and practical idea !

For binding, I roll on a toilet paper cardboard. Then put roll on the spindle in a CD container that held blank CDs (the tall ones that hold 100 blank CDs). Cut slit in plastic cover and feed end of binding through. Pop cover on. Binding stays clean - I can see it and not lose it - and it feeds out of the container as I sew.

Q-tips for removing lint form the feed & bobbin area. Another use for the q-tip is to place the bobbin & thread together. (Place q-tip in hole of thread & slip the bobbin right over it). My machine is in a cabinet so I have a small jar standing in the inside next to the machine to keep my small sissors for clipping, seam ripper, pencil etc. For years the second drawer was my trash can. Have enjoyed reading this thread....

One I forgot. I Use the rubber waffle like mats that are supposed to be used under scatter rugs so they don't slip under my foot pedal to keep it from moving.

Hi, I use half of a wooden clothes pin, without the spring, for finger pressing. Some times my fingers don't have much strength...arthritis vs. clothes pin, and it works very good.

Rubber cement to glue odd sized templates to the underside of my ruler... this makes VERY speedy work of cutting diamonds etc, for EPP.
large Binder clips to hold my quilt layers down while I baste.
Scotch tape & markers to mark cutting lines on the underside of my rulers ( make your own 'twister' , dresden plate, 60* OBW etc. rulers)

Hi, I use half of a wooden clothes pin, without the spring, for finger pressing. Some times my fingers don't have much strength...arthritis vs. clothes pin, and it works very good.

Wish I'd known about the eraser tip before I stabbed myself too many times on my last quilt!!!

I found a new use for my dog grooming table after I stopped showing dogs. I had a piece for plywood cut 40"x40" and put it on top of the table. It still wasn't tall enough so I bought the cones used to raise beds up under the legs and now my file cabinet fits under it and it's tall enough to keep me from backaches cutting quilts.

Empty frosting and spice containers for different sized curved safety pins. Love that nutmeg smell! Spoke weight for holding ruler in place when cutting strips. And it still slips sometimes.....

Try rubber cement. You can still see the lines and it doesn't slip.

I use an oven drip sheet as an applique press sheet. Heat resistant to 500 degrees. I bought mine at the discount home improvement/lumber store on sale for $1.99.

I have several large, heavy vases that keep my scissors and skinny rulers tamed.

SKEWER that IS a hard one...but what is a heel sander?

same for my hubby, he does an awesome job on value

great idea!

I received new car mats as a gift and took one of the old ones and it fits perfect under my sewing desk to set the foot petal on. {the other mat went under the cat litter pan-no waste here}

A small hemostat from when I got stitches at the hospital. If the doctor could remove those tiny stitches from my forehead with them, then I can remove the whiskers from my ripping. Works great.
Old kitchen table for sewing machine
File cabinet to store my patterns and trash bags, pens pencils,grid paper, etc.
Interesting how we manage to find things all over the house to use to make our quilting life easier!
We are crafty!!

Instead of buying real glasses to make your red tinted glasses out of - try making a cardboard or cardstock, thick framed template and tape red cellophane behind the cut out holes. A pattern is very easy to make. Something like the paper frames you used to get at the theatre for watching 3-D movies. Made these in an art class once and the kids had a ball wearing them.

Where do you get red cellophane?

Another idea is to use ice cream pail covers,liquid detergent bottles, milk[just about anything with a flat side]. This plastic template material doesn't wear down like cardboard does with repeated tracings. Could also make your own hexigons for Grandmothers Flower Garden[ aki -Quilt Pattis].

I also have never heard of "pinmoors" but googled them. Have you tried double dipping each pin when you want it to stay in place? By that I mean not just going under the fabric once, but twice with each pin. I have serious arthritis and I use the long pins (standard in the shops) with yellow balls on the end and "double dip" them when pinning for quilting, or any time I don't want to risk them coming out. It ALWAYS works! Even when I'm moving the quilt all over the place.

Sometimes less is more, and sometimes I just don't understand the problem. Forgive me if this is one of those times! This is really an informative line of discussion!!!

Also, I bought one of those huge African baskets with a handle at a street fair and it holds all the fabrics, and even some I may or may not use (but were a "close" second) of whatever quilt I'm working on . I also use it when I go to a class. I do some "art" quilting and am never sure that I'm really done with a fabric, or I might just screw up so much I have to start over with a section, or..... I love not having to panic and dig thru my stash, but have it right there until the quilt is done.

I also use clear topped pencil boxes (got a bunch at Staples on sale) and put tools in one, threads in another, pencils, erasers, glues in another, etc. I'm trying so hard to keep organized :roll:

QUILT POOP????? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I use towlet paper and paper towel cardboard rolls to wind my fabric strips on. I made a rack with dowels to put the rolls on and all I have to do is measure and cut my blocks.

I use one of those handicap suction cup hand hold things to hold my cutting rulers down. I got it for 11.99 and the ones "made" for quilters were 25.00 same exact thing just a better price

Week long, twice a day plastic pill holder for holding machine feet and bobbins. Empty nut tin for used needles and rotary blades. Toss when full. Cheap gardening gloves for machine quilting

artist paintbrush for cleaning bobbin case, orange wood stick for stilletto, prescription bottles for used needles and no longer useable pins, priscription bottles for taking my pins to class with me, clothespins for holding my binding on, cookbook holder for holding pattern up to read as I work.

A vintage ice pick that I use as a stiletto.

Matchbox car garage for threads.
Empty kleenex box (cube) for stray threads and 'snips'
Scrapbooking boxes for holding projects

Can't think of anything else I haven't already read.

-red viewer..the red half of the 3-D glasses from kid's cereal box.(sometimes the $ store has red heart shaped glasses for Valentine's Day)
-metal shower rings for hanging rulers
-snap lipstick case for holding bobbins for transporting to a class.
-empty diaper wipe box for misc. sewing tools by my machine
-tiny crochet hook for pulling dark thread out of quilt sandwich

wow some great ideas here.. Thanks all.

Gift wrap/basket wrap section. Not worth buying an entire roll unless you have a lot of friends with whom to share, or you plan to use the rest for decorations or maybe even gift or basket wrap.

Would someone please explain about using red glasses....never heard of this and can't figure it out..?????

cookie cutters to trace and cut applique pieces.
round popsicle sticks for stilletto.

The red cellophane masks the color so that when you look through it, all you see is value. This helps when organizing fabrics in shadings from light to dark.

When trying to determine the color value of fabrics, the color often "obscures" the vision. By viewing the fabric through red glasses, the color is muted, and only the value is obvious. This enables the designer to select color values which contrast each other, giving more dimension to the design. Close values tend to blend together, diminishing the design. If you know the quilt you are making is destined to be viewed by someone who is color blind, selecting high contrast value is particularly helpful. The red glasses make this process much easier.

I use many of the mentioned ones\a.. but I have the pleasure of all the sewing 'STUFF' I like. {I live alone).I I was blessed with an old oak business desk that is 38" x 68" with 6 side drawers and a center drawer tat go all the way to the back (37").I can keep everything but rulers and ats in it. Two deressers are filled with fabric and all types of interfacig and suc. Big rolls of all the interfacing type, and leathers are standing in an apple barrel. Scissors and rotary are standing tall in yogurt container. I used cuticle (orage) sticks, long before the stilletto. The end is wood, so can be used on slicker fabrics, and its flat at the end, gives more grip with no way to puncture the fabric. I have office trays side by side to separate small tools. At the back of center drawer are the tube turners 1/4" rulers etc., etc. *I use hemostats to get things out when my fingers won't, and when threading my serger.* Before there was Grid-grio I took a sheet of sticky sand paper and put very small strips under my ruler for traction.* I nailed 1"x 1" s on a wall covered them in fabric and then attatched "snow" fleece sheets down to length desired and that became my working wall. No pins needed, fabric just sticks to it.

I use many of the mentioned ones\a.. but I have the pleasure of all the sewing 'STUFF' I like. {I live alone).I I was blessed with an old oak business desk that is 38" x 68" with 6 side drawers and a center drawer tat go all the way to the back (37").I can keep everything but rulers and ats in it. Two deressers are filled with fabric and all types of interfacig and suc. Big rolls of all the interfacing type, and leathers are standing in an apple barrel. Scissors and rotary are standing tall in yogurt container. I used cuticle (orage) sticks, long before the stilletto. The end is wood, so can be used on slicker fabrics, and its flat at the end, gives more grip with no way to puncture the fabric. I have office trays side by side to separate small tools. At the back of center drawer are the tube turners 1/4" rulers etc., etc. *I use hemostats to get things out when my fingers won't, and when threading my serger.* Before there was Grid-grio I took a sheet of sticky sand paper and put very small strips under my ruler for traction.* I nailed 1"x 1" s on a wall covered them in fabric and then attatched "snow" fleece sheets down to length desired and that became my working wall. No pins needed, fabric just sticks to it.