I never would have thought an office supply would have that!

Martelli rotary mat...the quality makes it a joy to use. Because there are ball bearings in the movement, I can safely cut pieces and smoothly turn the mat to make another cut. I don't play games with rotary cutters and do odd body twists to get a cut.
The best investment thus far has been my Bernina 765 and a Horn table with electric lift to set it on...there are so many bells and whistles on the Bernina and I don't know how I've lived without them...plus, the electric lift on the table has made positioning my machine so easy and so accurate. I don't regret a single penny spent on those two items.

i thought i had everything i needed!

now i want to go shopping!


great topic -

Great idea to have a separate fusing station. Will consider that, thanks.

Ellen's Best Press always seemed an extremely expensive "gadget". After all. vinegar water was so much cheaper. Then we were pushing it at the fabric store I worked in, so I tried it. Now I have to have it in my sewing room. And I found it at Menard's for a really good price. They only have 2 scents, but I can live with that for the savings.

I totally agree. Just got the Juki 2200 q.v. mini which is basically your machine and I love, love, love using it. That quarter inch foot is so amazing...puts the other types with the thin metal edge to shame. I think my FM quilting is really going to improve as well.

As a further idea ... I covered a piece of plywood as the fusing ironing board.
Then just plop it on the end of my cutting table along with an mini iron.
Makes it easier to keep going back and forth between the different stages of fusework.
Especially if it is a multi-piece applique that I am doing.

I LOVE the 1/4" foot that came with it and my tension never seems to skip a beat, such a great machine! I still feel kinda bad about my DSM, it's a really good machine too that has excellent stitch quality (Janome HD3000) but it just spends most of it's time in it's case in the closet as I use the Juki for everything.

oh, geez!
i have so many extravagant things for quilting. :shock:
my Dream Machine2 sites on a 4'x6' Martelli table.
my rotating mat sits on a fancy-shmancy cutting/pressing/storage unit.
i press with a cordless iron.

i have a dealer-quality, but much smaller, machine for travel.
i also keep a janome mc8900 at a friend's house.
(i stay with their dog a lot so leaving it there is easier than schlepping it back and forth. since i have a great space there for sewing i don't "need" the small machine.)

the list goes on ... much to my shame and amazement.

but i use the heck out of all of it.
i enjoy the heck out of all of it.
and i saved up to buy all of it.

just don't look down at the floors i could have had re-done if i'd skipped a few of those purchases. ;)

I love my Bloc Lock ruler and use it all the time whenever I need to square up any HST.
Also love my Deb Tucker wing trimmer for my flying geese.
I hesitated on buying these for over a year. But when a friend of mine finally purchased, I went to her house to try and purchased it online that day.
My EQ7 software was another item I hesitated on buying. Now I don't know how I managed without it.
Someone mentioned those sharp tweezers that come with the curved presure foot. Love that, too, and use it all the time.