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Useless Quiling Gadgets & Other Boondoggles
I was looking at all those "non quilting" objects that you all have snatched from everythwre & it dawned on me we must have a ton of stuff purchased that was absolutely a bad mistake.
Let's get together & name names & point the finger at these things that did not work as specified, so others won't make the same mistake we did. Oh yes, let us not forget classes, books & sewing machine gadgets too! OK, that said - here are my latest flops - Box of large quilting pins from Wally World, Dritz I believe. Back in the day, that name was reliable, but not any more. One stab at my 3 sandwich layers & that pin buckled up in a distorted glob & broke in two pieces. They are not made of metal like they used to be...some aluminum &^&^%%. Blue marking pen - again, same brand & store. Did not even mark once....all dried up & totally useless, sucking on it & dipping in water never budged a drop of blue to appear. Your turn.... |
I like new tools and gadgets and I buy to try them out. I don't consider any of them a waste of money. I learned not to by the cheaper basics like pins, scissors, needles. That is always a waste of money in the long run.
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simplicity rotary cutting machine. Fortunately it was a gift so no cost to me, but I feel bad not using something a friend paid a good bit of money for. I can not get it to cut straight. It is ok for cutting scraps into strings if you don't care if they are perfectly straight but that is all, IMHO.
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A large spool thingie that hung around my neck with binding on it. I am back to putting the binding in a plastic baggie and letting it reel out of that from off the floor.
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I also got the Simplicity Strip cutter as a gift used it once and sold it to a friend only after letting her try it and telling herwhat a worthless expensive gadgetit is. She insisted she could make it work. It sits on her shelf now!
I also got the June Tailor Pintastic Pin Dispenser as a gift. Didn't even take it out of the box; promptly returned it to Hancock Fabrics with friends blessing. http://www.amazon.com/June-Tailor-Pi.../dp/B004W8WFNG |
I'm sure there were a few, but I'm actually not in the mood to point fingers or lay blame. There were some pins that out of 150, there were about 12 with very blunt tips. No big deal. Some items (rulers) I use less than others, but they may work perfectly fine for someone else's needs. At this point, quilting nearly a decade, I'm pretty confident to buy what I think I would get value out of.
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I have a few things I've never used, a couple were gifts and the others were my fault (should have known better). I love Clover glass head pins and large curved safety pins for sandwiching.
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The second quilt class I took was too face paced for me. The wall hanging is part of my UFO list. Instead of the fancy borders the pattern called for, I am going to use plain borders and maybe a small block in the corners. It's really a small project to finish. I haven't taking a class since then, but I'd like to take some more at some point.
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As a fairly new quilter (just started last May) I would read and feel like I had to go out and get this or that because all the quilters have it so it must be a necessity! Well, about the only things I have used on a regular basis is the cutting mat, long ruler, and rotary cutter. I did purchase a new machine in December and that has really been good. Those pins you talked about....I bet I threw out 1/3 or more of them because they would have blunt ends that wouldn't go through the fabric or bent when I tried pushing through. Kinda gave those up in favor of the elmer's glue and I did purchase a set of those clover clips. I do like the clips. I am sure as I get into more complicated stuff I will want or need other things. But, as my grandmother often said....some lessons are best learned the hard way! or 'ain't no lesson like a bought lesson.'
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One of those red gun thingies for basting a quilt. Got it at WalMart...what a waste (at least for me).
Diannia |
aquiquilt go baby
Has anyone bought this machine and do you find it worth buying after the price of dies?
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I use the Simplicity rotary cutter more then I thought. It's not for accurate cutting for piecing but for general crafts it's great. I can cut bias strips fast to wrap around the cotton rope to make baskets and bowls. I also crochet fabric strips so the cutter work great for that too. DGD would sit and cut strips and enjoyed 'helping' me. It help build her confidence and dexterity so that is worth the price of it. The same with the Sidewinder She loved using them to help me. I have a shoebox full of bobbins in every color. LOL I kept Walmart out of new bobbins for a long time. Both were cheaper then a new video game.
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would love to know if any of you have the auiquilt go baby and if you think it is worth the price of the machine with the dies. I am thinking about getting one but just not sure if the price of the dies make it worth the investment.
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I have the Accuquilt Go. I won't be without a die cut machine now. I use it to cut 99% of all my quilt patterns. I don't think you will get the value of the machine without having a good selection of dies to use. Dies and mats do cost money so if that is a concern don't buy one.
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Simplicity strip cutter was just not worth it!!!
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I bought that and returned it in less than 24 hours!
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I don't use all my gadgets right away so I have some unused, but when I finally use them, I am glad I have them because they make everything easier
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I'm a sucker for a new template or ruler. I spent a lot of money on a 4 part template for making a type of orange peel block. It worked well but after I figured out how to do it, thought I could have done it with other things I already owned.
Oh well - live and learn. Hind sight: 20/20! That being said, can't wait until our expo in the fall and I'll probably buy lots more I don't need. |
Pins. I bought 2 more boxes the other day because I was starting the long rows of my Blooming 9...then I decided to try Elmer's. Pins-be-gone! LOL!
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sidewinder bobbin winder. Worked great the first few times, then zip, nada. sits on the shelf in the box.
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Bought 2 sewing machines from Walmart and sewed them to death before finding out the machines just weren't made for the amount of sewing I do. I realize that not everyone can afford an expensive machine, but there are better brands than what Walmart sells.
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I have my fair share of 'gadgets', specialty rulers being my weakness. I usually try to us the item, at least once. Some stay and some gather dust.
I think that our impulse weakness, is when we see it demonstrated it looks so easy and in our mind .. 'oh, that will help me soo much!', but when we get it home and months later when we pull 'it' out to try ... we do not remember how 'they' said it works. So read through the instructions, play with it ... darn that doesn't look right ... read some more ... get interrupted ... back to reading, playing ... success .. then might use it again ... months/years later. We are all impulse shoppers... why do you think they have all that candy at the check out counters. |
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Whether or not the Baby is worth it to you depends on how much you will use it. I thought I would love my Go! for cutting strips, but I don't; I actually prefer using my June Tailor Shape Cut mat. What I find the Go! really useful for is cutting odd shapes (such as tumbler, hexagon, and many people like the rag die) and for triangles. For triangles, you get many triangles per run through the machine and they are all absolutely accurate with "dog ears" cut off. Makes matching them up very easy. For people who find it difficult to rotary cut strips and other straight lines using rulers, the Go! is indispensable because it increases accuracy. I am fine with rotary cutting, so I use the Go! less than some. It comes back to how the individual likes to work. |
If I was investing in a cutting machine, I'd get the Go!. You won't be happy with the Baby once you have it. Yes, the dies are expensive, but you buy them one or two @ a time and it's not that bad. Buy only the ones that you 'know' you'll be using and go from there. I'd still be making my first quilt without my Go!
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I bought that stupid "add a quarter" ruler that is only 1/4" wide because it was on the supplies list for a paper piecing class. I used it for the very first piece of fabric and then decided that the 1/4" marking on my workhorse 5 x 24 inch ruler worked much better. Same class, same supplies list, I bought the "purple thang". If I'd known that my bamboo shishkabob skewers do exactly the same thing I would have saved that money too.
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yep,I bought that one too...........JUNK
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I don't piece if I can help it so I use my Baby Go for cutting out applique shapes. I only do fusable applique. I used it a lot In the beginning. Now it is like every other quilt gadget it sits more than it gets used. Since I primarily make Linus quilts I got the cute dies. I have a friend who is a dealer and gives me a 25% discount. I think I would use it more if I had a place to leave it set up. Having to pack and unpack each time I want to use it means it stays in it's box more often than not.
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I have a few but top of the list for me is the martelli zip bind system big waste of money and the quilt halo just can't use it for some reason
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I have a couple specialty rulers that I've only used once or twice. I haven't had very good luck with several marking pens but I don't remember the manufacturer.
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fancy metal thimble...I use the plastic one from JAs
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Jan in VA |
Over 20 years ago I bought paper piecing papers from Little Foot for a Lone Star...they are different from most other PP techniques. And I've never used them; don't even remember how to now!
Jan in VA |
I'm taking a class at a local quilt shop. Bought the pattern which was $24 and our instructor spent the first day telling us about all the mistakes that were in the pattern. I'm glad I'm taking the class, otherwise I would never have know about the mistakes and probably never finished the project. Since she has worked out all the kinks, it should go together pretty well. I won't mention the pattern designer but she has been contacted (2 weeks ago) and never responded.
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From Joann's a small (45) blue hand held rotary blade sharpener, thread stand, looked metal in sealed package, but made from cheep plastic. From a paper piecing class, special paper, $25, discovered a child's drawing tablet is made from the same type of paper, $1 at the dollar store. LOL I'm sure there are more but these really stand out in my mind.
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Let's see -- a 3 day quilting class from a well known quilter (who shall remain nameless). We had to buy a book ($29.95) and bring some fabric for the quilt. She checked everyone's fabric, telling them to replace one or more selection -- when she got to me she did not like anything I selected (it matched a bedroom I have) and insisted I use her choices instead (I shuttered sewing the colors together). I finished 2 blocks and tossed them when the class was over.
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That little mini iron thing. It doesn't get hot enough to do anything.
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I got a sidewinder as a gift and have never used it. I got a mini iron, a toy iron heats that hot, again as a gift. I got an extra light for my machine, it won't stay put, again a gift. I do wish my husband would stop getting me these useless things. I know it is the thought that counts and really do appreciate them even though I will not be using them.
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Polyester thread was a waste because it doesn't work for me. The bobbin genies don't seem to do much in my machine and the super slider and all cheap imitations were a waste. The original sewing table ( i think it was called the gidget) was a waste but I replaced it with a sew ezi table which is awesome. I got rid of my curved templates and rulers because I have the accuquilt go now. |
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