What -"Why didn't I try that before" moment have you had quilting?
 

Mine was a quilt design wall -- I kept seeing pictures of them and they are mentioned a lot on these boards...but I quilt in my dining room and it just seemed too "extra". I've spread my designs out on my Living Room floor. Flash forward to this week as I am working on a rail fence quilt with 4 fabrics and I didn't like the thought of all the bending to get the pieces settled on and off the floor. So I went to my basement and within 5 minutes had a flannel backed tablecloth clipped to my wall and my quilt block happily attached. No bending, I can see the design while sewing, and it's fun to play with the pieces!

Why oh why did I wait so long to do this???

So what was your "Wow I should have had a V-8 moment" in the world of quilting?

I have to have a design wall. I use poly low loft batting as a cover. A whole quilt top will stay put on that. DH made a frame around two 8 x 4 sheets of insulation boards. You can never have a too big design wall. I stapled the batting on the boards inside the frame. When I go to retreats or sew days. I take one of the folding cardboard pattern boards with a piece of batting to pin to it. Works great and it stands up.

I guess mine was when I stopped trying to make do and buy the quality notions and tools for quilting. They last longer and give me much less frustration.

I have 2 such moments. The first one was finally buying a 1/4 inch foot for my machine, and the second one was giving in and buying rulers (Deb Tucker primarily, but a few others.) I think my precision improved with both, and frustration went down. For some reason I saw both of these things as "cheating". I have no idea why, but I am over that!

Onebyone and Tamaratojo -- I agree with both of you! I felt like buying too many tools was letting the industry take advantage of me --- I mean if the prairie ladies could do without couldn't I? (although I have no problem buying butter, etc haha) Then I discovered that if you are prudent, those tools make such a difference to the quality and Fun of quilting!

Frootloop - thanks for the tip about the traveling wall. I'm now hooked!

Elmer's washable school glue for glue basting critical intersections.

I have had too many to remember any of them now. They just become habit. Oh, I do remember one just recently. I have 4 or 5 pieces of mat I cut from a 24x36" mat I ruined years ago buy leaving an iron set on it. I realized cutting small quilt pieces and trimming blocks that I could lay one of these pieces ontop of my large cutting mat. I was shocked my rotary blades cut much better and last longer. I don't always need a larger cutting area. The smaller mats are a lot cheaper too.

straight stitch plate
 

In a free-motion quilting class, the teacher told us we would have better stitches using a straight stitch plate vs the open stitch plate (used for decorative stitches.) I had to purchase one as my Bernina came with only the open stitch plate.

This will date me a little bit: who else remembers their first rotary cutter? Life-changing!!

Self threading ( or easy threading ) sewing needles! No more sending precious time trying to thread a needle!