Quiltingboard Forums - your ". mandatories" when it comes to seeing/quilting?

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Music is my No.1 priority, followed by everything organised, tidied and to hand before I start a project.

I always have to move some of my clutter before I start to cut, iron or sew. If I'm sewing, the first thing I do is check my bobbin supply. I usually wind a bobbin or bobbins, depending on how many I might need, before I do anything else. I get my brush out and give the bobbin area a nice clean out before I sew.

Cats are allowed in my sewing area but doggie is stuck in the dining room watching from behind his doggie gate. I can watch TV or listen to the radio. Sometimes I check out sewing videos on line while I'm sewing.

Kitties are my helpers: I'd never ban them! The Girls (our two Borzoi) are another matter: the entire upstairs is a Dog Free Zone. One of our cats is a former feral and needs a place she feels completely secure in.

Really, really good light is a must!

Cleaning the bobbin area before inserting a new bobbin.

Turn on the machine; grab a leader: adjust the machine, usually shorter stitches with needle down; sew to the edge of the leader.

That's about it for "every time". :D

I use what works at the time rather than any "rule". Most of the time I make my own starch if I am working with bias edges but sometimes I just iron straight of grain pieces. I change my needle when it starts to be dull ( you can hear it make a popping sound as it goes through fabric). I like to use Aurifil thread but sometimes colour is more important. I like Hobbs 80/20 batt but will use others if the price is good.
My one constant is my Bernina machine.

Music! As long as I have good music playing I can sew, quilt for ever. :)

just make sure there is a sharks game on TV or Netflix is working. That is it. Kitties sit on my lap or next to my machine, needles get changed when broken, material, if it's cute I buy it, thread, is it on sale?

No real "must have's" for me....just time! That's scarce enough.

I'm still feeling my way as to what I MUST have and what is nice to have. It changes due to mood/project.

So far starch and glue are at the top of the list each time and I iron everything before, during and after. Starch, starch and more starch - I make my own with corn starch, cheap vodka (to prevent mold) and orange scent. I also love glue basting so glue bottles and glue sticks are a constant but I'm not brand loyal.

I can't ban the kitties (loft apartment).

I need better lighting - I wish that were a constant.

I change blades and needles as needed and always close my roller blade at the end of each cut (kitties!).

I don't mind music but I don't need it.

I can't have a tv (extremely distractible).

I'm working on doing the leaders/enders and cutting up my scraps regularly. I'm not overly fond of 2.5 inch squares so I'm keeping mainly strips for improv log cabins and the like.

I use Aurifil thread on top and Superior Bottom Line in the bobbin but I could care less about the color. Right now I have orange/purple, gray/purple, bright pink/purple (I wound a bunch of bobbins at once). That said, I'm open to other brands, I just happened to run across a sale and stocked up.

The last constant is having to keep it all picked up and put away. I use a small corner of the kitchen and in a loft there isn't a door to close to hide a mess. The cats also sleep on any fabric if I leave it out (though, if I made them a bed out of the same fabric they would not use it - cats!).

As of about a year ago, my glasses

Good lighting and a decent block of time, but I can do some small things in a short amount of time.