Conchalea

I use canned air to blow out threads or fuzz from my bobbin area on my machines. I also use a lint roller to pick up loose threads or cat/dog hair from my fabric.

Cari-in-Oly

Canned air is one of the worst things you can use in a sewing machine. Better to use a lint brush or the tiny vacuum attachments made for keyboards and suck the lint out than to blow the lint further in along with the moisture it produces.

Cari

Theodora

I bought the longest handled tongs I could find to use picking up things I drop on the floor.

SillySusan

Wow! Great ideas here! I went back to the very beginning of this thread and now I'm headed to WalMart to see if I can find some of this great stuff! And, I'm hunting around the house for other things to repurpose! Yipee!! Thanks, y'all!

RJ

I scanned thru here and do not think I saw this one---I use a plastic ice cube tray for holding all my sewing machine needles---the little cases they come in fit perfect....I keep jeans needles in one square---leather needles in another square---ball points in another---you get the idea---and when I need a new needle I pull out my tray and there they all are---no digging in a drawer

Ioftheneedle

I have a stuffed, plaid, scotty dog, door stop I found in a thrift shop. It makes a wonderful pin cushion for my big work surface. His feed are filled with sand and the rest filled with some kind of filler. He is weighted just enough to hold things in place (say if the fan is blowing) when needed and the pins seem to sharpen when poked in the feet area but I use him overall.

Ioftheneedle

I have a red, plaid fabric, scotty dog door stop I found in a antiques store that I use for a pin cushion. His feet are filled with sand and body some kind of stuffing. I use him on my large work table. He is weighty enough to hold down things if the fan is blowing and makes a wonderful place to poke pins. The sand in the feet seem to sharpen the pins.

ILoveToQuilt

Pool "noodle" to wrap bindings around after I've cut them and before I am ready to attach them to the quilt

Altoids mint tins to hold pins

Rubber "diamond plate" stick-on sheets (Harbor Freight) on the bottom of my foot pedal to keep it from "walking"

Clear glass jars with lids to hold Wonder Clips

Wooden BBQ skewer works well as stiletto

Small paint brush for cleaning dust and lint off machine

Bingo magnetic wand to pick up pins on table

Long magnet on stick (Harbor Freight) to pick up pins, etc. from floor

14" x 14" scrapbook page tote to hold square rulers

Nylon scrubbie to de-thread cutting mat

Toothbrush holder (no holes) to hold rotary cutter, seam ripper, scissor, etc. (Pencil cup works well, too)

Fishing tackle box to hold small items going to guild, classes or retreats

Small plastic tool boxes (the kind for nuts and bolts) (Harbor Freight) to hold spools of thread

Golf tees for keeping bobbins with thread spools

Door peep-hole viewer (small tube that you look through to see who is at your door) to look at what quilts will look like from a distance.

TV/snack table to hold my mini ironing board

Empty medicine bottles to hold broken pins and needles (yes, I bend quite a few!)

Bail type canning jar to hold buttons. I also have my grandmother's cookie tin filled with buttons and findings

Fly fishing spool holder (holds the thread spools used to tie your own flies) to hold sewing thread

Can't think of anything else right now, but I'm sure I have other "non-traditional" things in my sewing room

ILoveToQuilt

One more item: Foam earplugs to put on the end of straight pins so I don't get stuck (you can buy them by the 100's on e-Bay cheaply)

QuiltE

Some great new additions to this thread ... Thanks Ladies!

Keep those ideas flowing!!!



My latest hack would be .......... my Light Table ....
old drawer (found on the side of a street during goods exchange day)
with $ $tore LED flashlights inside
topped with a 1/4" piece of plexi
all sitting atop a fold-away TV tray table (already had but never used!)

I leave it sitting in the corner of my sewing room, where it is ready, willing and able
for me to trace things out, without a major set up issue.

Totally portable, if I want it to move it somewhere else to work.

Bonus, that it requires no electricity!
Double Bonus ... minimal cost to make it