I have used so many of the great tips on here, and I love seeing the new ones! I won't be redundant so here are the tips I have.
I love to sit outside in great weather and when I want to work on my quilt tops, I use my wooden tray tables. I cover one with a double layer of warm and natural batting, and a top layer of teflon cloth, held down with binder clips and that makes a pressing table for me. I use another to put my smaller cutting mat on so I can cut or squqre up patches when I need to. I can sit outside and get a lot done even with company around.
When planning a quilt, I always buy enough fabric so that I can cut my borders as one piece, lengthwise. I also cut my binding at the same time in those long, lengthwise strips too. I fold and press the binding and wrap it around a toilet paper tube or a paper towel tube so it is ready to go and easy to unroll as I sew.
I store my left over strips into rolls, and tuck those rolls into a see through shoe box. Takes up much less room and I don't have to move a bunch of other strips around to find what I am looking for.
I have a cutting table from Joann's that is 3'x6' and the sides fold down. I double folded some warm and natural batting to 2'x6', put a layer of teflon fabric over it, clamp it down with binder clips, and use it to press my yardage. I can throw the teflon in the washer to clean it but the batting stays clean. I just hang up the batting when done. No need for an ironing board!
I use a q-tip to hold a spool of thread and it's matching bobbin together.
Instead of a seam ripper, I use eyebrow razors. They usually come three to a pack, and can often be found in the dollar stores. Much faster than a seam ripper.
My sewing desk was a child's desk, with four drawers on the side. I keep the drawers empty except for the top, which holds scissors, current thread and bobbins, pins, and my eyebrow razors. The other drawers hold all my patches for the blocks I am sewing. I tend to have parches ready for sewing for one than one quilt top, so the drawers separates that for me, and keeps things tidy and out of the way.
I use a small piece of velcro at the back of my sewing machine base to catch my sewing threads and keep them out of the way. I don't use leaders or enders, just use my thumb to keep the thread taut when I start to sew.
Diane