gale

FYI to all the Karen Kay Buckley scissor lovers-they seem to be a pretty decent price on amazon. I might try a pair.

carolynjo

You can, with a little ingenuity, figure out how to make or find some of the items you mentioned. A light box, for example, can be made from a plastic tub (clear) and a lamp or a glass-topped coffee table.

Onebyone

I have the Supreme Slider. It stays on my machine to protect my extension table and it works great to have a smooth surface to sew. It stays in place just fine. I made the cut out bigger to be able to use all the stitches and feet on my machine. If it needs to be resticky just run it under warm water and pat dry. Mine is almost ten years old and still works like new. I have no idea what I paid for it but I've gotten my money's worth.

I'm not one to make do when I can buy a product that is made to do the job and will give years of good service. When I make do I usually end up frustrated with the whole thing.

zennia

You can make your own light box for next to nothing. All you need is one of those square plastic boxes that some use to store scrapbook paper and a tap on light. Turn the light on, put it in the box and trace. I do it this way all the time.

lclang

Keep in mind that our grandmothers made quilts with only fabric, scissors, a pencil, cardboard for templates and if they were lucky, a sewing machine. You really don't NEED any of those items, so pick one or two that you feel you will use most and try them. Let me tell you, some are worth the chips and some are a disappointment and a waste of money. I've bought both kinds. Some will serve more than one purpose and some are truly worthless, so go easy and pick and choose. I have a plethora of things I thought would be really useful and have never, or seldom, used them. The ones that really work for you will be your necessary rulers, rotary cutters, and mats.

Onebyone

I tried this and the clear plastic boxes I could find all had center indentation or sunken center. Making it frustrating to use. The box that was level and smooth plus the cost of the light I could buy a nice tracing pad.

Sewnoma

I like the idea of a supreme slider but not the price!! I bought teflon sheets on Amazon; they're designed to go on the bottom of your stove. You get two per package, each is double the size of a Supreme Slider, and it costs about 1/3rd as much. So what is that...12X cheaper? I bought a total of four of them and they cover most of my sewing surface. Drawback is they aren't sticky on the back; I stuck mine down with double-sided tape. They're also black so not as pretty. But they work great!

Don't get stuck in the trap of buying gadgets just for the sake of buying gadgets. Be selective and get the ones that solve problems you're actually having.

lockesnest

I LOVE my sew steady! Finally, I am able to get nice straight seams. Worth every penny. As has been said, shop around and you can find better pricing.

lswan

I do not spend money quickly on stuff. I bought the sewing mates table from sewing-mates.com because it will fit any machine (I have a Bailey Home quilter and different vintage Singer machines, fits them all). It is made much better than the plastic leg sew steady. I had one and had to get rid of it because the Pfaff I had died and nothing else will fit it. I bought the biggest sewing mates It may be a lot of money upfront, but I use it everyday, changing it to different machines as needed. Made in the US. Saw it on Bonnie Hunter's quilt cam and am very, very pleased.

cheryl222

My Most very favorite tool is my Quilter's Sidelock. It is truly the best investment I made. Wish I would have had one years ago. Using this, you can't have fabric that shifts as you cut.

http://quiltersslidelock.com/