hmmmmm ... good point and, of course, no pun intended. but i couldn't sew w pot pie tin or anything else in the way on the left side of my moving work. different strokes & all that. the pleasure derived from the past-time is all that really matters isn't it?

I suppose so. If I ever get some room to work I'm going to design me a working sewing machine table with all the things I need including a pin collector that's out of the way.

Joe

I pin if I need to for curves or if the pieces need to line up at the corners. For straight sewing I prefer the seam guide.
I can't convince my daughter that it makes things easier though. If I'm using pins I'm usually going slow anyway so it's no big deal to stop and pull the pin if needed, but then I'm not trying to make money with my sewing either. Speed becomes much more important if you're selling your work.

The tin to the left just sounds awkward to me. I'd be spilling it constantly. :shock:
I think I know why so many machines have pin rash from putting a pin cushion on the arm of the machine. It's a convenient place for one. It might work ok if one were to make one with a hard back so the pins don't go thru to the machine. I might give it a try. I'm constantly struggling with where to keep my sewing tools (things like scissors, snips and my stilletto) while I'm sewing. There's not enough room to the right of the machine.

Sorry for the thread drift.
Rodney

The tin to the left is only used when I'm doing small things. When I'm doing big things it goes somewhere else. It's not a perfect solution, but it beats putting needle rash on the machine.

Joe

Your solution is probably more logical than mine Joe. I just put the pin tin to the right (my GF told me to have the pin heads toward the right too) and reach through the harp to return them. The light bulb can be a painful adversary there!

Pin rash is not an option :rolleyes:

I don't have a FW but I do have 2 machines that don't have 1/4" foots. SO I use my Bonnie Hunter seam guide, and use MOLESKIN to mark it. I cut the moleskin about 1/4" wide. Easy to use and easy to change.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the little magnetic guide. I got mine at a quilt show, I think. It sticks only to the plate, not the machine, and usually I just line it up with the guidelines. To be very sure of the measurement I usually lay an index card under the needle, because the lines on those are exactly 1/4". No idea who manufactures this, it just says Taiwan on it, but it's one of my favorite tools. [ATTACH=CONFIG]484284[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]484285[/ATTACH]

Oh geez. What a bozo I am! I have one of those. thanks so much. Perfect.

I have one too. It's marked "DRITZ" and has one heck of a magnet in it. In spite of that it will not stay put. I've tried it on a couple of machines and it moves a bit when the fabric pulls on it. So it just sticks on the underside of the arch on the Alden machine.

Joe

Mine scoots too. I don't like it for piecing because of this. If I were planning on using it for garment sewing where the seam measurement doesn't have to be dead on, it would probably be o.k. but it's not my favorite quilting tool.