Things I'm glad I bought, and wish I had known about sooner

[Eileen K.]

My 2 favorite tools are the extended table for my Babylock and my new sewing chair that my daughter gave me for Christmas. They make it so comfortable to sew now. No more hunched shoulders and holding the fabric with white knuckles.
eileenkny

[Mary K.]

Eileen - what kind of chair is it? My DH has been talking about getting a new one for my sewing room, and I would be interested in what you found and like!

Thanks, Mary Kay

PS - How are things with the grandbaby???

[Myra U.]

Diane, that's a great idea! I have one of those tack guns. I think I'll use that on my next OBW!

Thanks,
Chelley

Chelley and Diane,
I hope you have better luck with your tack gun that I did! (Although this was about 10 years ago, so take it from that distance). I didn't like mine. The little tacks were so long that they let the sandwich shift and move every which way but loose! -- I had to take all of them out and hand baste the darn thing. Maybe now the tack thingy's are shorter or something. Hope it works for you, however.

[Myra U.]

http://www.angelfire.com/art3/elaine...shop/Iron.html


Here is a link to directions for making an ironing board. If I can make it so can you.
Lady Rags

[Myra U.]

i love my freezerpaper, magnet gudget that you put on the right side of the foot on the sewing machine so you have great 1/4", school glue for stubborn meeting points, inklingo things, sharon schamber things, och....so much, my quilt magazines,....and i wish i had know quilting 20 years ago!

[Deborah W.]

i love my freezerpaper, magnet gudget that you put on the right side of the foot on the sewing machine so you have great 1/4", school glue for stubborn meeting points, inklingo things, sharon schamber things, och....so much, my quilt magazines,....and i wish i had know quilting 20 years ago!

Someone told me that you shouldn't have anything magnetic (pin cushion, seam guide, etc) near a computerized sewing machine as it could mess up the board. Does anyone know if this is true or just one of those things that go around? It did make sense to me as magnets are not good for personal computers but I don't know anything about how a computeriized sewing machine works.

[Renee H.]

Myra,

the key to using the quilt-tak type guns is to put the needle through the fabric to the back, and then bring it back to the top before shooting the tack through. Doing it this way eliminates any space between the tacks and the quilt.

Renee

[Renee H.]

I love my tack gun! I've never used it to baste a quilt though. I use it to organize fabric pieces when I'm cutting for a new quilt. Its also good for putting tags on stuff.

[Beth A.]

My 1/4 inch foot with a "fence"!!

BethMI

[Barbara C.]

Blue tailor's chalk. Works better than any pencil I have ever tried.

Clover protect and grip thimble, to use when sewing on binding.
http://www.clover-usa.com/product/27..._Grip_Thimbles

[Diane O.]

i love my freezerpaper, magnet gudget that you put on the right side of the foot on the sewing machine so you have great 1/4", school glue for stubborn meeting points, inklingo things, sharon schamber things, och....so much, my quilt magazines,....and i wish i had know quilting 20 years ago!

Someone told me that you shouldn't have anything magnetic (pin cushion, seam guide, etc) near a computerized sewing machine as it could mess up the board. Does anyone know if this is true or just one of those things that go around? It did make sense to me as magnets are not good for personal computers but I don't know anything about how a computeriized sewing machine works.

It may have been true at one time, but I think now days, there isn't enough power in the magnets that are made to use on your sewing machine that they will do anything to your machines insides.

[Diane O.]

My Olfa 35" x 70" Self-Healing Rotary Mat Clip Set, which covers nearly my entire 3' x 8' cutting table. It's expensive, so I waited until I could get it at 50% off. It's the quilting tool that I use the most, second only to my sewing machine. Now, I just need to find a 36" long quilting ruler--24" is often not long enough.

[Pamela O.]

My Olfa 35" x 70" Self-Healing Rotary Mat Clip Set, which covers nearly my entire 3' x 8' cutting table. It's expensive, so I waited until I could get it at 50% off. It's the quilting tool that I use the most, second only to my sewing machine. Now, I just need to find a 36" long quilting ruler--24" is often not long enough.

I have a large mat and use a 40 inch T Square ruler. It is thick so I use a large 60 mm rotary cutter. Here is the link: http://www.quiltersrule.com/rulers/qr-LongRulers.html

[Pamela O.]

I have a large mat and use a 40 inch T Square ruler. It is thick so I use a large 60 mm rotary cutter. Here is the link: http://www.quiltersrule.com/rulers/qr-LongRulers.html

Thanks, I'll check that out.

[Pamela O.]

sorry about that magnets, in my reality is that i do have old bernina nothing fancy such as a comp anywhere, so i use magnet.
and on hand quilting i use the magnet to put my scissors and niddels (not to loose them) i learn this trick from jodi borrows.