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

[Judith T.]

Lynn, I, too, wondered what a blue wonder thimble was and couldn't find it either. The Lady's websites I couldn't bring up either but I did google W'nder Thimbles and it came right up selling at JoAnne's. I've even seen them but had no idea what they were called. Hope this helps.

[Lynn K.]

Well, I have many many kinds of thimbles, and since I don't machine quilt (yet), I do alot of hand quilting. I still do my best work without a thimble..........ha.............but when I have holes in my fingernails, and thick callous on my fingertips, I have to resort to a thimble. Ha

[Lynn K.]

I knowa lady who hand quilts woth a bandaide for a thimble. Gives me cold chills just thinking about it. :shock:
Sherry

[Diane O.]

Two things --

2.) Mary Ellen's Best Press Starch Alternative -- this stuff rocks! I love it on clothing and quilting fabric!

Chelley

I bought some of Mary Ellen's Best Press Starch Alternative at my LQS and have been using it on my One Block Wonder quilts. It has helped so much in keeping my bias edges from streching while sewing the hexagons together. I just went to look on Mary Ellen's website to see what it sells for there... and I was surprsied to see that they now have gallon refill sizes. That is like getting TWO bottles for FREE.. and better yet, you don't have to buy a new spray bottle each time you run out.
I was so hoping for a less expensive way to get more of this stuff rather than having to buy a spray bottle each time I ran out. And they also have a new UNScented, so if you didn't like any of the scents they offered, or didn't want any scents in your quilts, you can now get it unscented.

Diane in Colorado Springs

[Diane O.]

bump up

[Diane O.]

I am very glad I bought the Sharon Schamber quilt halo and the Supreme Slider. It's made such a difference for my free-motion quilting. I couldn't have bought the halo any sooner--got it as soon as they became available. I also am using the little teflon washers in the bobbin, can't think offhand what they're called.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Diane O.]

My thing is not actually a quilting tool at all, lol. I just recently bought an MP3 player after I found them on sale at Elder Beerman. It is a 4G one, just an off brand not an IPod or anything, but it had been marked down from $200 to only $45 on a special clearance sale. It took just a bit to figure out how to use it, but once I did I have been loading it with all kinds of stuff to listen to while I quilt - at one point I had 6 hours worth of Alex's pod casts on it :lol: I currently have two different books on tape loaded in (Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and Lincolin Child's Deep Storm as well as about 30 music cd's ranging from country, to rock, to musicals and soundtracks. My current favorites for listening have been Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Les Miserables, guess I am on a Broadway kick 8) We have even gone back and bought a second one (last one in stock at that price, wahoo!) for my dh so he doesn't have to haul his cd's back and forth to work anymore. Anyway, I just love this for listening when I am quilting though, since it is so small it fits in my pocket and it stays out of the way.

[Carla G.]

Mandy, where do you down;oad ur books in MP3 format?

Carla

[Carla G.]

I love my ergonomic rotary cutter. I would have had alot less pain in my hand if I'd gotten it earlier. I also love my 45mm cutter for when I'm doing paper piecing or other small stuff. Adore that little Clover iron (looks like a curling iron ) too.

I love my case with wheels for taking my machine on outings. I foolishly thought I could carry my machine around the Padukah show in 2004 and remember how sore my arm got!

I adore my cutting table. It's called The Ultimate Quilting Center and was featured at JoAnn's at Christmas time. It was fun for me and my hubby to assemble and is just the right height for laying stuff out, cutting and planning. Plenty big enough for all the rulers and a basket of other supplies at the one end and folds up if I want it to take up less room. 3 nice drawers and a door with 2 shelves inside. All this for under $150.

The thing I COULD NOT DO WITHOUT is my OTT LIGHT. I suffer from seasonal depression and this has saved me several winters now. I use it as my regular lamp next to my chair in the living room for reading or hand sewing. I also have one at each sewing machine (don't ask how many!).

Very rainy but still warm in western NY today! Nancy

[Carla G.]

Well.... I don't know that it is technically legal ops: but what I do is go to the library and borrow books on CD. I take them home and then use Windows Media Player to "rip" the cds, which puts them on my hard drive in a digital format that I can then sync to my mp3 player. I only keep the books long enough to listen to them though, and then I delete the whole thing from my hard drive. I do not keep a perminant copy, although I could if I wanted. This way I can return the CDs to the library quickly though and I reduce the chance of overdue fees, losing discs, damaging discs, etc. The way I see it I am just putting them in a more convienient format for listening.

[Carla G.]

Fonz and Porter has a white chalk mechanical pencil that I tried at a retreat last weekend. It works SO WELL!! It makes a very fine line. No sharpening required. Comes with lots of refills and I think you might be able to purchase other colors.

I've been so frustrated lately with trying to use other chalk pencils that require sharpening and this is a great relief! I wish I'd known about this sooner. It's worth the $12 many times over!!

Nancy in western NY

[Betty D.]

I also have the Fons and Porter mechanical pencils--two of them--one in white and one in graphite. I just love them! I always use mechanical pencils--don't like pencil sharpeners! Betty D in cold Delaware OH

[Betty D.]

Love my mechanical chalk pencil! I use Sewline one - it looks and feels just like a standard mechanical pencil with the skinny leads - and all sorts of colors!

My Cotton Picker has come in handy trying to get all the pieces of lint and thread out of my cutting board.

My Precision Seam Ripper is awesome! Makes unsewing so much faster - but I have to be really careful not to cut my fabric.

And last but not least, I have these little scissors with no brand name on them. They are used sort of like tweezers when I cut, but its made so the blades are flat against the fabric when I cut. Is great for clipping hanging threads really, really close to the fabric.

[Eileen K.]

Golly! You made me remember clothes in the fridge, and the soda pop bottle with the holes in the cap! Now that does take me back! ???? Mayb e further than I really want to go. LOL

My Mom is a retired nurse and when I was a kid, she used to put her damp caps in the fridge and then iron them stiff. I loved the smell of the starch.

eileenkny

[Mary K.]

About 2 months ago, I bought a Sewline fabric pencil (with eraser) and this thing is AWESOME! The chalk (or whatever the substance is) comes in a number of colors in addition to the traditional black, white, pink, etc). The line it drawers is fine, it's erasable, and I am sooooo happy with it, that I stopped using all the other fabrics pencils, pens, chalk, etc and plan to donate them so they don't go to waste! Any way, if you see them in your LQS, give them a try - I Love this product! MK