Ultimate Pin Caddy

This is a pin caddy I would like to receive.  It would make me look organized when I go to class, it would save Nellie's paws from being stuck with a pin and it would make sure snips and needles are close at hand for an easy binding a quilt on the way to giving it away.
The main body is a colourful plastic dish with a magnet to hold tight to pins when you drop it.  There is a U-groove which allows for easy pin pick up from the top of the caddy.  When storing or transporting the caddy you can cover the pins with a transparent lid.  The lid features a triple pin slot so pins can be slid through onto the caddy without removing the lid.  That means there is a second way to keep you from spilling pins all over the floor or for protecting curious little fingers when you forget to put the caddy away.  When removed, the lid nests under caddy when not in use.  It also has a storage box underneath the caddy.  The box slides securely to the bottom and is large enough to hold a pair of small scissors and snips.  At $14.99, it is worth the time it saves me on the floor collecting pins!

Separate parts

Peach Best Press

After several years, I still love Best Press and use it as much as I ever have.  I grew up in the 1960s and helped out by ironing sheets, underwear and linen tea towels as well as all the rest of the family clothes.  It would have been so much easier with Best Press. 
The newest scent was introduced at fall Quilt Market in Houston this year.  The peach scent is light but peachy enough to bring back thoughts of warm summer days and ripe peach juice running down your chin. 
Use Best Press when you aren't prewashing fabric and need to get the fold mark out of the middle.  Use a little spray when you first press all the seams in one direction and find out they should have gone the other way.  Use a spray when dealing with diagonal cross grain edges or 60 degree triangles that have to be taken out and resewn.  The spray will give enough to support to give you a chance to resew accurately without having to cut an new piece of fabric.

Prym Iron Rest and An Ironing Tip

All we can tell from the package is that this is heat resistant and non-slip.  But it is made from silicone so is good for short term resting of the iron while ironing a project.  I can see making use of it when working on miniatures where you have lots of fiddling to do when pressing.  Or, there are those of us who are quite forgetful and have the scorched iron imprints on our ironing board cover to show for it. At a retail price of $8.99 it could save replacing ironing board covers for us forgetful ones.  The raised bumps keep the iron off the flat surface.  We could have used on at the retreat in November.

It looks like it might work as a big spoon rest for the kitchen.








Speaking of pressing, here is my favourite tool.  It is a seam roll.  You could use pressing hams too.  I am sure there are heritage versions at yard sales and in box lots at auction.  It has muslin on one side and a plaid fuzzier fabric on the other.

The seam roll is used for pressing sleeves on shirts.  It is firm and covered in fabric.  I know women used to make them out of old shirts and sawdust packed hard.  When you are piecing small blocks or blocks with many pieces the seam roll makes it easier to concentrate on pressing one area without turning other seams.  Lay the seam you want to press on the roll where it curves down.  The rest of the block falls away so you are pressing along the line of stitching and not a large area.  It keeps the seam allowance from pushing on the front fabric creating a shadow or ridge.  The plaid side has enough nap to keep the cotton from sliding around.

 

 

 

Binding Odd Angles

For a long time I have avoided projects with angles that are not the usual 90 degrees because I could not get the binding on the turns to look good.  The good news is that Creative Grids have introduced the 'Non-slip Angle Finder' tool.  Along with an online video, you can learn how to bind all sorts of corners beautifully! 

Here is a tip:  Along the way I learned how to turn a 60 degree corner using continuous binding.  The trick is not to fold the binding as far back as you do when doing a 90degree turn.  When making a 90 degree turn, you stop 1/4" from the end when stitching along a side.  Then you fold the binding away from the quilt at a 45 degree angle and fold it back over itself to continue down the new side.  So when the corner angle is 60 degrees, stop at the seam line that extends to the corner.  Or, mark the seam allowances with a marking tool, and stop where the lines cross.  Fold the binding less than all the way to the edge.  If you have a seam line, follow that.  The binding is folded at a 30 degree angle and doesn't have to touch the outside edge of the quilt.  Fold the binding over the turning fold as you would with a typical corner and continue on your way.  This results in a smooth corner when you turn the binding back to hand stitch. 

The Sensational Sip & Snip

Sometimes it's better to go with the promotional material rather than try to say it yourself.  So here it is:
Stops Spills -- Traps Scraps -- Installs Easily Attaches Easily to most desks and table tops. Powder coated finish won’t rust, chip or peel. Rubber sleeved clamp protects work surface. Holds coffee mugs, soda cans, water bottles, and most drink cups up to thirty-two ounce sizes. Large capacity woven bag holds your scraps (and candy wrappers). Bag frame removes easily for emptying, or for when you only want a drink holder. Carry it anywhere for instant use as a beverage caddy.

To me, the best part about this item is you can't knock over the mug or bottle (voice of experience).  Also, if you can get the snips in the bag you have less sweeping or vacuuming to do. 
We have 2 in stock and the supplier is out of stock so email if you want me to keep one for you.  The price is $26.49.  I can order one but it will be awhile before it comes in.

Highlighter Tape

Highlighter Tape

Every so often a product from the office world enters the quilt world and makes our quilting efforts a little bit easier.  How many times have quilters wandered the halls of an office supply store thinking about how they could use the wonderdful products there?  Who was the quilter that brought Frixion pens to us?
This year a product making the move is highlighter tape.  We have used Omnigrids 'Glow Tape' to help us on rulers in the past.  This tape is wider at 1/2" and come in a variety of colours.  You can use more than one colour on the ruler when cutting multiple piece sizes. 
At the November retreat I was using the 45 degree angle line on my large ruler.  There were many angles to cut and I just realized I would have saved many minutes of cutting time by using one little piece of tape.
Have you ever followed a pattern with lines and lines of cutting instructions at the beginning?  Have you ever cut the same instruction twice?  Have you ever missed a line?  I used the highlighter tape when doing one of 'Among Brenda's Quilts' bags.  The tape highlights 2 or 3 lines at a time so you know where you are.  When you finish those lines, the tape comes off easily and can be moved down to the next few lines.  It makes following the instructions so much easier!!


Swatch Buddies

Welcome to  December ideas for quilters to give or receive.  Print out a copy to share with your family, find an idea for a quilter gift exchange or add it to your shopping list for the next trip to a quilt shop.
New this year are 'Swatch Buddies'.  Gone are the days of fabric snips taped, stapled or glued to paper.  The hard plastic tags are the size of my library card and are on a chain to keep them all in one place.  Double faced tape holds the fabric to one side.  There is an optional label for the other side to record yardage, designer, collection and store of purchase.
It comes in several sizes. The 12 count fan kit ($7.29) would work on a project for which you have some fabric and need more. The 24 count works for scrappier projects. We don't have the 48 count kit or the box of over 100 refills but am sure we can get it for you if you need it!