Tuesday, February 21, 2012

New Quilting Gadgets

Since I have really been trying hard to get some sewing time in every week, when I was at the quilt shop last week I decided to splurge on some new tools. 

Now, at this stage of my quilting "life" I am pretty settled on my tools, and I bought many gadgets over the years, but have figured out you don't really need much more than the basics to make a quilt. I have my sewing machine, scissors, rotary cutter and mat.  I have been using these for several years.   My sewing machine is a bit temperamental, my mat is showing signs of wear and tear, but I have learned to tolerate the short comings of my tools, as they get the job done. But,  I decided to treat myself to a couple new sewing gadgets recently.

I bought myself a new magnetic pin bowl, a new fancy ergonomic rotary cutter with a titanium blade. I also have a new sewing machine light that I got for Christmas a few years ago, but never installed.


New magnetic pin bowl - Awesome!  my pins are contained in the bowl and I don't get stabbed when I reach over to do a quick press at my iron. And my old bent, dull pins are replaced with shiny, sharp pins.

New Rotary cutter -- Tossed in the bin of tools I won't use.  I am not convinced the titanium blade is any better than a shiny new blade so I won't be paying extra for the titanium.  Also the way this cutter is designed there is not enough blade clearance to use it with my triangle cutting rulers.  The cushy grip is nice and I can still use it to cut straight edges against a ruler, but if I am cutting out pieces for a quilt, I can't use this.


Sewing Machine Light -- I sew in a windowless dungeon basement, with scarce lighting, and I can't believe I have had this for so long and not used it.  Love this.  Thanks to Country Threads for the email reminder about this gadget, that prompted me to install it on my machine! (My sewing room isn't this dark, but I took the pictures with no flash to show the difference with the light installed.)





Still on the list -- Replace my large rotary cutting mat.  My favorite mat is a light gray one, with no distracting lines.  It has no printing on it, and I have no idea where to find another one.  I have a green one also, but I like the lighter one better.

Linking up with Jo's Country Junction - Try it on Tuesday.  





1 comment:

  1. I am hoping to get one of those lights...I wrote the company hoping they'll give me one and I'll "Try it on Tuesday".

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