Right Tool for the Task

 Since the upswing in Covid-19 cases meant we did not get together physically in October, members were asked to share tools that they really like because they make a specific task easier. 

Susan J likes her rotary cutter. Hers has a comfortable handle and she tries to keep a really sharp blade in it. 

Several quilters mentioned their favourite rulers. Susan J likes having a small ruler when doing small blocks. Hers is 3 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches, with narrow lines and is marked every eighth of an inch. 

Paula likes her 2 1/2  by 24 inches. She finds it easy to hold steady when cutting fabric and trimming projects. For cutting binding she has a 12 by 18 inch ruler with slits every half inch. It allows a person to cut multiple strips without moving the ruler. I googled quilting ruler with cutting slots to see some examples.

Mary Ellen really likes her long ruler which is about 4 1/2 by 36 inches. To help hold it when she is using it, she puts a bag of pennies on the far end to weight it down and steady it.

JoAnne likes to put a handle of her ruler if she has a lot of cutting to do. It is the kind that suctions to the ruler.

For hand sewing, Elizabeth likes using a needle threader. She uses the kind with the wire loop that you put through the eye of the needle. She confesses her stash of them is just about gone and she has not found a source of needle threaders that are sturdy enough to be used repeatedly. If you can help her out she would appreciate it.

Marilyn Cu has a trick to help her thread her sewing machine needle. She holds up a piece of white card behind the needle which allows the needle hole to show up nicely. 

Kathy H likes her new clear quarter inch foot better than her previous metal one. She likes to really see what is going on with her sewing. Especially useful when sewing across triangle points and the like.

Kathy's sister chimes in that she really likes her Wonder Clips. There are so easy to put on and off and hold things so well.

Sandy has a new thread cutter that uses an old rotary cutter blade. It is called the Blade Saver Thread Cutter. Sandy says she rolled her eyes when she heard about it, but then she got one and could not believe how useful it is. You can see what it is like here.  Blade Saver Thread Cutter

Mary Ellen really loves her "design wall". She uses flannel-backed table cloths with the flannel side out. She has three of them around her sewing room and uses them all the time.

When a seam needs to come out, Bobbie really appreciates her seam ripper. It is the right tool for the job!

Evelyn really likes her Soft Touch Thread Pic. The metal part looks kind of like a small crochet hook and it is so handy for pulling up loops of thread.

To get those corners just right when sewing on binding, Betty shares  using a square folded in half diagonally. Line it up with the quilt corner and stop sewing when you get to the paper. No guessing where to stop. Then turn quilt, sew backwards and fold your binding to make the corner. I tried it out and it seemed to work fine.

To take the mystery out of where to cut your binding off so that a diagonal seam will make if just the right length, Debbi D got this small ruler made by Fons & Porter.

While piecing JoAnne likes her wooden "iron". When you want seams pressed open, running this wooden tool over it works amazingly well. JoAnne's was actually made by Heather's husband as it was a recommended tool during the Desert Sky workshop. 

Lise loves her "tailor's clapper". She says it saves half the time spent ironing. Simply iron a seam, then place the clapper onto the seam and go on to something else while the wood of the clapper keeps heat in the fabric. Seams turn out flat and perfect. Lise's husband made hers. This tool was new to me so I looked for more information. See Tailor's Clapper

Susan F has a new wool pressing mat. She especially loves it for pressing open seams. She says it really does make a difference.

Betty has a tip for cleaning the lint out of your sewing machine. She bought a package of disposable mascara brushes at Dollarama. They work great and not just once.

And now for sharing some projects. To start something different - Kathy H has always liked the concept of barn quilts. Not having a barn she decided to paint their shed doors. The unseasonably warm and dry spell in early October gave a window of opportunity. This Bear Paw block is a 5 foot square.

Kathy H has also managed to finish her Trail Mix quilt. After seeing those made by members of the Woodstock guild, this quilt has been on her someday list. Several years later with a drawer full of leftover scrappy squares, she got to it.

And Kathy H has made a baby quilt with lots of kitties.

Christa has made a quilt for her nephew's son. It is hand quilted and is now in Germany.

Sandy has created a quilt for a 25th anniversary for someone who loves red.

Elizabeth has pieced a quilt top for her grandson Theo. It is Forest Friends. She added 3 extra blocks of her own creation. She hopes to have it quilted soon.

And a fox pillow to go in his room. Elizabeth did the blanket stitch on the pillow by hand.

Elizabeth cut squares so her grandson, Oscar, could sew his first quilt. He is 5 years old and loves his quilt. The design is Mindcraft as he is a fan. The quilt has a label and has been machine quilted.

Mary Ellen won this panel at a quilting function and created this quilt. It was later machine quilted by Gisele and is on its way to Germany for Leah's 13th birthday.

Mary Ellen created this table runner for her daughter who wanted to brighten up her kitchen. This is from a Donna Jordan video and the picture was taken before it was quilted.

Elaine has put together a comfort quilt from one of the packages that Joyce had made up. She said these colours were out of her comfort zone but she enjoyed the process. She has lots of fabric left and may start a second one.

After her health issues, Linda is finally feeling well enough to sew. Very nice.