For Want of a Magnet (My Favorite Longarm Tools)

I prepared this blog post several years ago but then totally forgot about it. Due to our season of quarantine and having two little kids stuck at home, I've been very slow on projects and have nothing to show. I thought it'd be a good time to post this instead! Despite this post being old and the links probably not all working, in a way this post is more valid than ever because I've been using these tools for the last few years to know they're holding up well.

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I've been quilting on a longarm for less than a year, which doesn't make me an expert, but I feel it's a respectable amount of time for me to finally share my favorite longarm tools. A lot of these are total game-changers for me!

Disclaimer: I provided some links to the sites that sell some of this stuff, but I have no affiliation with any of these parties and these links are not affiliate links.

Stapler

But then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll, I'll, I'll set the building on fire ...

Milton - Office Space

Before I got a longarm, I've researched lots of methods about loading quilts quickly and with as much control as possible. While there are methods I haven't tried, when I found one I liked I stuck with it. And that's staples.

I first saw this method demonstrated by Mandy Lyons, and I admit, I was initially skeptical. But I was so tired of pinning that I decided to invest in a stapler and give it a shot. Immediately, I loved it! It's much quicker than pinning, I have as much control as pins, and I never prick myself or risk bleeding over the quilt.

Spray Bottle

I picked up this tip from Beth of Cooking Up Quilts. While stapling made actually loading a quilt easier, I still had to iron the backing and I haaaated that. But after reading Beth's tip about using a spray bottle to de-wrinkle as I load, I was so tempted that I bought a spray bottle immediately. And it has worked great!

I've loaded a few quilts now with Beth's tip about using the spray bottle, and it was wonderful. I can skip that pesky ironing of the backing stage entirely now. It has made loading so much more pleasant!

Handi Grip

What's just slightly less annoying than a ruler that slides in rotary cutting? A ruler that slides in longarm quilting. I always have to pick those stitches out, and it's not fun. I use quite a bit of rulers in my quilting, so this handy (no pun intended) little Handi Grip tape has really come in handy. It is like a sticky tape on the back of the ruler that pretty much prevents slippage. I have some on the back of each of my rulers.

Needle Alignment Magnet

And I save the best for the last. I hated changing needles on the longarm because I'm never completely sure the needle is pointed toward the right position. In fact, several times when I was sure it was correct, I realized that when I tighten the screw, it likes to shift just a tad. And that tad seems to make quite a difference in how happy my quilting experience is!

Finally I figured somebody has to have solved this problem. I looked for quite awhile before I found these. I couldn't believe they're not more widely available! With this little magnet, now I can see whether my needle is pointed in the exact right position I need it to, and I can easily calibrate to compensate for the shift that usually happens when I tighten the screw. I love it, and changing a needle is no longer guesswork!

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So these are some of my favorite, not-as-widely-known tools. What's yours?

Facebook Rush

Something kind of cool happened yesterday ... I was checking my blog analytics when lo and behold, I found 4000+ referrals from Facebook!

I was floored. I had no idea who was linking to me or why. I clicked around a bit until I realized that my Tools page where I keep a set of quilting calculators that I use, was being linked to. It took me more sleuthing to find who had linked to it:

So, thank you @FreeQuiltPatterns!. Thanks also to everybody who shared or visited or bookmarked the calculators.

I only have 4 calculators there for now, and I use the first 3 (binding, backing, subcuts) all the time for my own quilts. But, I'd love to hear what else might be useful to you. So if you have any ideas, or if you found a bug in my calculators, feel free to let me know!

Ruler Roundup

While almost every quilter enjoys notions ... I think a lot of us really love to collect rulers. Each new one we add to the collection promises to make cutting easier, more fun, more accurate, and faster. I've been quilting for about a year, but I've already amassed a nice collection of rulers, both basic and specialty. I can say which ones I can't quilt without ... and which ones I could bear to clear away to make more space.

Basic Rulers

8.5" x 24.5" - the most commonly used ruler in my sewing room. If I had to pare down to just a few, I'd keep this one.

16.5" x 16.5" - a great size for those large blocks to square up, but too large for normal usage.

12.5" x 12.5" - my 2nd most commonly used ruler in the sewing room, it's a great size for most blocks.

9.5" x 9.5" - nice to have but not necessary if you have the 12.5" x 12.5".

6.5" x 6.5" - not necessary at all

4.5" x 4.5" - a fairly common block size so it's nice to have, especially if you work with charm square a lot.

2.5" x 2.5" - too small to get a good grip. This one is completely useless to me.

As far as brands go, Creative Grids is by far my favorite because of their readability and non-slip bottoms. They're quite a bit more expensive than the other brands, but to me it's worth it to invest in good tools in order to reduce hand strain and cutting mistakes from ruler slippage. After Creative Grids, I like Omnigrid for its readability. I dislike Olfa's due to the smoky color making it hard to read, and I despise Fiskars as I've had too many slippage issues with them.

Specialty Rulers

I have a number of specialty rulers, such as a standard dresden ruler, a Hex n More ruler, and a Super Sidekick, which are all for cutting different shapes. They all work well and I'm glad to have them. However, there are 2 specialty rulers I want to talk about in particular, because while they aren't a necessity (other rulers can do their job) they do their job exceedingly well and are a joy to use.

Stripology by Creative Grids - This is my favorite specialty ruler. I couldn't quilt without it. It is very expensive, but worth its weight in gold. I use it to cut strips, and most importantly, to subcut. It is several times faster to use this ruler to do subcuts than to use a normal ruler, and the cuts are so beautifully accurate, *and* it doesn't slip. I can't say enough about how much I love this ruler. I had to cut over 1000 little pieces for a recent quilt, and with this ruler, it's really no problem at all.

6.5" Bloc Loc - What a clever ruler this is. I use this to square up half-square triangles, and the little ridge it has makes squaring up HSTs so accurate and so much fun. This tool however is best when combined with a rotating mat. Again, it's expensive, and not essential, but since I do a lot of half-square triangles, I love having it.

Cutting Related Tools

When I first started quilting, I think the most challenging thing for me was rotary cutting. It looked so easy when other people did it, but my cutter was either nicking and slicing up the ruler, or it cut a wonky line and made the cut useless, or my ruler slips and I get a smaller cut. For my first patchwork project, I was so frustrated with rotary cutting that I ended up drawing lines with a marker and using a scissor to cut them, and it was a disaster. (I admire quilters in the past who did this for every quilt!)

So naturally I looked for a lot of tools to help me make rotary cutting easier. Some have worked for me, and some have not.

Invisigrip - I picked this up after someone told me it would make ruler slippage less. I was having a lot of issue with ruler slippage, but I don't find this product to have made much of a difference. My ruler still slipped even with this on.

Gypsy Gripper - This is another product that I picked up to reduce ruler slippage and hand strain, and I know some quilters swear by it, but I hated mine and returned it. I found it didn't make a bit of difference to me. My rulers still slipped. It might reduce hand strain, though, I don't know, I didn't keep it long enough to find out about that.

Quilter's Slidelock - I saw this at a show and picked it up. This ruler definitely does the job of not slipping. However, it has no measuring marks and basically functions as a straight edge. In other words, it needs to be used in conjunction with another ruler or template. I find it too much work to use this ruler for regular cuts, but I love using this when I need to cut irregular shapes (with straight edges) with the plastic quilting templates. I simply put the template in place, then butt the Slidelock against the template, remove the template, and cut. It works great for that purpose.

AccuQuilt Go! - Ah, the AccuQuilt. Since rotary cutting is so hard on the hands, this is a godsend for people who have arthritis or excessive hand strain. I don't have that problem yet, so I use mine just to cut curves. It is great for that purpose, but the dies are very expensive, and they only come in very limited sizes. I've found myself redoing the math in some patterns in order to use the dies I have.

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Before I was a quilter, I once overheard a conversation on an airplane, where a woman commented that now that she's retired, her friends think she should start quilting, but they warned it's expensive. As it turns out ... they were right! Not because of what we absolutely must have to quilt, but because of all the extra non-necessities that tempt and lure us.

Shiny Happy Threads

I used to not care about threads. I figured black, white, and a tan were all I needed. I bought Gutermann 100% Polyester from Jo-Ann. When I went to Quilt Festival back in April, I was baffled at the people crowding the Aurifil booth, drooling over their threads.

That was then.

... And this is now. I've built up quite a collection of threads between 3 brands (Aurifil, Isacord, and Superior Threads). I use them for different purposes, though, and like them in different ways.

Isacord #40 Weight Embroidery Thread

I flocked to Isacord at the suggestion of Leah Day after I found my Gutermann thread shredding and breaking like crazy during free-motion quilting. I liked how strong Isacord is, it hardly ever breaks. However, I discovered quickly that Isacord has its drawbacks. It is extremely shiny ... which is a good thing when I want to showcase the quilting, but usually I prefer the quilting to add texture, and not steal the show. Also, it's *extremely* slippery, so I basically have to tie off my thread tails and bury them instead of the easier ways to start and stop, and I hate burying tails. It's very hard to wind onto a bobbin properly, due to its slipperiness. On My Handi Quilter winder, I finally figured out that I needed to wind the thread around the tension disk *3* times in order for it to not fly out of the tension disk during winding.

Superior Threads #50 Weight So Fine

I tried So Fine after Angela Walters recommended it. It's a very nice thread, thin, strong, and not shiny or slippery, so it's easy to work with. It's the thread I use the most currently for machine quilting. While it looks great on my quilts, my favorite thing about So Fine is that I can buy prewound bobbins. I'm just so lazy about winding bobbins, and I go through bobbins so quickly, that being able to buy that is very convenient. Of course prewound bobbins only come in a very limited selection of colors. When I wind my own bobbin for my Handi Quilter, I need to wind the thread around the tension disk *2* times for it to wind well. I only have So Fine in a few neutral colors, though, as for color, I was lured by ... Aurifil.

Aurifil #50 Weight Mako Cotton

The folks at Aurifil know how to do marketing, I'll give them that. It seems to be a universal favorite for most quilters, although not without good reasons. Personally, I like Aurifil a lot, and I've certainly invested the most amount of money in them. The colors are just so gorgeous, and I love that I can buy all these thread collections. I also like that the normal sized spools are almost 1500 yards. Aurifil is really easy to wind on my Handi Quilter winder, I only need to wrap it around the tension disk once. Most importantly, for some reason, I just like the look of Aurifil on my quilts the most, more than So Fine or Isacord. My only beef with Aurifil is that it lints more and is just a tad more prone to breakage than my polyester threads. (Of course, it's cotton.)

Next year when I go to Quilt Festival, I'll be joining those people drooling over Aurifil at their booth.

A Tale of Two Needles

One day, I was sewing a binding on, and as I was turning a corner, "crunch." Or, that's what it sounded like. I've never heard that sound before, so I knew something wasn't right. Sure enough, my needle tip was hanging off on a thread, cleanly broken off. This was my first ever broken needle. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, and I definitely wasn't sewing over a pin. I replaced it with a new needle, and kept going.

A few hundred more stitches later, I got to another rather thick spot, and "crunch", that sound came again. This time, I realized the needle wasn't broken, but the tip was completely bent, at a 45 degree angle. What was going on? I was using a 90/14 topstitch needle, which is the appropriate size for what I'm doing, and I've broken 2 in two days. I've never had this happen before. Could my machine be having problems?

Then, as I looked at my needle stash, I suddenly realized what was going on. I always used either Inspira or Schmetz needles in the past, but just recently I popped in Singer's as I had them lying around, and the needle I just broke was also Singer's. They were all made for all domestic sewing machines, what's the difference? Turns out, there's a huge difference in quality.

I know now to stick with the German engineered needles. They aren't even necessarily more expensive! But they're a whole lot more sturdy, I've never broken one even when I don't switch them out enough.

Hang Them High

For anybody who doesn't quilt on a frame, drag is a huge issue. I'd go out on a limb and say it's the biggest issue, even more so than thread tension. Although thread tension is annoying, once I get it right it tends to stay right at least for awhile.

The solution against drag, short of getting a frame custom fit to the machine, is to take the quilt off the table just a little by suspending it. It doesn't look very pretty, and it requires quite a bit of adjustment, but it really works! I have 2 suspension setups, one on my Pfaff and one on my Handi Quilter Sweet 16. I'm against drilling things into my ceiling, so mine are both non-drill solutions.

On the left, my Pfaff is using the Jennoop frame, which was built by a quilter for quilters. I don't use it very often because I don't do free-motion on this machine, just some walking foot quilting, but when I have used it, it works fairly well. I really like how easy the clamps are to hold and release.

On the right, my Handi Quilter Sweet 16 uses these Dog Grooming Stand with clamps I purchased separately. These stands are the perfect size for clipping onto the Handi Quilter Sweet 16 tables that come with the machine. The idea is ingenious, but I can't take credit for it, it's from Katie's Quilting Corner. However, I think the clamps she uses are a bit small to hold up the quilts, and it can hurt my hand to use them as they're *very* tight. I'll probably swap these clamps out for something more like the clamps on my Jennoop frame.

Whichever system I use, the key to getting the most out of them is to suspend the quilts at just the right height so that your quilt surface extends about 6 - 8 inches on each side from the needle before it lifts off the air on the sides. I still have to roll it in the front. You'll have to experiment to find the magic number, but usually, any more and it becomes less useful as drag reenters the picture, and less means it's very hard to navigate the quilt and you start to experience drag ... from up above! Therefore, I do have to readjust often, but readjusting is easy. It is very worth trying suspension as it makes quilting larger quilts not only possible, but much easier.

Here are some more resources on quilt suspension:

Quilt Too Big? Hang It Up! - from The Free Motion Project
Take The Drag Out Of Free Motion - from Katie's Quilting Corner
Quilt Cradle - from Bryerpatch Studio

9 Common (And Not-So-Common) Household Items For Quilting

As I look around my sewing room and others' sewing rooms I was quite amazed at how many things that are there that were designed for other uses originally, but quilters have claimed them to make our quilting lives easier and more fun. Here's a very quick round-up, some of which are quite obvious, some of which you have to admit are brilliant. (And I didn't come up with any of these, so I do not take credit!)

9) Painter's Tape - Obvious but must be said for all the use I get out of it for quilting purposes. Securing the backing while making a quilt sandwich, marking lines on the quilt, organizing rows, I use this every day.

8) Elmer's Glue - Another very common sight in the sewing room, mostly for basting seams, securing bindings, and a few souls prefer this for glue basting a quilt sandwich over spray basting. I admit, I'm intrigued, I must try that some time.

7) Lint Roller - I find the best way to clean the cutting mat and the pressing board from all the little lint and threads that get on there after vigorous cutting is a lint roller. I even have to lint roller myself before leaving the sewing room, or I find little threads sticking to all my clothes.

6) Freezer Paper - Originally used for packing meat (really?), I suspect it's used more for crafting than not. For quilters, it's a wonderful item for tracing templates, or doing turned edge applique, and it's even reusable quite a few times.

5) Pipe Cleaner - Ever used the brush that came with your sewing machine to brush out the lint under the throat plate? It's pretty bad, right? Mine just brushed the lint from one corner to another. But after getting a tip from Christina Cameli, I bent a pipe cleaner in half and used it to clean, and it's wonderful. It gets in all the tight places and the lint naturally clings to it.

4) Post-it Notes - A stack of post-its is both a great seam guide and a great seam jumper! My sewing machine (and yours too, maybe) gets very very upset going from 0 to a very thick seam, and this helps to coax it into working again.

3) Laser Level - Squaring up a small quilt is easy. Squaring a large one, on the other hand, is really difficult, as no matter how hard I try, I can't ensure that my lines are straight over a really really long edge. A teensy shift in the ruler adds up over many ruler lengths. But with a laser level, squaring up is easy! Though it might expose that the quilt you thought was a rectangle, is actually veering toward a diamond, but I digress ...

2) Sandpaper - Marking on some less stiff fabrics, especially with a pencil, can be tough sometimes, as the fabric likes to stretch around. Putting a sandpaper beneath it makes it cling and provides it with a good base for marking.

1) Dog Grooming Arm & Muslin Clamps - All I can say when I saw this, was brilliant! And so cheaply achieved. This came from Katie's Quilting Corner, and suspends the quilt so that free motion is much easier. See her blog post for more details.

Quilters are quite resourceful, aren't they?

Pfaff Expression 3.5 ~ A Few Months In

I've had my lovely Pfaff for a few months now. I'm still very much in love with this machine, but I'm now able to give a slightly more objective review of it. Before this, I sewed on my Brother CS6000i, a very good beginner machine that even has a lot of whistles and bells, but I'm really glad to have made the upgrade to my Pfaff Expression 3.5.

My Favorite Things:

IDT - of course, the reason I got interested in Pfaff. The IDT is basically a built-in walking foot, and I just love being able to use a lot of different foot on my machine even during the quilting phase. For example, I use the blind hem foot for stitch-in-the-ditch, and sometimes I put on an open-toe applique foot for better visibility.

Stitch Look & Tension - I've never, ever had to adjust tension on this machine, it automatically handles that, and with the exception of my messed up bobbin (see Issues) all the stitches came out perfectly. Even when I'm sure my needle is dull, it keeps on stitching perfectly.

Automatic Thread Cutter - I love this feature, but it is also a pain (see Issues). When it works though, this little feature makes me feel like I have something really fancy.

Automatic Needle Threader - I know this is a very standard feature on a lot of machines, but they're not all the same. With my Brother machine I had previously, though the feature existed it took more maneuvering to get it to thread and it doesn't always work. It always took multiple tries. On this machine, however, it has worked 99% of the time. (The 1% is probably user error.)

37 Needle Positions - Another major upgrade from my Brother machine that only had 3 stitch positions. 37 Needle Positions mean that I can adjust my needles for that perfect size and still use the edge of my standard presser foot's edge as a guide. I never use my quarter-inch foot for piecing, I prefer instead to use the standard 1A zig zag foot while adjusting my needle position to 3.5, which is a scant quarter seam. I find that much easier to use than the quarter inch foot.

Ease of Changing Needles - Changing the needle with this thing is a cinch, I don't even have to use a screwdriver, I can tighten and loosen the needle screw with my fingers very easily. It also comes with a little tool to hold the needle so that it doesn't fall into the throat plate, as well as to help the needle get back into spot. After changing needles on my Brother machine, I know that this one is much easier to work with.

Load / Save a Stitch - I never knew I wanted this feature until I had it. It is so useful to be able to load / save favorite stitches, or even remember stitches as you're using them. For example, if I'm using a certain setting for quilting, such as a serpentine stitch that I've adjusted to be just the right size, I definitely save it so that I can come back to it later and have it be identical. (Since the machine resets if you turn it off.)

Continuous Reverse - This is another feature I never knew I needed until I used it. On my Brother machine, if I wanted to reverse a few stitches I needed to hold down the reverse button and stitch a few stitches. This is fine if I just wanted to reinforce a seam, but it is impractical to have to hold it down for fancy reverse designs. But on this machine, I just press it once and the machine stitches reverse perfectly until I press it again. I've used that a lot during quilting, to quilt in reverse for the designs I want instead of turning the quilt 180 degrees, which would be much, much more painful.

Large Throat Space - This machine has a good 10" from the needle to the back of the machine for quilting, which is pretty great. I do need to maneuver and squish a bit, but in general I'm my current bottleneck to be lack of space *behind* the machine where the parts I already quilted get bunched up, not lack of space in the harp.

Of course, this machine isn't perfect, there is no such thing. There are a few things I've found somewhat annoying about this machine.

Automatic Thread Cutter - Yes, this is one of my favorite features. But it's also a feature that I've been most annoyed about. That's because it only works about 80% of the time. When it doesn't work, if I press it again it frequently does work. I clean out my bobbin area very often of lint, so I'm not sure why it fails so much.

Bobbin Issues - The bobbin of this machine is a sensitive beast, I've discovered. You have to drop the bobbin in correctly and pull the thread through just correctly. There's supposed to be a little "click" that tells you it's in the right place, but in truth I've never ever been able to hear it. Usually issues don't show up until you start stitching and realize your stitches look funny, and it's even kind of subtle. Luckily I've run into this issue just twice, and I can hear that the machine sounds different so I can fix it without having to rip back too much. However, the *number one* annoying thing about this machine is pulling up the bobbin thread. It just doesn't work like other machines I've seen, where you basically take one full stitch, and the bobbin thread comes up. In this machine, unless I have a piece of fabric, the bobbin thread doesn't get pulled up at all no matter how many stitches I take. In normal sewing I don't bother, I just let the bobbin thread bit get trapped in the seam. But in quilting where both sides are visible, it's virtually required that I sew on a piece of scrap fabric first in order to pull the bobbin thread way up. I can deal with this, but it's annoying.

Lack of Presser Foot Pressure Adjustment - not an annoyance, but a glaring lack of feature. I know some features are reserved for really really fancy machines, but it seems machines much cheaper than what I paid for has a presser foot pressure adjustment, and I don't have it.

Extra Accessories I Purchased Since:

Extension Table - Ooh, I hate this thing. I meant to buy a quilting table, but bought this instead thinking it was the same thing. It's not. I do use it for quilting since I have it and can't get rid of it, but it annoys me a lot. Mostly, because the lower left corner of this thing is *very* pointy. That means not only do I accidentally hurt myself on it sometimes, but my quilt gets stuck on it *so freaking much*. I might toss this and buy a real quilting table sometime out of sheer annoyance. But this thing was not cheap! Sigh.

Circular Attachment - it's a cute little attachment but it's a lot to pay for for what it does. I think I would have been better off with a compass and a marking pencil. I've also seen people rig up their own, and they're quite brilliant and resourceful to do so.

1/4" Foot - I don't use my quarter inch foot for piecing, I find it really difficult to use for piecing, because the guide area is so short. I use my zig zag foot for piecing instead and adjust the needle position. However, what I do use the 1/4" foot for is to sew on a marked line perfectly. I find it very easy to do with the quarter inch foot. One caveat is that if I pop the foot on just after popping the other foot off and forget to reset my needle position, I end up with a broken needle.

Open Toe Applique Foot - I actually got the generic version of this foot as Pfaff no longer manufactures it. But it's really great for visibility during applique or for machine finishing the binding.

Open Toe Free-Motion Foot - I use this instead of my closed-toe free motion foot for better visibility. It's otherwise identical, and stitches well (or not well) identically. I'm glad I have it though, as it helps me see where I'm going better.

As for the value of this machine, I think I could have gone with a different brand to get more for less money. It's no question. But there's something about Pfaff that I find ... seductive. So I'm glad to have gotten this machine, and I think it's absolutely worth it to plunk down a large chunk of change for a machine that makes sewing joyful. It is most definitely much, much more joyful to sew on this than on my old Brother. I'd rather spend money on the machine than on a vacation, as sewing *is* my daily vacation!

Instead of upgrading this machine at some point, I'm debating getting a midarm. I really don't want a longarm, but a midarm like the Pfaff Powerquilter 16 or the Handi Quilter Sweet 16 (and I heard these are the same machine, branded differently) might just be the ticket! I would have to wait for the next quilt show to try it out in person, though, before I make a decision. Until then, I'm leaving some space in my sewing room for the potential addition ... and will continue to practice free-motion on my Pfaff.

Cutting Fabric for Applique with Silhouette Cameo

In order to cut out the puppy eyes for the Puppy Pieces quilt I'm making, I needed 70 little circles. I thought it would take too long to trace and cut by hand, not to mention be potentially imprecise, so I decided to try cutting fabric with the Silhouette Cameo. (Note that this method uses fusible web, so it's only for applique) I experimented a bit and my first few attempts were abysmal, but I think I've since learned a few tricks about cutting that I want to share.

In addition to the obvious like the Silhouette Cameo & cutting mat, I used a separate blade for fabric. Silhouette sells a blue fabric blade, but it's actually the same as the paper blade, except it's blue so that you know it's just for fabric. I already had a spare unused blade so I put some electrical tape on the top to designate it as the "fabric blade." I also used fusible web, which I found critical to the process.

Steps:

1) Bond your fabric to the fusible web. I made the mistake of using steam the first time, and not bonding it super well the 2nd time. I discovered that a hot dry iron is a must, and that the better the fabric bonded with the web, the better the results were. So take time to bond every inch of your fabric with the web, *especially* the edges and corners.

2) Remove the back sheet of the fusible web to reveal the sticky glue.

3) Carefully apply the fabric to the cutting mat, fusible web-side down. Take time to pat and make sure there are no creases and wrinkles.

4) Change the blade in the cutter. I turned the blade to 4. In the Silhouette Studio software, also specify that you're cutting fabric.

5) Cut!

6) Carefully peel the unused fabric from the cutting mat. Quite a bit of the fusible web will be stuck to the mat, but I got it off easily with my nails.

7) Carefully peel the cut pieces from the mat. A spatula would help for really delicate pieces, though I got all my pieces with just my fingers. Now it can be directly ironed on to the fabric to fuse.

English Paper Piecing Toolkit

English Paper Piecing is quite different from other types of piecing I do. Instead of being in my sewing room, hunched over the cutting table or concentrating on the sewing machine, I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV or the kids (or both). Instead of being a bit isolated from my family, I can chat with them while I'm working away.

I'm taking Helen Stubbins's Quick & Easy English Paper Piecing class on Craftsy, and she had 9 motifs arranged in a small sampler quilt. However ... I wasn't sure what to do with a sampler quilt that size, it's so small it cannot even function as a baby quilt. I decided instead to make those 9 motifs (albeit with some changes here and there) into a set of placemats. I added a 10th motif, a star I jotted down in church the other day made of equilateral triangles. (Hey, it was on the slide.) For each placemat, I'm going to use a combination of batiks and solids, on a black background.

I'm fairly decent with hexagons, having already done a few, but this would be my first time with shapes that involve angles less than 90 degrees, which is something new to me, as well as curves, which is always scary. I assembled my English Paper Piecing toolkit in a box, stashed it under the coffee table, so that I can pull it out and work on it whenever I get a spare moment.

Items in my toolkit:

Fabric - but of course.

Templates - whenever I cut new shapes, I put them inside a sandwich bag with a label, so they can be used again easily.

Fabric scissors - my good pair of scissors is in my sewing room ... but my spare pair, which I don't like nearly as much because it's a bit sticky ... works just fine for EPP.

Wonder clips - instead of glueing the template to fabric, or pinning it, I like to use wonder clips to hold them down before I baste.

Needles - my sewing needles are in my felt needle book.

Thread - I frequently have spools of thread that doesn't have enough thread to even fill another bobbin, but is absolutely perfect for EPP purposes.

Embroidery scissors - to cut threads.

Calculators

I've added some simple quilting calculators to figure out backing & binding, especially useful when I customize a given pattern to suit my own needs. Happens all the time. They can be found here.

I'll be adding more calculators that I find myself doing math for in the sewing room. Off the top of my head, I know I would love calculators to figure out sashing, subcuts, and borders.

Update: I've added calculators for subcuts & borders.

My Design Wall!

Yesterday the missing corner piece of the portable design wall arrived from Cheryl Ann, so I assembled the portable wall last night. Even though it's portable, and it shrinks into a small package when disassembled, I thought it took a little bit of elbow grease to put it together, at least in terms of strength to snap things on, so I'm not sure how often I would want to disassemble it between usages. If it's up all the time, it will make my craft room a bit tighter, but I'd have to make it work.

I really love it, this definitely beats putting things on the cutting table or on the carpet. And it makes me feel like a real quilter.