Indeed! Anytime I find something that will make my life
easier, and it’s within my means, I will buy/make/use it! A few things here fall
into that category!
Blue Painter’s Tape
The blue painter’s tape, a masking tape, has just enough
adhesive to stick, but will not usually leave the annoying residue. The blue
color makes it much easier to see than the original manila colored masking
tape.
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On quilter’s ruler – mark where you need to line
up the fabric!
I’ve learned the hard way to use the blue painters tape! For example, whenever I’m cutting – say – 4½” x 45” strips over and over as a step in creating a quilt, I’ll place the blue painter’s tape along the 4½” line marker on my ruler. It keeps any “senior moment” from happening!
Yes. I’ve been
going to town cutting and cutting, then realize one strip was 3 ½” – oops! I
must have been on speaker phone trying to carry on a conversation with my
mother and not paying proper attention to what I was doing! Anyway, that strip
went into another pile for later use!
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As a ¼” seam guide…
If you don’t have a ¼” presser foot, the blue painter’s tape is the next best thing! Riley Blake Designs has a great picture & instructions how to do this accurately.
Wide ironing board
Although a regular ironing board “will do” ~ it is not the
best to make life easier when pressing whole fabric yardage, or a completed quilt top!
A couple of years ago, I saw a vendor at a quilt show selling
small-to-me rectangle boards to sit on top of a regular ironing board. I’m not
sure if this is the one, but it was very similar to the Big Board.
Sometimes I’m late to the party, but this time, I was way
head of the game as my husband made me one about twenty years ago! It’s much
bigger than her design because it fit my needs nicely at the time. Now, it’s
fabulous for quilting projects like ironing the backing and one more time for
the whole top before loading into the quilting frame!
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| It's not a "pretty" but it works! |
You, too, can easily, and for a lot less $$$, make your own!
I’ve found a few links that shows you how!
Please! Make it Stop!
I’ve tried just about everything on the bottom of my foot
pedal thingy to keep it from sliding and slipping all around the floor. I found
myself constantly “fishing” it forward with my feet before I could sew!
Well, as long as my sewing machine desk is up against a wall,
I have SOLVED the problem! A simple piece of wood the length and thickness I
needed! I did place the piece of wood on top of a placemat so it
wouldn’t scratch my flooring.
What do you use that makes life easier while quilting?
LOVE the blue tape on the ruler! This would have saved many goofs along the way. I like the way you have a wider ironing surface. I'm thinking how I can make one re-purposing something from around here. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! Glad you found the blue painter's tape hint helpful! It does make life much easier!
DeleteOnce you use an over-sized rectangle ironing surface, it will be difficult to use a "regular" ironing board! Hope you find something to re-purpose soon!