Pat Sloan - Got tools?

Today at the Learning Center today it's ALL about TOOLS!

Ever wondered how an everyday item can be used for quilting? Check out some of the tools Stevii Graves shares with you, like the one above!

Michele is hosting "Tool Time" and has a great round up of items to share.

Be sure you leave a comment at THIS POST to win some tool PINKNESS

What is the most unsual tool YOU use?

Comments

[Shirley in Canada]

Most useful tool - well I would have to say "Jack". You know ... Jack the ripper?

Bonding with him means when you do have a "date" with him you won't be uttering words you really don't want anyone to hear LOL

[Anita]

Most unusual tool I use is one of those purple thingeys that you can use to poke through edges that need to be turned out. They work great and are also good for testing cakes :)

[PatSloan]

I have heard that Kerry but never seen it in action.. or know what those are!

Pat Sloan
Host of American Patchwork Quilting Radio -
 
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[Sandi]

My most unusual tool is used for cleaning lint from the hard to reach places in my sewing machine. One of our bee friends works for a gynecologist. She brings us new (unused, obviously) brushes that are intended for use retrieving samples for pap smears. The brushes work very well on sewing machines!

[Rhonda Gillette]

My most useful tool is my rulers. But a lot of others are right up there.

[Maria do Carmo Pezzuto]

A última improvisação foi usar uma badeja de lap-top,para apoiar a máquina de costura,inclina em em três posições diferentes,só uma dá certo,kkkk.Gostei muito de potes de plástico que vem com caixas de sabão em pó.Muito obrigada.Beijos e bençãos.

[Debbie B]

One of my favorite tools is a small fabric basket I made a few years ago. It's handy for me to take things to my LR chair in the evening for hand work, whether it is stitching or unsewing. It's lightweight and holds a lot of fabric pieces and tools I may need. I also use 2 pincher clothespins under the back of my machine to tilt it slightly to better view my work.

[Kaye M.]

I bought a plastic storage box at Harbor Freight and it has lots of little compartments. It works great for storing my thread collection. It has a plastic see-through lid so I can see at a glance if I have the right color on hand.

[LJ]

The most unusual tool is a pickle/olive dish. When I saw it in the store, I thought it was just the thing to keep beside my machine. It is long and narrow and has 3 divisions. It's perfect for dropping my pressure feet and bobbins in when I'm "in the midst" and don't want to stash them away properly or when I'm switching back and forward between different ones. Yep, I do throw a needle, a pin, or anything else small that I'm worried will get lost in the shuffle or knocked onto the floor.

[Jennie P.]

WOw I never would have thought to use toe separators for bobbin holding.

[hm]

What great ideas! I may have to borrow a few!
hm

[Karen]

I also use hemotats - love them. I'm a gadget girl, so I love all the different quilting gadgets people come up with. But the most used non-quilty item I use are post-it notes. I use them as a seam guide, keep my place on putting rows together, notes to myself - a hundred uses! Also have a few baby butt wipe plastic boxes to put stuff in and they stack well in a small area.

[Janice]

I love the idea of the emery board. Will definitely have to try that one. My fav is to use a grippy under my foot pedal.

[Melanie]

I use a wide 5 gallon bucket for my trash can. The width of the bucket is great for pushing scraps and dropping threads in.
My husband is constantly trying to steal it for his own uses.
I also like to use a small guage knitting needle as a stilletto.

[PB from MN]

I use a mechanic's parts dish for my sewing pins-it is magnetic, metal and with a large "cup" area for the pins.

I also have my eye on one of my husband's rolling tool chests that he said is too small for him, it has wonderful ball bearing drawers.

[Carrie P.]

a toothpick for needle turn applique.

[Shari K.]

Hemostat! My husband had an accident and had to have stitches at the hospital. The doctor that sewed him up was a quilter and asked me if I was. I said yes and she said, you want these tools? We throw them away after one use and they are great in the sewing box. After cleaning them very well with alcohol, she gave me the scissors and the hemostat. I use them all the time.

[peggy]

Most unusual tool is a bulb syringe left over from use on baby buggers that I now use to puff air around my machine to clean the lint out. Works great and saves a can ! Oh, yeah, I washed it and disinfected it first. (jeez) ! :-)

[Aileen Kline]

I started using containers from fast food Chinese restaurant and Applebees. They are plastic and seal nicely. I have one with my current leaders and enders piecing in it. Fits right behind the sewing machine and I can closed it when I am done for the day. In another one I have my cut up kits for small project I am working on for AAQI. The third one I used yesterday for the different spools of thread I need for the wallhanging I am quilting for my daughter. My sewing room is small and with my 2yr old grandson running in an out like a maniac, I have to keep my room neat and organized so I can tell if he ran off with something! I am still looking for idea for my rotary cutter. Right now every time I use it, I closed and stick it in the drawer immediately. Real pain but worth the safety!

[Johanna]

A paper Dixie bathroom cup to put my pins in at the sewing machine. I have a magnetic pin cushion, but it always gets left at my cutting station (aka kitchen table). It is easier to drop them in the cup and dump them back onto the pin cushion when I go back to trim up blocks.

[Jan Potts]

My most unique tools are for organizing, I use empty Orbit gum containers to hold basting pins and my binding clips. I also use my moms old spice rack containers to hold my assortment of beads!

[Michelle]

My favorite tool is something my friend gave me. I is a cigar box a beautiful wood box that I keep my current hand work project in. Even my 6" hoop fits in there!

[Kerry Stewart]

My most unusual tool is a eye brow shaper. It makes a great seam ripper and will not cut you or the fabric. Oh, and they are cheap too.

[DianeP]

Maybe not so unusual, but I use two rubber doorstops to tilt my sewing machine towards me a bit. They make it easier to see where I'm sewing instead of having to tilt my head forward all the time.

Shared this with a lady who had recently had neck surgery and she said it helped her a lot.

[Jennifer Schifano Eutsler]

My favorite tool is my tool chest. It's actually an old portable dental cabinet, with tons of drawers with little dividers in them. It's perfect for storing all my tools, pencils, and some of my thread collection. It's my favorite tool because it keeps my sewing desk neat and tidy.