Have never heard of the grip-strips. I don't usually have long cuts since my reach isn't that long and my cutting space isn't that large either, but they sound like a good investment!

I have nothing new or 'must-have' so am waiting to see what everyone else has...or wants. :-)

SharonG/FL-IN

Mine is an expensive item...........The extension table for my sewing machine made by SewingMates. I bought the BIG one.
It is totally, completely adjustable and will fit every single one of my many machines. I have lusted over this table since last fall when I bought my new Pfaff, and finally took the plunge. I love it!

Lois, the Grip Strips look interesting. How thick are they?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sewing Mates Extention table

I've seen the ads for grip strips and thought they would be useful. I may have to get them!

My fav gadget really isn't much of a gadget. It's an old butcher block cutting board that I covered with batting and a piece of an old ironing board cover. I use it beside my machine with a small iron so I can do seams without having to get up and go to the big ironing board. I keep this little iron and the regular iron in hangers mounted on the wall that I found at IKEA. It keeps them perfectly safe from the cats and they don't take up room on the board.

Kate

I bought a new border hoop for my embroidery machine. It is really nice how it clamps the fabric, so you don't have to rehoop all the time to do borders.

Marsha, I love that extension table :-)

Kate, I love having a small ironing board next to my machine, especially if I'm paper piecing.

And I'm going to have to try those strips. My long ruler always wants to slip on me when I cut long runs.

My sister gave me this very cool cutting mat that turns! Olfa 12" rotating mat. Wow...Did a top for a baby quilt last week using HST (Ha! Now I know what that means - hst!!) *smile* ...using this mat, chunked those babies out in NO time. Also, bought myself (and one for Sister, tho she does not know yet) a 12" add-a-quarter ruler. That was also huge in this lil baby top.

Has anyone ever heard of a ruler with the rotary knife built in? I have one and love it! It was $59.99 at Joanns and I did have a coupon. Safer and faster. Wish I could think of the name but it is in FL and I am in RI, for the summer. Just wondering if anyone uses one.

Marsha, the Grip Strips are less than half the thickness of the Omnigrid ruler I have. I would guess not quite 1/16", maybe 1.5 mm. They come in a pack of 6 - 11.75" strips for in the neighborhood of $9-$10 dollars. I've cut through 8 layers of fabric with no problems.

Yes! Have one of those, too, buteau ...think it's by 'Sew Easy' ...mine came from the Quilt Place in Rockledge. another awesome tool, you are correct!!

Thank you Beth......since most of my quilts start with strips,even scrappies, it does save time. Also, I think the safety is most important, although I have never cut myself, I was always afraid I would!

I don't have any new innovative things, but I did have to replace my rotary cutter yesterday. The bolt that went through the blade got damaged somehow (ok, ok, Ill confess...by me pressing too hard and using a cheaper brand of blade)... The new one is so much smoother, but throwing the other one away was like saying goodbye to an old friend.

Beu, I have a Fiskars rail riding rotary ruler cutter thingy, but mine is clumsy and I prefer the control of separate cutter and ruler.... I'm glad yours works for you! Glad you've also never cut yourself... of course they do make a rotary cutting glove for protection if you ever want to check it out! I've dropped my cutter on my foot and had my pointer finger resting right on the blade when I went to take a cut one time...

I noticed a commercial for the Guidelines 4 quilters ruler that has a sliding guide on it and I think it needs to go on the list... it would be so nice if I could just slide that where I wanted it and not have to manually visually find my line again with each cut.

Marsha, I'm glad you like the table.... that will be my next quilting purchase.... I need to write or call and ask them a few questions and it will give me a taste of their customer service before I order the extension table....

Has anyone tried those Superior Titanium top stitch needles yet? They are supposed to last 8 times longer than regular s/m needles and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on ordering my first package to try...

Awesome question (I'm glad we resurrected this idea!)...
Can't wait to see what things I didn't even know existed that I can't live without!

Well, I needed new rulers and got Creative Grids - a 6-1/2 x 24 and a 6" square. When I looked at them I thought all the markings would be very handy! Now I'm finding them confusing, and even though the long one is numbered from both ends it still is somehow very right-handed, and I'm not. LOL

I got the Guidelines prep tool, and I haven't used it much yet but it's helpful for trimming triangle points before sewing so they match up. I've been tempted to buy their rulers with the sliding guide. Maybe I can sell these Creative Grid rulers. :)

Donna

I don't have any gadgets but think I am going to invest in the grip-strips for my rulers. Sounds like a great idea!

Sue

Kate thanks for sharing how you made your ironing board ... I have a wooden cutting board that I made at college in the bottom of my pine chest ... think in my future quilting room in the next house where I should have more space that I could turn it into an ironing board ..... so do you add any padding underneath the ironing board cover between it and the wooden cutting board/butcher block?

My favorite new gadget that I love and use almost every day of the week is a 4" diameter pink emery pin cushion that I got off of Etsy with some birthday money I got from family earlier in the year. It has replaced all of my other pincushions for holding my straight pens and needles and it's just the perfect size for a large package of straight pens. It was expensive and most likely will be a 1 time purchase, but I love it! Attaching a link below for it.

Best to you and yours,
Sandra

Here is a link that might be useful: Etsy emery pin cushion

Have any of you tried the supreme sliders.... they are Teflon sheets that go on the bed of your machine and are supposed to make free motioning easier... I'm thinking about those and the bobbin genies...

I just heard about a frame made by someone named John Flynn, but I'm not sure I like it.... it rolls around on a PVC tube and you still have to move the quilt rather than the machine... I think many of you likely have long arms and real quilt frames, but I just don't have the space for that.... I did notice there is a small frame system that goes on a folding table and has a carriage for a regular sized machine to ride on.... I think it's a Grace brand or something... might be worth checking into!

Just won a small slider at a guild raffle. I'll let you know what I think when I use it soon.
LindaB/CA

Another easy solution for ironing next to your sewing station is a TV table covered with some batting and some fabric or silver ironing board cover material. You can just staple the fabric to the bottom edge of the table and it also becomes very portable. I often put a cutting mat on top for a quick trim of something

Have any of you tried the small square rulers for hst's that have the groove that sits over the seam allowance? I can't remember what they are called, but they looked like an intriguing gadget. I've just recently tried my Supreme slider that I got last year while at camp, and it is pretty cool. It performs as advertised.

(I love gadgets)

Faye

Yes Faye. I have one. It was really expensive and at first I thought I'd wasted my money, but then I got used to it and it really helps out when doing lots of them.
LindaB/CA