Survey time.... please add yours to the list...

OK, I'll play! But this is sewing only right, because my appliqué tools list would be quite different!

Lorraine in La Center

My favorite is my 4' X 8' work table with a cutting mat on it, then my rotary cutter, and then my chalk marker.

My large board that sits on the ironing board, it's a dream for ironing border seams and the like.

The same pins as Lorraine (TwinMom) likes and the magnetic pin holder I have for them!

Anne

I'd have to say, rotary cutter, mat, and ruler. Probably 45mm cutter, 24" mat, and 6" x 24" ruler would be the basic tools.

Betty in WI

mat, 6x24" ruler, and rotary cutter.

Me too! I need my flower headed pins My 61/2 x 241/2 ruler and my 45mm Pink rotary.

I'll follow you Lorraine, as I love my Clover seam ripper and superfine pins too.

Paper- freezer, tracing and graph papers (templates, appliqué, drawing blocks and quilt lay-outs, etc.); my 'homemade' sewing desk with my machine lowered into it for a level sewing surface; and my stash(es)... fabrics of all colors and prints and textures (heavy on batiks and hand-dyed!) and threads- every type and size and color I can find!

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Fabric -- that's where it starts and ends for me Scissors -- specifically the Kaicut 200 mm offset handle sheers and the Fiskar soft handle microblade Pencils -- any kind and all kinds

It took me a while to pare down all the stuff I use and realize that if everything else went I would/could still carry on, but without those above I would just be stymied to a stop.

Sunny

Use all 3 all the time. > What 3 quilting tools can you NOT live without (excluding your machine): >

1. 60mm rotary cutter, with lots of spare blades
2. 8 1/2" x 24" ruler (two the same size would be great!)
3. My 10-foot long table built by hubby

Trixie

Mine would have to be my rotary cutter (45 mm), my 6.5"x24" ruler, and my little Gingher embroidery scissors (for clipping threads at the sewing and quilting machines).

mine are:

1. cutting mat and Dritz retractable 45mm rotary cutter
2. Gingher thread nippers
3. seam ripper

You've limited us to only *three*?!? Okay,

1. my favorite scissors
2. my computer, loaded with internet and EQ (needed for finding information and getting patterns to my fabric
3. rotary cutter/mat combo

There's more, but you did limit us.

1. 45 mm Olfa rotary cutter
2. Clover seam ripper
3. 8.5 inch x 24 inch Omnigrip ruler

Our essentials seem pretty much the same. So. Let's wander off the path a bit in this survey. What additions have you made to your quilting setup that were not so good or a lovely asset? Winner - I use our 'newlywed' kitchen table for a cutting table. DH has put the battered old dear up on pvc so I don't have to stoop to cut. On top is a 4 x 8 plywood sheet that was our firstborn's base for his trains and steam engines. Loser - my design board is covered in a pricey gridded flannel that won't hold diddly without pins. I need the grid but cheap old poly terry held everything much better. Blooper - my SM quilting is heavy-handed. I've had to put tomato paste cans beneath the SM's table to keep me from popping off the table's support pins. That works great. Unless, of course, the cans eventually start seeping after a few years and make a real mess. Anyone? Polly

seeping tomato paste cans might keep the skunks away. the ones that get past the gators that is. isnt it tomatos that you use to rid yourself of skunk odour? j.

"Polly Esther" wrote... Our essentials seem pretty much the same. So. Let's wander off the path a bit in this survey. What additions have you made to your quilting setup that were not so good or a lovely asset? Winner - I use our 'newlywed' kitchen table for a cutting table. DH has put the battered old dear up on pvc so I don't have to stoop to cut. On top is a 4 x 8 plywood sheet that was our firstborn's base for his trains and steam engines. Loser - my design board is covered in a pricey gridded flannel that won't hold diddly without pins. I need the grid but cheap old poly terry held everything much better. Blooper - my SM quilting is heavy-handed. I've had to put tomato paste cans beneath the SM's table to keep me from popping off the table's support pins. That works great. Unless, of course, the cans eventually start seeping after a few years and make a real mess. Anyone? Polly

Winner: Taking all the furniture out of the "den" we never used and replacing it with banquet tables, iron board, sewing maching and a real cutting board. Loser: Trying to use the "pretty box" system for fabric. I love decorated boxes, but I forget what fabric is in which box, and end up having to open them all. Loser: Using my beloved homemade cedar chest that DH made for me in High School shop class to store batting. The batting stinks now. :-(

Sherry