You might have seen this picture from my wrap up of "QATV" Season 8. Yes, I am vertically challenged and need a little boost in order to reach the pedal on the set's sewing machine. The Quilting Arts crew thinks it's funny to capture these little behind-the-scenes TV moments. And frankly, I do, too.
But, in all seriousness, my feeling is that if there's a way to remove an obstruction to getting down and creative, go for it. Sometimes it's a make-shift solution, like my stack of books. But often, there is a professional solution that's only a click away.
You have to figure, if you're having a problem with your quilting mechanics, such as gripping your project while free-motion stitching or having a heavy fusible ruin the hand and transparency of your fabric, someone else has probably had an issue with that, too. And there are quilting products to fix it.
Here are five quilting supplies the pros use that might help you, too.
Mistyfuse. I use a variety of fusible products for my quilting. But I was thrilled when Mistyfuse came along because it's so light and airy, perfect for using with sheers and silks. It doesn't change the hand of the fabric, so if you want to do some three-dimensional draping, the fabric won't be too stiff.
Transfer Artist Paper (TAP). I love transferring images to fabric. But let's face it, it can be a, shall we say, unpredictable technique. When fabric artist Lesley Riley came out with TAP, it took a lot of the guesswork out of the process but left all of the beauty.
Moldable stamps. Raise your hand if you have bins full of rubber stamps and never have just the right one when you need it? I thought so. Moldable stamps are the ultimate in creative efficiency. Heat the stamp material with a heat gun, and press the material into a raised pattern. When it cools you can use this stamp as many times as you want. When you're tired of it, zap it with the heat gun again and start over.
Machingers. Free-motion stitching expert Susan Brubaker Knapp swears by these gloves. Slip them on before stitch to help you maintain light but firm contact with your quilt as you move it around under the needle.
Quilt Halo. Another of Susan's favorites, the tacky, rubber surface of the Halo holds your quilt tightly and smoothly while you quilt. Especially good when you need to keep the fabric taught for thread sketching.
So there you have it, five of my favorite, most helpful quilting tools and products. And now's a good time to try them, because you can get these and hundreds more quilting supplies online this week for 15% off the regular price, and hundreds morein the Quilting Daily store.
P.S. What quilting supplies do you find most helpful? What couldn't you live without? What product rocked your quilting world? Don't keep it to yourself! Share in the comments section below.