I think most of us quilters love a new gadget, right! This hop has been introducing me to some Must Have gadgets and some Must Make projects! I really do need to thank Carol from Just Let Me Quilt for coming up with this month’s hop theme.
I have a real love of gadgets and tools. They do make every job or craft easier when you have the right tools for every possible job. Please be advised that I am not affiliated with any of these Companies or products, but I am a very satisfied customer.
Recently I took advantage of an amazing 25% off sale to purchase EQ8 to help with writing my patterns. I’ve always done the job with paper and pencil, but this past year the math has just been beyond my capabilities. Now I’m learning to use the software and having too much fun! To help distract my quilting buddy, D, with all of the stress of her husband’s illness, I drafted a pattern for her to make. The original inspiration is a barn quilt which is now hanging on K’s wonderful nephew’s barn. The nephew, James and his wife are expecting a baby girl this fall, after having 4 sons.
While playing with the software I also managed to draft an idea I had for a project for this hop. In all I probably spent 3 hours playing with the design I wanted.
Fabrics were quickly pulled since I had a basket of the perfect batik scraps I wanted to use since I am still trying to work from my stash. I even had a nice large piece of fabric to use for my background. 😁
The next of my favourite gadgets I’d like to share is my Accuquilt cutter. Several years ago my DH decided I deserved and extra special birthday and Christmas present since the move from the acreage to our little apartment fell on my shoulders to handle and organize. He bought me the Accuquilt cutter bundle which included the 9” cube. I’ve been adding to my die collection and one of my favourite additions was the 9” Companion Corners set.
I used my Alphabities to label my block pieces. They are another favourite tool and are very special to me because I used a gift certificate I had won in a blog hop hosted by Carla from Creatin’ in the Sticks to purchase this and a few other treasures with (along with some fabric, etc.)
In the above photo you can see my clips. These are not the brand name clip, but are a generic one that I picked up at my local Walmart. Again they are a valuable tool and I use them constantly, whether I am keeping block pieces sorted, sewing a bag, or hand sewing my bindings.
With everything cut and sorted it didn’t take long to piece my blocks. I am as much in love with my Accuquilt for how my blocks come together. The cutoff corners make it so much easier to align my pieces, I don’t have to cut off dog ears, and I never have to square up my blocks. If I’m using the 9” Cube dies my blocks alway finish at a perfect 9 1/2” and I never have to square up the blocks! One day I will have a full collection of all of the various sized Cubes and Companion sets. 😉. Once the cutting mats wear out I find ways to repurpose them. You’ll see how I do that in the October Hop, Gremlins, Goblins and Ghouls Oh My! which is being hosted by Joan from MooseStash Quilting (there are still slots available if you want to join in).
I was able to use another favourite gadget, my alpaca/wool pressing mat by Prairie Spirit Alpacas. This mat is 12” x 18” and fits both my regular ironing board and my travel board. I absolutely love this mat and the perfectly pressed seams and blocks that happen when I use it. I really like the fact that it doesn’t smell as much as the other mats and I don’t have an allergic reaction to the wool! They are now one of the sponsors of the Island Batik Ambassadors program and it’s always fun to go to the website to see the photos of the cute baby llamas!
My little quilt top finished at 54 1/2” square but I do need to go shopping for border fabrics to complete the top since I need it to be larger. I didn’t have any batik fabric that works in my stash. There are two places that I like to shop at for batiks. One of them does have Island Batik fabric which I really like and the other shop has batiks made by her relatives. Both of them are several hours drive from me, so the shopping trip will have to wait until I travel to the studio next time.
I really wanted to have a lot of negative space on this quilt to be able to play more with some quilting motifs/ideas I have just to see if my ideas will work. That is one of the fun things that I really enjoy about two of my other “gadgets”.
I’d like to share a last few tools I use in my quilting adventures. These ones are all used once I have my flimsy finished and either on my longarm or sandwiched and basted ready for quilting. These are the tools I use to mark my quilting patterns or designs. I’ve always been leery of marking with markers because I did have a bad experience with markings not coming out of my quilt top. These are all tools I use and have never had a problem with:
Who’s participating? Lots of amazing quilters! Here is the full lineup in case you have missed any of the blog posts so far. 😉
September 19
September 20
Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
September 21
September 22
September 23
What’s your favorite gadget?
As you can tell, I do like having the tools or gadgets to make each job easier, but I’m always ready to add another to my toolbox. So I’m checking the other participants’ posts to see what else I need to have.
September 20
September 21
September 22
September 23
Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
What’s your favorite gadget?
In other news…
Joan at Moosestash Quilting is the hostess of our Halloween blog hop this year and she definitely knows how to make it spooky, creepy, and wicked. Are you ready to sign-up and join the fun? Gremlins, Goblins and Ghouls Oh My! October 17 – 21, 2022. What’s the challenge? Joan said, “Just put on your witch’s hat and see what you come up with”. Send her an email letting her know you want to play along. I’ll be participating and showing off how I up cycle my worn out Accuquilt cutting mats. 😉
I’ll close with a huge thank you to Carol from Just Let Me Quilt for hosting this month’s hop and the great theme, all of the amazing bloggers/designers who are participating with such great suggestions for our toolkits, and you for spending some of your time reading my post. I appreciate your visit, your comments and knowing that you’ve enjoyed reading my blog enough to subscribe to my list! Thank you each and every one of you on these lists! 😁 Carol
Quilt Schmilt 
So many great gadgets! I have EQ8 but still need to learn how to use it well. It’s on my to do list, but I keep forgetting!
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Thank you Wendy. I’m really enjoying what time I can find to play with EQ8. I’m sure you will, too! 😉
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Lots of fun gadgets. I love EQ8 too. I bought it years ago mainly to help me easily pick colors for my quilts, then I jumped into designing in it. I love it!
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Thank you Leah. EQ8 is so much fun and learning to use it isn’t that challenging for me😉
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Great tools! I had never thought about washable Crayola markers. My grandie uses them all the time, and I know they come out easily. I am going to have to get a set of my own I can see. Those little Alphabet tiles are so cute and perfect for labeling things. I’m excited to see what you have created for the Halloween hop! 🙂
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Hi Joan. The markers are perfect to mark my pieces and even try quilting designs. My Hop project is still a WIP but it’s coming along 😉
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I love my EQ8 and have a ton of fun with it. Looks like you are, too! Crayola markers? What a great idea. I’m going to have to check into those Alpaca mats because I don’t like the smell of the wool one. Those tags need to be on my ever-growing-list of things to buy after this hop. Thank you so much, Carol, for sharing your gadgets!
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Thank you Carol. I love my various Gadgets, but the Alpaca mat is my newest favourite. I do know that an American shop is carrying them but I can’t remember which one 😳.
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EQ8 is wonderful. It really does help with the quilt math!! I’ve had EQ since version 5 but am in a class now offering those who don’t 25% off. I upgrade every time. We love many of the same gadgets!! I’ve not seen those Alphabitties, but I am definitely going to check them out. So much easier than hand-writing all of them and they’re reusable!! Love it! Thanks for sharing, Carol!
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Hi Brenda. EQ8 is so much fun to use and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more once I know how to make everything work 😉. The Alphabitties are so easy to use, too! Thank you for your lovely comment. 😉
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You and I have many of the same tools….I love EQ8 and my sewing machines and cutting machines! I don’t use the washable markers, but know lots do and love them.
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Hi Kathleen. We quilters are funny in that we share our love of gadgets and tools. I think we all use a lot of the same ones. 😉
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Hi Carol! Wow – great list and wonderful explanation of how you use these gadgets. Soap silvers! I never would have thought to use them but how perfect. Especially on dark fabrics which I where I struggle to see what I’ve marked. Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad you are enjoying EQ8 – much better than all that math. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
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Hi Roseanne. Isn’t it funny that a simple thing like a soap sliver can work as a tool? We are an innovative group aren’t we? Math is beyond me right now so being able to use a program sure helps 😉
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Great list of gadgets. I love my Accuquilt cutter too.
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Thank you Karrin. Having the right tools does make our craft more enjoyable 😁
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Oh, Carol, such fun! Thank you for the shout-out. It’s fun to see what you picked out with the giveaway. Your post was a fun read; it looks like you have a great quilt with all those gadgets you used on the way. Love the fabrics and hopefully, you will find that perfect border fabric.
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Thank you Carla. I wasn’t sure if I had ever shown off the gadgets I bought with those gift certificates. I might get out this week to find the border fabric and the new quilt is coming along 😉
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I have been looking at the AlphaBites as I can get messed up–drives me crazy. I do use soap slivers.
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Hi Carol. The Alphabitties help me stay organized. Soap slivers do work well, don’t they? 😉
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EQ8 sounds wonderful and I really want to get that gadget.
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Danice you will really enjoy it! It does the math for you! 😉
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Thanks for sharing your gadgets! We love many of the same ones! Your quilt is beautiful! Have fun shopping for your border fabric! 🙂
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Thanks Gail! 😉
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I’m a little late checking out your post, but I love all your gadgets! I have never purchased the EQ software. I suppose one of these days it will be on my list. I have a Go! Baby and a Crafter’s Edge Crossover II cutting machine, but what I really want is a Go! Big! Maybe this fall??? Thanks for sharing!!
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Thank you Carol. I haven’t been able to check out any posts; real life is getting in the way so don’t apologize. I really love my Accuquilt and the fact you can use some of the dies on the Crafters Edge cutter (and maybe vice versa?) makes it a great gadget 😉
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Oh so many lovely gadgets to drool over!! I love how you made the pattern for D… thanks for sharing all the lovely inspiration! xx
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Thank you Joy. It’s a great tool to make the math easier when life is messing with your mind 😉
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The barn quilt is awesome! Congrats on learning EQ. You may not, however, be able to keep up with all of your ideas! 😂
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Thank you! I think you just vocalized my greatest fear 😉
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