I've really missed watching the yearly airing of "The Sound of Music" the last several holiday seasons. Either it hasn't been on, or I've just been missing it! In any case, I was really excited to watch the new production of "The Sound of Music" last night on NBC. I'm a sucker for a musical, having grown up in musical theater, and "The Sound of Music" is one of those classics that I can't resist. I enjoyed watching the new production - I'm not a huge country music fan, but I thought Carrie Underwood did a fine job, though she's no Julie Andrews, and she managed to nail one of my favorite songs from the show, "My Favorite Things." Humming that song while brushing my teeth last night, it dawned on me that this is the perfect time of year to jot down a few of my favorite things, just in case Santa needs a few ideas for quilty items to stick in my stocking or under the tree...
Creative Grids rulers - You really can't go wrong with these rulers. They grip your fabric so nicely, and the lines are really crisp. I sure would love to get a
6 1/2" Quilting Ruler
, as I have most of the larger square sizes and I already have my most favorite ruler size, the
6 1/2" x 24 1/2".
Aurifil - Santa, every quilter needs some Aurifil in her life! I'm a huge fan of the
50 wt (orange cone) for pretty much all things quilty. It would be fun to get a few fun colors of thread in one's stocking!
Graph paper - While I love using EQ, I do still love graph paper, and graph paper notebooks are a lot of fun to have around for doodling.
Extra bobbins - I've been meaning to buy some extra bobbins for my Juki since I bought the darned thing, and I keep forgetting, so they sure would be nice.
505 Basting Spray - Can't live without this stuff. I actually tried to pin baste a quilt earlier this year, because I was low on spray, thinking it couldn't be that bad and that surely I could do it. Um, no. I gave up and went out and bought a can of spray baste!
Seam Fix - I love a good seam ripper, and I think I've found my most favorite one to date, the
Seam Fix
. It's a seam ripper that has a bit of an eraser-like feature to it, to help grab all those tiny fiddly pieces of thread that you leave behind when you rip out a seam. It's fantastic, but seam rippers don't last forever, Santa. Plus, you know how prone I am to losing things! A backup would be good.
Batting Tape - Santa, you've seen me baste quilts - there's always leftover batting, right? I love using
batting tape to fuse leftover chunks together into a big piece of Franken-batting! This stuff comes on a pretty big roll, but it goes quickly, so an extra roll or two would be handy. Just steer clear of the black rolls, because I've never used black batting, okay?
Tell me, friends, what are some of your favorite small quilty things? Are there any notions that you just cannot live without that you love to tell others about? When I teach, talking about notions is one of my favorite things to do after class, to compare notes and to learn about other notions I might never have tried otherwise, like that Seam Fix seam ripper. And don't forget, today is the last day of the
2013/2014 combo deal for the Lucky Stars BOM!! I hope you have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!
I would love some additional pins and replacement blades for my cutter.
ReplyDeleteI did not know about batting tape! I just don't make enough coaster and mini quilts to use up all my extra batting. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy two new favorites are the On Point ruler and Little House pins.
ReplyDeleteBinding clips, quarter inch ruler (on each side of line for marking HST). I bought batting tape recently, but haven't remembered to use it!
ReplyDeletewww.sewcraftychick.blogspot.com
Batting tape??? How did I not know this existed?!?! I have to get some!!! As far as notions I can't live with out....definitely my seam ripper, rotary cutter & basting spray.
ReplyDeleteBatting tape! I didn't know that existed and would be must easier than zig-zag stitching pieces together.
ReplyDeleteMy list includes Aurifil, extra bobbins, clover clips and basting pins (I don't have enough room to spray baste).
Oh my gosh...batting tape? You've just made my Christmas very merry :). Love your list!
ReplyDeletebatting tape..have it, basting spary. have it, seam riper. have it, extra bobbins..have them, aurifil thread..have lots, graph paper..have lots, oops missing the creative grid rulers...ok santa i could use that
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list! I would love one of those seam rippers and my creative grids rulers are awesome. I'm hoping Santa will bring me a Hera Marker this year so I can try it out. My disappearing ink markers dry up way too fast!
ReplyDeletemy hubby loves to buy me quilty toys, thanks for the hints.
ReplyDeleteI got some Clover fork pins someone had raved about and can't wait to try them out!
ReplyDeletebasting spray???whhhhat...Is that anything like spray glue? I have never heard of it.
ReplyDeletelove the site...and all the new items
ReplyDeletelove the site
ReplyDeleteI really like my clover thimble. It has a metal tip, but is silicone/rubbery on the sides so it stretches/fits on my odd shaped fingers unlike a traditional thimble. They don't last forever, so I always keep at least one spare on hand.
ReplyDeletewow, batting tape, lol. Never knew. I love notions, they are like office supplies to me. Can't go near that area unless I need something specific. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a good chunk of that list already, Santa really needs to share the love with everyone on them :o)
ReplyDeleteExtra blades for my rotary cutter. I never seem to have one when I need it.
ReplyDeleteI have that seam ripper - it's handy to have that rubber 'eraser' end!
ReplyDeleteAnd Creative Grids rulers are just fantastic. Last Christmas hubby bought me the 16.5" square. The ladies at the shop thought it was an odd size, but they ordered it for him anyway!
On my wish list - GCs to FQS for more stuff to feed my habit! :)
I love tiny scissors! I have three pairs that I stash all over so they are always handy. I am almost through my first can of basting spray and I don't think I will ever go back to pin basting again. I am very excited to try batting tape now!
ReplyDeleteGood list! I agree with all you've recommended, except that seam ripper. Mine lasted only a month. The tip broke when I was trying to remove a thread knot. As well, I didn't like that the cap didn't fit onto the base part - too easy for the parts to become separated. Oh, and I don't care for a round seam ripper because they often roll off the sewing table. Thanks for sharing this list, though. It will surely be helpful to quilters, and their SO's.
ReplyDelete