Sewing Tools

Let’s take an in-depth look at sewing tools and notions for the Modern Quilter! These are some of my favorites in my own sewing room.

Scrap Fabric Storage! & What to do with them! (cheap fabric storage)

Hi, I’m Christen and I’m an absolute fabric hoarder.. you know what? I love it. Once I started collecting beautiful fabrics, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of the small scraps… It wasn’t long before I was faced with a bit of a problem. Scrap Fabric Storage… so many options… and I needed it asap. What is a quilter to do?

“Save the fabric scraps!” I say! “You never know when a pattern could come along that you could use it again!”

What do you do with all your fabric scraps?

Where do you keep them while you’re waiting for the perfect heroic moment to pull them out and give them purpose again?

You’ll find no less than 1,000 different storage ideas on Pinterest (follow me here).

I’m a mom with little kids. I can’t spend a fortune on walls of glorious pristine custom white shelving. Cheap and effective are my favorite kind of projects.

I must have tried out hundreds of ideas before deciding that sometimes simplicity really is the best way to go.

Simple, effective and no fuss.

Do I have your attention now?

Below you can see the system that I used to use, what I currently use and a few of my favorites from my “if I had a trillion dollars” dream ideas… just to spark some inspiration!

This post contains affiliate links You can read more here.

Fabric Scrap Storage – The Beginner Stage

For a long time, my scrap fabric storage was one of these babies… I told you. Simple, Cheap (less than $10)… yet very effective. You may even have one in your garage that you could toss old Christmas lights out of and re-purpose.

Pros: In the beginning it was perfect. I found it really nice to be able to toss scrap pieces of fabric from different projects into one collective place separate from my whole pieces/yardage fabrics.

It has a lid – This is awesome to stack on top of or slide under a table. Keep the mess contained.

Clear sides made it easier to see while digging around.

Cons: After 2 years (and a lot of quilts) I outgrew the bin. oops.

There was no organization to the big giant bin and I can’t count how many times I dumped it out to look through my collection. It was sometimes difficult to find that ONE scrap once it got a little fuller. This is a minimal complaint, but worth mentioning.

Thoughts: Overall, this solution was exactly what I needed at the time and it worked perfectly. I was able to use up a lot of my scraps. Unfortunately, with all the sewing and quilting I’ve been doing in the last few years, I have made more scraps than I am able to use up. Thus bringing me to the next level of storage…

Fabric Scrap Storage – The Intermediate Stage

You know those lightbulb moments where you know you’re in the right place at the right time? I had one of those moments.

I was shopping at Target and I came across this set. I’ll give you a link to it on Amazon because it is actually $7 cheaper there AND has free shipping. (woohoo!)

<br />

Pros: I bought 2 (as you can see) because they stack. I wouldn’t recommend more than 2 high because I’m 5’9″ and I don’t see how you would be able to utilize the top drawers if you can’t even reach them. The 2 I have puts the top drawer just above chest height for me. East to see and grab what you need.

Boom… instantly increase your capacity. 6 drawers for perfect fabric organization.

Organization! I did mine by color because I love rainbows 🙂

Clear fronts make it easier to see what you are searching for. Easier to find the piece you’re looking for if you’re searching by color or whatever your organization method of choice is.

They come with casters to make it easier to roll around if you desire that. I only put the casters on the lower set.

Cons: It does require a bit more of a permanent space in your home. It isn’t as easy to just tuck under a bed or toss in the bottom of a closet somewhere.

Thoughts: I have literally found no other drawbacks in the 6 months that I’ve been using this system. Rainbows make me happy.

Other ideas I aspire to create in my trillion dollars + free time dreams

You know what I’m talking about…. if a, b and c happened and the stars aligned… If the kids could give me 3 hours alone to create whatever I wanted to without interruption… I could rule the world… blah blah blah.

The ideas featured below are by other quilters that I follow and admire.

I love the way they marry the pretty aesthetic aspect and useful organization in a fantastic scrap fabric storage utopia! Check them out.

These fabric bins from Trillium Designs are perfection! And made from scrap fabric too! That’s like a double win, in my book! (and a cute blog too)

These filing cabinets from Prodigal Pieces are a refurbisher’s dream. Nothing says organization more than a filing cabinet, right? But these are filled with fabric, carefully folded so you can see EVERYTHING. Amazing!

This next storage idea is how I store my larger pieces and yard fabric. But TheGirlInspired uses it to store her scrap fabric in plain sight, on display in all its loveliness.

You can buy ‘comic book boards‘ from Amazon. They are basically designed for people who collect comics and want to preserve them and keep them for collectors, I think. It’s a thin but stiff cardboard board, glossy and the ideal size for folding and storing fabric!

<br />

OK, last bit of eye candy for today… If you’re a super DIY kind of person, this is beautiful. SewAtHomeMummy includes a step by step tutorial on how she created this hanging wall storage solution.

Do you have a favorite way to store fabric? Let me know in the comments below so we can all share in the brilliant sewists and quilters out there! Happy Quilting!
Which Iron Should You Be Using In Your Sewing Room??

All too often I think when we dive into sewing supplies everyone gets hung up on which sewing machine and what percentage of cotton thread etc… which iron should you be using never comes up! This one is THE BEST Iron for your sewing room!

I’ve had a few over the years and this little friend has been a go-to favorite. Let me introduce you to the itty bitty iron and then I’ll go into more detail why it should have a place in your sewing room as well.

[This post contains affiliate links]

Years ago when I first started sewing and learning the importance of pressing open your seams etc, I reached for the only iron we owned in the house… My husband’s iron that he used to press his military uniforms.

Let me clarify that I do not live on Mars… I just don’t like to iron. I’m all about making things easy… so I don’t own any clothes that need upkeep like ironing. I never practice it (who does?) thus I am terrible at ironing clothes and being the wonderful husband that he is… he ironed his own uniforms during his service in the Navy. So my skills never improved and all was good in the world…

Until I decided I needed to use the iron for quilting. Y’all… my husband’s iron was huge, heavy and clunky – Obviously designed by someone who didn’t ever use it. I made due for several years but I hated opening/pressing seams. While the steam option on the iron made for the best-pressed seams… I scalded my fingers to the point where I questioned if I would ever have fingerprints anymore. ouch! Maybe I’m just not good at it?

I thought this was all there was… But one day, I stumbled upon this little tiny iron in the fabric store and it was instant love.

This tiny iron was just big enough to fit into my sewing box.

The Pros:

I discovered a bonus as soon as I got home that day… the steam feature didn’t burn my fingers because it was a much more compressed area to steam that was comparable to the small seam I was trying to press and not a geyser of hot steam. (you mean there is a better way??)

The handle has a grip that is non-slip and fits well in your hand – right or left hand, either way.

The handle doubles as a way to wind up your cord – totally designed by someone who actually USES the thing! As a designer myself, I really appreciate innovations like this.

This iron is perfect for ironing small pieces/scraps or even fat quarters.

The dials are marked clearly and easy to read with adjustable temperature settings. Plus, it gives you the option for steam or no steam.

Cons:

The only thing that I do not recommend this iron for is ironing a large piece of fabric… obviously because the surface of the iron is smaller, a full-size hot iron will get the job done more efficiently.

I’ve had this tiny iron (I call him Steve) for over a year now and use it at the very least several times a week.

I’ve never ever had a single complaint.

Amazon currently has 1,588 reviews and 4.5 stars, which means that I’m not the only one in love with little Steve.

The Best Part!

I saved this for last because I know you quilters… you’ve done your research and you have decided what you want… but now the real question, right?…

What is it going to cost? $40??… $30?? …. Nope! How about $20.99! SAY WHAT!?! It’s on sale right now on Amazon (and it is a prime item woohoo 2-day shipping) Regular $29.

So anyway, I had to share my favorite little iron and make sure that you don’t miss out on a good deal! Who knows when the price will go up again because its Amazon and I don’t understand the price structure vs. sale structure. So scoop this up now and enjoy your own tiny Steve!

<br />

Hey if you have any questions, you’re always welcome to contact me. I’m happy to help!

And also, Please do suscribe to my e-mail newsletter! I love to share fun deals and exclusive offers with my favorite STARS 🙂

FREE Quick & Easy Pattern

This pattern comes together fast and it is easy to understand! It won’t take you forever to make either!

Full Name

Email*
How often should you clean your sewing machine? + A How To

This super easy tutorial will tell you everything you need to know to give your sewing machine a quick clean and tell yo how often you should clean your sewing machine too! – Hint, you have most everything you need in your bathroom!

How long has it been since your machine had a good cleaning?

Being mostly self-taught in the sewing room, there once came a day when I asked myself this question. “How often should you clean your sewing machine?” It was very quickly followed by a huge sense of dread… Clean? Um… Oops. (The absolute horror… I know!)

Yikes… If you are having that moment today and you cringed a little when you realized it… then I commend you for clicking on this link to read and take action. Good job!

We are going to get all your questions answered today and show you how to fix it!

First off, sewing machines aren’t some rinky-dink fragile machine. These machines are pretty robust. They are made to stick around for a long time. They’re like the crock-pot of the sewing room. Never given enough credit yet we depend on it to be there for us to make our job easier and create wonderful things. (*hands in the air for my crock pot friends!*)

This is entirely something you can do yourself in less than 10 minutes.

Unless your machine is in really really bad shape, you can do this yourself. If you’re working with an antique machine or things are a HUGE massive mess, you might consider taking it to a sewing machine repair shop.

See that mess right there? This is when I usually remember to clean my machine.

This tangled mess happens when things aren’t going as smoothly as I would like them to go. If your machine is giving you fits and threads are getting tangled more than your toddler’s hair when she sleeps… it’s time.

… and I haven’t completely ruined a machine yet. So if you don’t remember the last time your machine was cleaned… chill… you’re probably fine (for the moment).

That being said, you really should take care of your sewing machine. The amount of dust and fibers that accumulate inside your machine is so crazy.

I have a top loading bobbin machine. There are many different models out there, but the general idea is the same…

Get that ‘gunk’ out!

What you need to clean your sewing machine:

The things you need you can probably grab from your bathroom cabinet. You’ll need some Q-tips, tweezers, the little fiber brush that came with your machine (or similar), a flashlight and a screwdriver.

What to do to clean your sewing machine:

Safety Note: It is recommended that you turn off and even unplug your machine for extra safety measure. Make sure the needle is in the “UP” position. It would be a disaster if your fingers were all crammed into that space all laser-focused on cleaning and the machine started. Just Nope. Let’s not go there.
1. Remove the needle and whatever sewing foot you have attached as well as the presser foot holder. You’re about to get personal with your machine so let’s clear it all out of the way.
2. Use your screwdriver to remove the screws on your machine plate. It’s the metal plate that surrounds your bobbin. Your machine may have also come with one of these mini “T” things. They’re awesome if you’re machine throat (the space you have to work with in your machine) is a bit tight to get a larger screwdriver into. Just a reminder, do not lose any of the pieces 🙂
3. Time to access the mess – Dust bunnies galore… Slide your machine plate off. Take a mental snapshot where all the equipment is right now. Use your phone to take a picture, if you desire. You’ll thank me later because you have to put it all back together soon.
4. Remove your bobbin casing. Clean in and around it really well.
5. Inside the machine -Do you see all the lint? YUCK! I can’t believe I’m sharing these pictures because… OMG Y’all… Fair warning… If you sew with Minky, your machine will look like this after ONE quilt. ONE!
6. Get it out! – Use your tweezers out and start picking out the more significant chunks as well as any stray threads that you can grab. (Do not unscrew anything else.) Remember the doctor board game Operation? Get deep in those corners and get all those lint balls out!
7. Tidy up -Use the small brush and the Q-tips as magnets for the tiny fibers from the corners and crevices too!
8. Squeaky Clean! Most machine manuals WILL NOT recommend using compressed air to clean because it can push fibers further into your machine parts. So take this step at your own risk, but I feel it really gets things squeaky clean if you take care to blow if OUT and not IN further. I use it at the very very end just to meticulously clean up the last bits of fuzz and only a real quick blow out.
9. Admire your perfectly clean machine!
10. Screw everything back together. Remember earlier I mentioned taking mental note of where everything was? Refer back to your picture or your machine manual, if you need to.
11. While we’re doing machine maintenance, this is a good time to change your needle too. (It is actually recommended by the experts to do it every 4-6 hours of sewing time… Ha, I get a huge FAIL on this one all the time.)
12. Also, take a soft cloth and give your machine a good wipe down.
**I don’t recommend oiling your machine. This is something the professionals will do when you take your machine in to be serviced, which is recommended every two years.**

And there you have it. Easy Peasy! You can see my favorite quilt pattern here, available for FREE download. It is super quick to piece together but still super impressive!

If you’re new here, take a second to sign up for my newsletter, won’t you? I share all kinds of modern quilting tips and ways to incorporate sewing into your busy day without losing your sanity! I’ll even send you one of my most popular downloads right away. I look forward to sewing more with you!

[activecampaign form=13]
Easy Way To Add Length To A Bag Strap (& make it cute!)

Hey there! Today we’re going to talk about this super quick and easy project I did over the weekend. It’s so simple, but I am so pleased with the results that I just had to share it with you! I even remembered to take pictures along the way to create a tutorial. (yay me!) Here is the easy way to add length to a bag strap (and make it cute too!)

This process should take you no longer than 30 minutes. It could even take you 10 minutes if you have a little bit of previous sewing under your belt. It is a super easy and fun way to customize your bag!

Just FYI, this post may contain affiliate links to products. If you purchase a product that I recommend, I will get a small commision on the sale at no extra cost to you. This just helps me keep my site up and running and I appreciate your support!

So let’s start with the bag.

I’m at the point in my mommy-hood journey where I don’t have to carry a diaper bag anymore. (can I get an amen?) I don’t even have to bring a backpack full of other people’s junk when we travel either. It is glorious, I tell you… but I still am the go-to if there is a need for any essentials when we travel (band-aids, sunscreen, chapstick, Advil, etc.)

I also love photography and am totally that girl that will be so in the zone that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone swiped my purse while I wasn’t looking. We have several trips coming up this year. (including one to Europe! squeeee!!)

I’ve been on the lookout for a simple crossbody bag that will let me be totally hands-free and still keep the essentials. Thus, here we are full circle with me and a new bag I bought online. I found a no-frills, bag that didn’t draw a ton of attention and had all I was looking for.

Simple, but did its job.

My bubble burst when it came in the mail, and the strap was shorter than I wanted it to be. Bummer, right? — (Side note for the few curious: I am a bit on the “few extra pounds to love” body size, and I’m not an A cup in bra size. You don’t need to know any more details than that!… Strap length is a common issue in crossbody bags for me)

After giving it about 10 seconds of thought, I decided to put on my thinking cap and just doctor it up myself. I can fix this…

And I wouldn’t be writing this post if I wasn’t successful so… Tada! I’m not re-inventing the wheel here. Just jazzing it up a bit and adding a bit of color to it. 🙂

Easy Way To Add Length To A Bag Strap

What you need

Fabric – The materials came out of my scrap fabric because what I used was so minimal. As you can see in the picture above, the strap is a thick woven material. I didn’t want my length addition to be flimsy or to wear any differently.

I chose two different fabrics to add to the sturdiness of my strap addition. The flowered fabric is a simple cotton fabric. The navy shell fabric is more of a canvas texture. Again, these were just scraps. You could get away with both cotton fabrics if you like.

Measurements – To figure out your specific measurements… measure the width of your strap that you’re adding to. Double that width and then add 1/2″. (don’t freak out – It’s math. I know. My free spirit heart sinks when someone tells me I have to adhere to mathematics standards)

Example. My strap is 1.25″ wide… so 1.25″ + 1.25″ +.5″ = 3″ width

For my straps, I cut a 3″x13″ piece from each fabric. (You may choose your length size differently based on your needs. If you only need to add 8″ ish, cut about an 11″ long piece. Make it longer as needed.) The rest of the tutorial is the same no matter what length or width of your strap is. (glad you made it through the math part!)

Hardware – I ended up deciding against it, but you may want to embellish a little with some shiny hardware! Ain’t no one trying to discourage your style! I went through a Hobby Lobby and took a look at the potential hardware in every finish you could imagine… Have fun with it!

How to do it

1. Take one of your fabric pieces and fold it in half lengthwise, right sides of the fabric together. (hot dog style for those that need a little grade school flashback) Stitch all the way down with a 1/4″ seam.

Do the same to your other piece of fabric. You’ll have a long tube with the pretty part of the material on the inside.

2. Next, You’ll need a way to turn your fabric right side out. I find this little tool thingy really handy in quite a few more situations than you would think. You can get one here if you want to have one on hand too. (You can also do this with a safety pin tied to a piece of string as well. It is just not as stiff so you have to work it through with your fingers a bit more.)

Push the hook end part all the way through your fabric tube length-wise and use the hook to latch on to the very end of your fabric. You’ll have to pierce through the fabric to get a good grip.

Once it is secure, put one of your fingers through the loop on the other end and pull the pole through your fabric tube. It may take a bit of working with it the first few times you do it, but you’ll end up turning the fabric inside out on itself as shown in the picture below.

Do this for both fabric pieces.

3. Press/Iron your strap fabric to be nice and flat.

Check that they match up to the width of your existing strap.

Sewing the fabric into the ‘tube’ is going to make for a much sturdier strap because now you have four layers of fabric vs. 2. They also won’t want to curl up as you get more wear out of them.

4. Place the two pieces on top of each other making sure they align all the way down and pin in place so they won’t budge when you stitch them together.

Time to assemble!

5. I did a seam at 1/4″ in and another at 3/8″ in, down the length of both sides (again, I want this to be sturdy and wear well when we travel so I’m doubling up. I don’t know what type of trip accident I’m preparing for, but I believe I will be covered if I do the double stitching, right?)

This is important – Leave about 2-3″ inches open at the top and the bottom so you can attach it to your existing strap! See the image below.

6. Snip snip – Choose the place where you are going to cut your strap. There is no going back after you make that cut. Make it neat, make it straight and choose carefully. One side of my bag has an adjustable strap already set up; I decided to leave that alone and add my fabric strap to the other side. Strategic? Maybe… Lazy? Most definitely.

7. Attaching your strap – This is easier explained with the image below, but you’re going to make your strap sandwich now. Take the two ends that you left open and fold them in, so no raw seams or edges are sticking out.

Slide the cut end of your strap in the middle. It’s the meat of your strap sandwich.

8. Secure/Sew – You can pin things in place here if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I found the area too tight of a space to work with pins. Also, the fabric is many many layers thick, and that made pins difficult. A wider strap might lend itself to pins, however.

I got things where I wanted them to be and held it really tightly while I fed the fabric through the sewing machine. It didn’t move around or budge.

I chose to continue with the 1/4″ and 3/8″ stitch lines for continuity and added a few horizontal lines to make it extra secure. (yes, I’m aware one of my lines got wonky. My primary goal was security not for it to be judged by the quilt police. Make yours as perfect as you like.)

Do this to both sides of the cut strap. (Be careful that nothing is twisted wrong, that would be an embarrassing mistake.)

9. The final test – work it! Try on your new bag with fashionable strap and pat yourself on the back. Who says you can’t have function and flair? Usefulness and beauty?

Yay! Thanks for making it all the way down to the bottom of this quick tutorial. If you have any questions, you can contact me or leave me a comment at the bottom here. I’m happy to help and love to chat.

If you added a little flair to your bags, I would love to see! Tag me in #iseestarsquilting or on Instagram @iseestarsquilting so I can see 🙂

Until next time, happy sewing sweet friends!
Fabric.com – The evolution of shopping online for fabric

I’m such a fan of online shopping for everything. So why not shop online for fabric as well? Is it the same quality? How do you know you’re getting the right fabric?

I love shopping at the quilt shops and the local fabric stores. I like to waltz through to pick out my fabrics in person. Touching the fibers and feeling for fabric quality is a very tangible thing for me… Must touch it all. (I do this in clothing stores too… I must touch it alllll.)

I remember the days when I could stick my kids in the shopping cart and throw out some snacks… It would buy me a half hour to do a little shopping when timed correctly with a good nap beforehand… I could even maybe throw out my phone (~~educational youtube videos only of course~~) and buy myself an extra 15 minutes.

Now my kids are 7 and 9, and no one fits in the shopping cart. Their feet are like heavy lead weights. I am told it is very challenging. And there is a large sigh whenever I mention that I have to ‘run by the fabric store real quick‘.

I’m a huge preacher to my kids that in life you don’t always get to do what YOU want to do yadda yadda… but Y’all… (I know you get me on this)… sometimes though, the battle just isn’t worth it.

Sometimes it is just more accessible, and more pleasant, to shop online for 10 minutes and have your fabric show up in a cute little package a few days later.

Side note, but I fought becoming a member of the amazon prime club for years. I thought I wouldn’t get enough use out of it. Once I fully embraced it and jumped in… *angels singing* I mourn the times I missed out on before.

There are a few fabric places that I like to shop online for… my favorite is http://www.fabric.com You will see that I promote it in several of my other posts because… I love it…

I’m trying my absolute best to simplify things in my life. I get it. Life is busy, and when you don’t have time to spare wandering around, or you get overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of fabric options in the store… fabric.com is your answer.

The Selection

For one, the amount of fabric options on fabric.com is immense. I’m talking huge. Cotton, poly, canvas… Fabric options for every project.

Do you need fabric with pandas on it? Done. Do you want one with bamboo? Done. Anything you could dream up… it is probably there. Maybe pandas are your thing? Perhaps not… but they have them!

(Ha… Let’s just say I get really interesting quilt inspirations sometimes. usually late at night and I decide I MUST make a panda quilt because…. duh, super cute!)

There is apparel fabric, quilting fabric, outdoor fabric… the list goes on and on from all the fantastic designers out there.

I love my local quilt shops, but there are times when you can’t go in there expecting to find three different kinds of panda fabric, you know? Their selection is more tailored to please the masses/trendy and fashionable.

More Than Fabric

Fabric.com also carries all the sewing notions you could ever desire as well. Embellishments, bobbins, buttons, zippers, cutting tools and thread… all those little extras that make your quilt a success. All in one place and easy to shop for.

Save Money

I buy less when I shop online. Like how going to the grocery store when you’re hungry is a bad idea? Going to the fabric store when you don’t know what you need can be a bad idea.

Fabric.com offers really great sales too. And they make it easy. (No individual secret coupon codes to save 3% but you have to search through 4 websites to find the right code? Yeah, I’m all for a bargain, but I don’t want to have to perform magic to get it.)… Sale prices are listed on the fabrics and transfer right to your cart without any fuss.

Shipping is free above $49. Less than $49 is a flat $4.99 to the lower 48 Unites States. Simple. Easy.

Always check out the clearance section if you’re looking to build up your fabric stash on the cheap. (For other ways you can save money when shopping for fabric read this post. I share how I find fabric for less than $2 a yard!)

Shopping online when you can is a considerable time and money saver!

Need more hours in your day? Check out my free e-book offer below, *hint hint*… I’ll give you some awesome (totally doable) ideas you can implement TODAY. You can also read more about how to fit quilting (or fill in the blank with whatever you desire) into your busy life. I have several suggestions to help!

Happy fabric shopping!
Gadget Girls To The Rescue

The Gadget Girl’s tools have been my absolute saving grace in learning to be a precise quilter!

You may or may not know that I lean way more towards what I like to call a “free spirit” quilter – where rules do not apply and everything will work out in the end… sometimes (ok usually not, in my experience but I can keep dreaming, right?)

Old habits are hard to break… In my early quilting days, I strongly believed that I wouldn’t need any “fancy tools” to quilt, maybe just one or two would be sufficient? Rulers used to be the thing in the back of the desk drawer that just got in the way. Now, I have a huge stack of them that I am completely attached to – like my right hand.

No one wants that “Pinterest fail” moment where your finished product looks nothing like you thought it would. oops.

Precise quilting is not something you can “eyeball” and call it a day.

Having the right tools matters!

When I really got into quilting tools, The Gadget Girls were already 20 steps ahead of me and already knew exactly everything I could possibly want… and a few things I didn’t know I wanted, but now I totally do. I love my rulers and even-ups!

The Gadget Girls also carry an incredible selection of longarm quilting tools. I myself have not jumped off into that level of quilting yet, but that doesn’t stop me from admiring in absolute awe of the people who can do it. If you are even remotely interested in long arm quilting or free motion quilting, boy are you in for a treat with these girls… 🙂

(Image from The Gadget Girls Website)

But… Aren’t all rulers the same?

The are isles full of specialty rulers at your local craft store in a jillion different shapes that will make your head spin… I’ve owned many of them myself. None of them have compared to the quality of my rulers from The Gadget Girl. They’re sturdy and have held up to the daily use in my quilting room like a charm.

What if I don’t know what I need?

Shelly is my ‘Girl’ and she is an absolute delight to work with! She knows her stuff and she is everything you would expect a sweet, crazy-amazing expert quilter to be. Shelly has helped me through many of my product questions.

I mostly love The Gadget Girls tools because they keep me from falling back into my “free Spirit” quilting ways that end with a messy quilt and a disappointed feeling when I know I could have done better.

The gadgets are precise.

The clear markings make flawless quilting (or as close as you can get to it) easy to achieve.

My Favorite Gadgets

These four are my absolute-can’t-live-without gadgets. I don’t even bother putting them away anymore because I need them all the time.
1. Rotary Cutting Even Ups – Don’t bother messing with paper templates. Just don’t. The future is now and now says these even ups will help you cut your fabric and square up your blocks to a level of precision you’ve only dreamed of.Squares, Triangles, Hexagons & half-hexies… all with many different sizes to choose from so you’ll find the perfect one for your quilt.
2. The Little Girl Ruler – One of their most popular rulers!
3. The Long Tall Ruler – It is a BIG one. These 30″ make cutting strips of fabric a breeze with no shifting of the ruler or guesstimating a straight cut.
4. The Grid Ruler – perfect for getting that just right straight cut of fabric.
If you’re looking to up your skills in quilting… make just a small investment in yourself and your future skills. You will see amazing immediate improvement when you use the right tools for the job.

I’ve learned many hard lessons that quilting isn’t something you can fudge and try to “fake it till you make it”. Do yourself a favor and have complete confidence in yourself and your project.

Check out The Gadget Girls website, browse their amazing project examples and please do tell Mrs. Shelly that Christen says “hi” 🙂

Happy Quilting!