Basic Supplies

For holiday storage of patterns and fabrics, I use the plastic tubs with covers that you can purchase in a variety of sizes depending on how much you have to store. I mark each tub with a Sharpie permanent marker with the Holiday/Season noted on the end and keep all the fabrics, patterns, etc. that go with that holiday/season in one place. These tubs stack nicely and are easy to see through if you purchase the clear or slightly frosted ones. No more searching for that pattern I used and loved last year! Keeps things very organized.

I have plastic containers that I labeled with different sizes from 1 1/2 up to 5 1/2 inches. Then when I am cutting out strips or squares and I have extra left over I put them in the right size container so I know what I have for the next quilt I want to make. I also trim down my scrap pieces to put in them too.

go to the hardware section or Sporting Good and pick up a tackle box or tool box. I picked up one with seperate plastic containers or slotted areas. I put all of my extra feet in sloted sections for easy to find, put in extra bobbins, needles, sewing machine oil, small screw driver and anything I use on my sewing machine for maintenance or that goes with my machine. I place a small magnet strip inside so when I clean I put all of my tiny screws etc. on that so they don't slip off the table &lose them. I placed my book in the bottom so I don't lose it, and small notebook that I keep track of any settings used in appliques etc or troubleshooting I might need to remember in the future.  I also use a eye make-up brush or a long skinny paint brush ( found in craft section) to clean out all of the lint in my machine cause your able to get back into the machine without taking it apart and picks up more then a regular cleaning brush. This set up makes it portable to carry to class if need to be, easy to find what you need, organized and makes cleaning your machine much easier.

Save your slivers of soap to use for marking diagonal lines (when piecing triangles) or other lines on your quilting.  These lines are easy to remove  and soap slivers are very inexpensive!

To keep my Grabit (magnetic pin cushion) from being pushed off the cutting table, cut rounds of rubberized "fabric" and glue to the bottom of each grabbit.  I used the kind like shelf liners or to use in the bottom of a sink to prevent scratched china.

I love my Grabit - magnetic pincushion, but I was always pushing it off the sewing or cutting table, thus scattering pins all over the place. My solution was to cut a round of rubber webbing (as used in the bottom of the sink or as a

I use the little hangers that come with socks to hang my wallhangings. I just hand tack them to the back of the wallhanging (use what you need to securely hang it) and viola! a inexpensive way to hang them.

While I am piecing a quilt top, I put my blocks up on a design wall and then look at them through a mirror before I sew them together.  By looking at a reflection of the quilt layout, I often see something that I didn't see before and make changes.  Having your design wall opposite a window and viewing the quilt's reflection in the window also works well.

Use those slacks hangers you get when you buy new slacks (the hangers have the spring clips on the ends) to hang cuts of fabrics.  I have a small wire shelf on the wall near my ironing board and I hang my newly pressed pieces of fabric on it with these hangers.  The hangers will allow you to organize your fabrics in a closet by color, too.

Every quilter understands the importance of laying out blocks to check for accuracy and simply to make sure that the overall look is pleasing.  A design wall makes this a snap.  I have two types of design walls that I use.  First, my portable design wall (one I take to classes or use when I travel), is a piece of vinyl table covering fabric with flannel on the back.  I went to a local fabric shop and purchased 2 yards of 60" vinyl fabric.  The backing holds the blocks securely, while the vinyl front allows for the "wall" to be rolled/folded up for transporting without disturbing the block placements.  The "wall" can be attached to a real wall or it can lay on the ground.  (I used to simply buy a vinyl table cloth, but it seems that the flannel on the back has become very thin and does not hold the blocks securely.)

My second design wall is smaller, but works very well.  First, my husband took a piece of thin plywood (48" square) and drilled 3 small holes in the top, about 1 inch down.  While I covered the plywood with a piece of batting (flannel can be used) and made slits corresponding to the drilled holes, my husband put 3 "L" hooks into the top wooden part of a window.  The design wall can easily be put up or taken down as needed, and the curtains and valance cover the "L" hooks.