How many quilting gadgets have you purchased and not used?

**homesteadmamma** · 02-12-2004, 01:37 PM

It never seizes to amaze me all the gadgets they have brought out for quilters. I just keep shaking my head, because someone is making HUGE $$ and seldom do you use everything to purchase.

I wish I had know when I first started quilting you didn't need everything the quilting instructor said you did. She was promoting items of course from her quilting shop.

I promise though, for everything you purchase, you'll end up using only a 1/4 of it if you buy every gadget they have.

I was in a material store last weekend and I could believe what they've got now. Someone is making huge $$ on the backs of quilters.

All the extra gadgets I purchased (and I can't even remember half of them) I packaged up and gave to my sil or sent to other quilters.

A few though were:

~a grip handle for a ruler
~sandpaper pieces for the bottom of the ruler
~rulers and triangle rulers (I use my 6 x 12, 6 x 24 and my 15 x 15 the most). The triangle rulers I gave to goodwill
~a thingie for applique (don't have a clue as to the name)
~3 different sizes rotary tools (I only use one now)
~quilting books (Most books are pretty much the same. I found that out after purchasing about 25 books).
~quilting magazines (there the same as books, so many have the same stuff)
~2 smaller cutting mats which I was told I would absolutely need

Quilting is expensive without all the tools and gadgets. When you begin to add up the price of all the gadgets they tell you that you need, it can become so expensive that the average person quits because they feel they can't afford it no longer. I get so discouraged when I see or hear that, because I know how little you really need to quilt and quilt beautifully.

**lacyj** · 02-12-2004, 06:03 PM

I got one of those cloth thimbles, can't use it...I just quilt, till it hurts and then stop for awhile...ha

**Kimmomo3** · 02-12-2004, 06:34 PM

leather thimble- can't use it
plastic quilting pattern thing - I still think I will use it
my small iron, I just use my regular one, may be when I try a more intricet(sp?) pattern it will come in handy
fusible web - I think I am gonna water color quilt but I dought I will any time soon

**homesteadmamma** · 02-12-2004, 06:42 PM

How could I forget that leather thimble. For that I paid an unreal amout of money and could barely get it on my finger, never mind use it. It went out with the garbage that one.

Kim, I have some of that fusible web stuff too. I was going to do a farm picture. That was over 3 years ago.

**milach** · 02-13-2004, 09:07 AM

As a beginner, I've just been buying as I go along and so far, I've been using everything I have. But I know what you mean, it would cost a fortune to buy one of everything on the shelf!

**mrscornbread** · 02-13-2004, 09:10 AM

I bought my cutting mat and rotary cutter, although I did cut some of the pieces in the tutorial, I didn't get it finsihed. It is my dream to become a great quilter, but I just have too much on my plate I guess. My quilting stuff is one of the clutter stuff that is taking up room in my bedroom, but even tho it is not done, I get enjoyment knowing that it is just waiting patiently for me to get time!

**SewCrafty** · 02-13-2004, 11:57 AM

I think the only gadget I bought and didn't use is the leather thimble too!

**Katybird** · 02-13-2004, 01:55 PM

Another vote for the leather thimble here. It looks so great in theory but I could not use it at all. I also have bought some fancy smancy rulers that were pretty useless, I ended up donating them to the ladies at the senior citizens quilting guild. I doubt they had much use for them either but I thought maybe someone with more experience than me could figure out how to use them reasonably.