Quilt Something Exciting!!!

As I sit here trying to put off quilting a monster big quilt, I was thinking of how nice it is when the quilting machine is all blown out and oiled and ready to go for the day. It's so nice to be able to just jump right in and start. Isn't it fun when the quilt has already been attached to the frame the night before? When I'm sooo tired and ready to stop for the night, I think of how just 10 minutes would get the next quilt on the frame and make it so that I can start quilting right off in the morning. So, I put on my headphones, turn on the 'book' to listen to, and get that quilt on the frame.

Now, I've decided to tell everyone what some of my best quilting 'tools' are. My favorite tool is my Quilting Apron. I like an apron that covers my whole shirt and doesn't hang around my neck. So, I like an apron with shoulders that ties in the back, or one that slips over my head and ties up on the sides. It protects my nice shirts and dresses so that they don't get dirt and oil and snags from the pins when I lean on my quilt or frame. The apron has to have BIG pockets, to hold my other favorite tools. What tools go into pockets? Well, I couldn't live without my long tweezers. These are some that I took from my serger, and are so handy when I have to thread the needle over and over. And I love the 'hemostats' that I got from the emergency room when my son needed stitches in his finger. These are great when you have to unpick and entire row of a quilt! I grab the top thread with the hemostats, and tug on it, bringing the bobbin thread up. Then I use the seam ripper with my other hand, and gently cut the bobbin threads. Over and over, but if the top thread doesn't break while I'm pulling it, then the unpicking is so much faster. I have to have lip salve in a pocket. Quilting is a hard job, and I want to be comfortable. I keep a pair of small nail clippers in there, too, for when I get a hangnail. In the other pocket, I keep my invisible pen (which sometimes loses it's cap and turns my pocket dark purple. But, hey! It disappears! I keep a few tissues in one pocket to wipe the oil from underneath the quilting machine and also clean off the needle area, for quilts that have lots of lint. And my all time can't-live-without-tool: My Scissor Retractor! It clips on the neckline of my apron, and I always keep a pair of those little elementary school scissors there. The brightest ones that I can find (because bright colors make me happy.) I find that they're sharp enough to cut the thread easily, but dull enough that they NEVER cut the fabric on the quilt. And I don't lose them. They're always around my neck.

I get so used to wearing my apron when I work that I'm always dropping 'important' things in the pockets. Coins that I find on the floor, bobbypins, important papers (like checks), my cell phone, and notes from the kids. I have to empty the pockets quite often, as I feel as if I'm a child collecting rocks. The apron seems to get heavier and heavier, and it's amazing how much lint and dirt the pockets collect. I love the apron because I can throw it in the wash. It reminds me of my mother, because I can remember her wearing a house dress and an apron to cover it when I was a child. I could have a dozen aprons. My daughters are great to make me surprise aprons for holidays. Isn't it fun to get a practical gift that you love and you didn't have to make for yourself? EVERYONE should get themselves a quilting apron!