Some New Gadgets

I was talking with my friend, Cori, (Crazy Quilt Girl Fabric Shop) 

about some of the things I use all the time when I sew.  

I thought I would share a few of these things with you all.  

I will provide links to her shop if you are interested in purchasing them too.  

I do not receive any compensation for this, 

just her willingness to mail my packages and watch my cats when I go away = )

First up is the amazing Bloc Loc ruler.  

I have the HST rulers in several sizes but find that I use the 2.5" one the most.  

You may remember the Ocean Waves quilt where I am making a BAZILLION HST for each block?  

I would die a thousand deaths 

without the accuracy the Bloc Loc ruler provides me for trimming these units.  

It makes putting the block together 

SO. MUCH. EASIER. 

 Notice I did not say *easy*, just easier. 

 If you want to pick up a Bloc Loc ruler please click HERE.  

I can promise you that you will NOT be sorry!

I used the 3.5" size for the HST on the Chubby Chicks quilt.

Turning mat is also a very valuable tool.  

Use your coupon at JAF and get yourself one of these too!

Another thing that goes hand in hand with making HST is a Clearly Perfect.  

You may have heard me GUSH about these in the past but not understood what I was talking about. 

 I did a video to show you!  

Don't laugh, it's really difficult to sew and film at the same time!

You will have to go to You Tube to view the video as it was too large a file to upload to Blogger.

Click HERE to go to the video I made (you can hear my voice) of how to use the Clearly Perfect.

Please click over and watch it.

It just may change your quilting life forever!

It did mine.

If you want a Clearly Perfect you can click HERE and get one for yourself.  

I forgot to bring mine when I went on my last retreat and I cried!  

Unless your squares are gigantic, you will be able to make HST without drawing on lines.  

I always oversize mine and then use the Bloc Loc rulers to trim them to the correct size.

Next up is the Grabaroo gloves. 

I am in complete LOVE with these gloves and you will be too once you try a pair.  

They are not very expensive and they will give you a level of control that 

you will wonder how you ever lived without!  

They have little gripper things on the fingers.  

You can put them on either hand and there are grippers on BOTH sides.  

So no wrong way to put them on.  

BONUS

Of course the obvious thing to use them for is free motion quilting.  

They work GREAT for that.  

I hear you say, but I don't do FMQ.  

I feel you.  

I don't do it very much either, 

but when I do any quilting these help me move the quilt 

without the usual tension I seem to get in my hands and shoulders when I work.

Do you remember seeing these?

I dropped my feed dogs, put on my applique foot, and my Grabaroo gloves,

 then I free motion stitched around them.  

I call it scribble stitching.  

The control I had using the gloves made such a HUGE difference in my ability to control the lines and in the amount of time it took me to outline each bird.  

I got them all stitched around in one night, PAIN FREE!  

I have some tendonitis in my hands and I get super tense in my shoulders when I FM stitch.  

The gloves make a world of difference.  

My friend, Crazy Quilt Girl is now carrying these in her shop too!  

She has 3 sizes. 

 I think mine are the small (I have pretty small hands).  

You need a pair of these in your life.

  Click HERE to a link for the small, 

HERE for the Medium and 

HERE for the Large.  

She can get Extra Large if you need them just email her.  

If you are unsure of your size message her and ask!  

She is super helpful.  

You can also call her shop from 9am - 5pm EST at 1-866-807-3776. 

 Tell her Mama Spark sent you!

She just got the cutest Binding Babies in this week too.  

They are from Dohicky Designs and they are so cute!  

I am picking one up from her when I get home from vacation to try.  

I think I need the blonde one.  

She has multiple hair colors too.

I will do a review of these when I get mine and can give it a try.  

If you want to see them and order one they can be found by clicking HERE.  

She currently has them on her home page as they are new.

You can see how to use them in this You Tube tutorial by Dohicky Designs. 

 I can't wait to pick one up and give it a try.  

She currently has the large size in stock.  

OK, I guess this is enough information for one post!  

LOL

Sorry for such a long post but I have been wanting to talk about these for awhile now.

I hope you find these things (and my review) helpful.

If you have not checked out Crazy Quilt Girl Fabric Shop,

you are missing out!

Corina is the sweetest and her service is top notch.

She has super fast shipping too.

That crazy woman ships twice a day most days!!!

Enjoy your new tools and let me know if you have any questions.

I am happy to answer any questions or explain things further.

Please, leave your email in your comments.

I have had several comments lately and no way to answer as they are from no-reply people.

This makes me sad!

If you are ever wondering why I never write you back that's why!

Check the comments later and sometimes I reply back on those when I can't find your email.

OK, go forth and try new things!

~XOP~