Good Tools

Happy Monday!

Over the weekend I was working on preparing my blocks for the guild quilt challenge.  I'm not even sewing the blocks...I'm just cutting fabric and preparing to snowball a lot of pieces.  But once this preliminary work is done, the blocks will be easily sewn.

All that got me to thinking...what is YOUR favorite sewing tool?  I know I probably asked you that before but hey, I'm old and I can't remember. 😄  Besides there are so many new tools these days.  Maybe you know of some that would help the rest of us!

"Make sure that you always have the right tools for the job.  It's no use trying to eat a steak with a teaspoon, and a straw."

--Anthony T. Hincks

Today I will feature two of my favorite tools.  The first is the rotary cutter.  I prefer the ergonomic rotary cutter from OLFA.

Now until I wrote this article, I always thought OLFA was a Scandinavian company.  I'm not even sure why but that is what I assumed.  OLFA is actually a Japanese company and hey--get this--the company that invented the rotary cutter!

This tool was invented in 1979 by Mr. Y. Okada according to the OLFA website.  It was actually invented for garment sewing but quickly adopted by quilters.  We know a good thing when we see it!

🔴🔴🔴

My other favorite tool is the FriXion pen.  And guess what? This also came from a Japanese company!  Pilot is actually a Japanese stationary company.  The company invented the FriXion pen in 2006 and it hit the market in 2007.  I love this pen for embroidery but also for quilt techniques that rely on a drawn line (half squared triangles and snowball blocks).

The ink is erased after using a steam iron on it.  I have used this pen for years and never had a problem with the ink remaining or reappearing.

What are your favorite tools?

Have a safe and happy day!