My 'tools of the trade'

Well, maybe not quite 'trade', but these are the things I use when hand quilting.

 The main thing that I need is a really good pair of glasses. I debated on getting a new pair because my older ones were okay, BUT it was getting harder to see cross stitch and quilting lines with my other pair. Now, I'm fine.

The other things in this photo are the brown pencil crayon that I use to draw around different shapes to quilt (the stars in the beige area.) Also, there is a clear 6" ruler that I use not for measuring but I use the edge as a guide to draw a straight line for quilting. I use the width too.

My homemade, handmade quilt templates using cereal boxes or whatever cardboard I have around.

Another ruler. I do use masking tape for straight line quilting but at the moment neither my husband nor I know where they are hiding. You can also see the yellow pencil crayon that I use to mark on the red or brown. The three spools are all various brands of quilting thread. My favourite is Coats and Clark because of the stiffness it has. The beige one that I am using a lot of on this quilt is by Mettler and feels more like regular sewing thread. No stiffness but I guess it's a tad heavier than regular weight. I'm sure the only reason I have it is that I needed that particular colour. The brown is by Talon. Don't know where I picked it up but I have had it for a long time. It's stiff like the Coats and not bad to work with at all.

More quilting threads, my thimble and the eraser - just in case I goof up in the marking. I won't be using the yellow or the off white in this quilt but when I started, I just grabbed what I thought I might use.

Here they all are, on top of the quilt. This photo was taken first thing this morning. As you can see, there have been a couple of turns taken on the quilt - two from each end. So, I could work on the two borders that are left or start to work on the centre part. It usually depends on which chair my kitty is sleeping on but at the moment, she is upstairs on one of the beds so I have my pick of sides.

Just to show you what I used the ruler for and the star quilt template.

While working on the border I looked over and then decided to take a photo. It's not a quilt until it's quilted and I just love the way the sewing of the three layers brings out the quilting.

See you later, I'm off to get more done on this.