Fantastic Gifts for Quilters: The Notions

Every year, I have friends and family members ask what great new tool, tried and true quilting book, or fantastic pair of scissors they should give their mom/friend/sister/co-worker who likes to sew. This year, I thought I would do a quick roundup of fantastic gifts for quilters [Do people ever ask you what you want for the holidays, or your birthday? Go ahead and send them this Fantastic Gifts for Quilters series: the Notions, the Fabric, and the Books :)].  And yes, non-quilters who like to sew would like most of these things, too!Note: These are all products I have in my sewing room--tried and tested!p.s. Did you know you can give a gift subscription to Pattern Drop? A year's worth of patterns, quilt alongs, and sewing awesomeness.p.p.s. I don't have these Tula Pink snips, but they look amazing!Seam Rippers: My seam rippers are my best friend--I use 2 regularly. One is the super sharp Clover Seam Ripper, the other is a surgical blade made by Havel. Happily, it works well on serged seams, and paper piecing gone awry.

Basic Rulers: I have a few different rulers that I like--I've listed them below. I recommend having 3 basic rulers--a 6.5'' x 6.6'' square, a 5'' x 24'' or 6'' x 24'', and a 12'' x 12'' [or larger!] square. Note: If you or a child drops the large square rulers, they will shatter.

Specialty Rulers: I am a big fan of Bloc-Loc rulers--I wrote a blog post a few years ago if you are interested in seeing how they work.

Recently, Amy Smart introduced me to this fantastic Quilt in A Day ruler, used to quickly square up half square triangles--I went and bought 2 (one for me, one for a friend) the next day, and have already used mine.

Scissors: Olfa Precision Smooth Edge Scissors -- I received a pair of these years ago at Sewing Summit from Olfa by way of Jennifer Mathis @ellisonlane and have purchased 3 or 4 more over the years. Two for my pegboard, one for my handwork bin, and one for my "sewing on the go" pouch [the Sew Together Bag, made for me as a gift, pattern here].

Rotary Cutters: Most quilters own at least one rotary cutter [I like the quick change blade]--I also like having a 28'' mm cutter! You can find them in a few colors at your local quilt shop, too!Pins: I have a ton of different kinds of pins. These extra fine, glass head pins are my favorite!  Sometimes @mybricole has beautiful wood and felt pincushions for sale (like the one in the picture at the top of the post!) Follow along to find out when they are available.Basting Pins: These are my favorites--I haven't used anything else for years. They are pretty small, and super sharp, and don't hurt your fingers when you close 100 or 200 of them in a sitting. Yay!Tools for Marking Quilts: Need to mark a quilt top but are worried about pens not actually being water soluble? I use a Clover hera marker. It puts a crease in the fabric, and works like a charm. They also have a 2 sided Hera Marker/Point turner, that I have and recommend.Seam Roller: Did you see the seam roller in the photo? Violet Craft sells one, and so do lots of other people. Seam rollers are great for when you are paper piecing--you can roll the seam instead of getting up to iron every other minute!Thread: Thread is a must! I actually have and sew with tons of different kind and brands of thread. Sometimes a project calls for a particular kind (never do cross hatch quilting with fine thread, I learned the hard way), or my one of my machines likes a certain kind better than others. Find what you like, and what works best for you. I like this Aurifil thread, check out the colors of this Wonderfil thread [above], and use Guterman thread a lot. The Cotton and Steel thread is supposed to be fantastic--they definitely win for branding, too.Zippers: I buy my zippers through Zipper Express--great colors, a few different sizes, super inexpensive, and free shipping! Some of these are affiliate links--that means I make a small commission if you purchase something from a link. Aka, a little bit of cash for the Christmas lego fund ;)