Quilting tools

Do you have some quilting tools you can't do without? I'm not much for gadgets. They have to really help me do something better or I won't use them. Some seem to slow me down. For example....

I know a lot of folks love using the binding clips. I bought these recently (are they not exactly like little girl hair barrettes?!). At first I thought they were great, but they really slowed me down. I don't pin my bindings but use my left thumb to turn it up as I stitch with my right hand. Nope. They are not for me. One thing I like to do for bindings is keep my little recycled zip bag full of everything I need -- needles, hand quilting thread, scissors, thimble, reading glasses. When I'm ready to bind, I just grab it and go.

These were an investment ($$$). They are leader clips. Pinning a quilt onto a long arm machine takes about an hour. With these, you place the fabric over the hard plastic dowel that has been inserted into the leader fabric. Then snap on the top. The verdict is still out but I do know they are not good for a quilt that has no border, or a border you want to quilt to the edge. Ok for loading the backing but I probably won't use them on the top again. On this quilt I had a two inch border that I wanted to quilt to the edge. They took up about 3/4" of my two inch border.
This jewel, I love....It is a silicone lint roller. Got it at the quilt show in Chattanooga. It came with three sizes -pocket, regular, and this big boy. Great for picking up all the little threads that attach themselves to us quilters and our work space. The only draw back is after you rinse it in hot water to release the junk it picked up, then you have to dispose of the water, preferably not in the sink unless you also use a drain to catch the threads.

I went out on a limb and tried a McTavishing type filler on my shadow quilt. I think it is much easier than stippling and looks "fancier." It really wasn't hard. The key is using matching thread to the fabric. On the back (Orange) it looks quite messy but on the front, beautiful. I worked all day yesterday on this. The filler took 9 bobbins of thread and today my arms and shoulders are sore.

So, what are your favorite tools of the trade?

(by the way, I've updated my running under its tab, and added a new wonderful recipe under the recipe tab)