Nifty Notions #8 Purple Hobbies Binding Wheel

 One day a few weeks ago I was visiting my most loved online quilt shops looking for new to me notions.  As you know I have reviewed several Purple Hobbies products in the last year.  So I decided to pop over to the website to see if there was anything new.   And look what I found.  Isn't it the cutest little Ferris Wheel ever?  Without hesitation it was in my cart and on it's way to Podunk. 

Before the review I want to let you know I don't get paid in anyway to review the Purple Hobbies products.  I don't receive money for you clicking on links.  This is an honest review. 

 Heather of Purple Hobbies has given me a discount code to share with you and that's all I get and really that's not for me it's for you.  You will find the code near the end of this post under Review Results.

  Waiting to use this was so hard but I needed a quilt to put binding on so I had to wait.  Sure I played with it, in and out of the box.  Spinning it, looking at the construction of it.  I even put some odd scrap pieces of binding on it a time or two.  But I didn't cheat.  You will get to see it in use at the sewing machine for the first in todays post and video at the bottom of this post.

Finally the day has arrived.  

My first try loading the Binding Wheel was not successful.  My binding was in a big pile an it caused the binding to pull on the wheel and not flow freely.  So I decided to see if fan folding the binding would help make the loading a little easier.  

Attaching the binding to the wheel is easy after fan folding.  Loading the wheel is easy, just slide it through the slot in the center. 

Notice the binding under the brace at the bottom of the wheel.  This helps to guide the binding as you spin.  

 I should mention I cut my binding 1 3/4" wide then folded it in half.  This is pretty small.  Most bindings are 2.25" or 2.5".  As you can see there's plenty of room for a wider binding.  The instructions state the wheel can hold enough binding for a king size quilt.

And then all I need to do was start spinning.  Using my left and to spin the wheel and my right to guide the binding.  

TADA!  That was fast!  378 inches of binding in less than a minute!

The suggested way to use the Binding Wheel is to set it on the floor.  But I'm going to get a little wild and crazy.  Let's try setting on the table beside the machine.  

It stayed right there the entire time. When I came to the corners of the quilt I would pull out about an extra 18 inches just to be safe.  The wheel never even offered to slide off the table while doing all the shifting and turning of he quilt.  

The wheel spins so freely the slightest little tug and ZOOM, there's more binding ready to be stitched down.  It worked so well I never even tried it on the floor.  But if your tabletop has limited space put it on the floor as suggested.  

1. Cost

$25 - I don't regret my purchase and would buy it again should it somehow break.

  If you use the code PodunkPretties at checkout on the Purple Hobbies website you will receive 20% off your entire cart.  The code expires 12/31/21.  Use it now and/or use it again later in the year. 

2. Ease of Use

Yes, very easy to use.  I was shocked how smoothly the wheel turns.  It made spinning the binding onto the wheel very quick and easy.  I was also pretty amazed that it did not even offer to fall off my sewing table.

3.Efficiency

It took more time to prepare my binding to be put on the quilt.  BUT it made the process of sewing the binding to the quilt much quicker.   No more stepping on the binding or rolling over it with my chair.  No readjusting the binding out of the way.  

Here's a video tutorial for using the Binding Wheel.  As usual, pardon the mishaps and video editing errors.  I'm a one man band and learning.  The video is made for YouTube so there's some information at the being of the video to let new comers get to know me a little.

If you would like to see more of my product reviews click on the Nifty Notions image below or here.  Or in the sidebar of my blog.  This will take you to all the Nifty Notions Reviews starting with the first one to the most current.

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A Box of Surprise and Some Playtime

 Who doesn't love a surprise box of goodies?  I purchased this scrap box of fabric from Daisy Cottage Quilts.  I had no idea what would be in the box.  It was listed as a medium flat rate box of scraps, no fabric pictures were included, just a picture of the box.  But Sharon of Daisy Cottage Quilts plays in my color pallet so I was pretty sure I was going to receive some cute fabric scraps. 

And Sharon did not disappoint.   I was hoping for reds and yellows because they are the colors are use the most and are lacking in my stash right now.  I'm pretty sure I squealed when I saw this print.  I just purchased a FQ of it a couple months ago but I wanted more and now I have it!

As I dug through the box it just kept getting better.  Do you see that?  Pam Kitty prints!   Yes I have these in my stash already but...a gal can never have to many PKM's.  

You can shop her store on Etsy she has a small shop with some yardage, quilt kits and bundles.  

Her Etsy Shop

To get a mystery box you will need to follow her on Instagram.  When she has a de-stash sale she'll let you know when it is and how to purchase.  Word of warning.  She's a very busy woman and sometimes(not all the time) her shipping from Instagram sales takes a week or two to get out the door. But I think it's worth the wait with great de-stash prices.  

Instagram

This is the best scrap box I've ever purchased.  A pretty good amount of low volume prints were included.  The low volume prints will be great for Bonnie Hunter's next mystery quilt in November.   Sharon tossed in one yard of  solid white and 1/2 a yard of a green dot print.  There's a few novelty prints...UGG...but I think they can be incorporated into a Bonnie quilt if I cut them small enough.  You know Bonnie's rule about ugly fabric right?  "If it's still ugly, you just haven't cut it small enough." HA!  Some of my older prints I think would need to be shredded.  HA!

After playing and drooling over my box of goodies for far to long it was time to get busy.  I'm testing and reviewing a new product from Purple Hobbies.  The Binding Wheel review will be posted tomorrow here on my blog and on YouTube. 

Heather from Purple Hobbies is so creative and she loves feedback and ideas for new products.  She offered to make me an affiliate but I declined.   I feel being paid for my opinion would alter my opinion.  Last year she sent me a bunch of products to review.  I received nothing in return other than those products.  When I saw she had this new Binding Wheel I knew I had to try it out, so I ordered it immediately.  This is NOT a free to me product.  I paid full price.(psst...I'll have a discount code for you tomorrow)

If you missed out on my Nifty Notions  reviews click on the image below.  This image with a link is also on the righthand sidebar of my blog.  So you can comeback to my blog anytime and easily find all  the reviews.  

Well it's time to get busy and get some things done because....It's snowing again....YAH!  More playtime outside!⛄❅⛄

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~ Nifty Notions #7 ~ Mini Stash 'n Store REVIEW ~

Today's Nifty Notion is a little item I received in a monthly quilting subscription box a few months ago.  The It's So Emma's Mini Stash 'n Store.

To be honest this is one of those things I would never buy since I tend to lean toward being cheap, practical and more of re-purpose kind of gal.  So it was quickly tucked away in a drawer.  Earlier this week while searching for another forgotten item I stumbled upon The Mini Stash 'n Store  and thought it was time put this little gal to work.  With quick grab of a few items for a photo shoot I was loving how well it held the notions.

Where will I use and what will it replace?   Here's my current little container beside my sewing machine, it holds everything I need and there's room for more.  This green container was a 50 cent thrift store find.  Functional, cute and cheap that's how I roll.

Now I don't have to tell you that all these items are not going to fit in to the Mini Stash 'n Store.  But lets give it a go anyway just for giggles.

To my surprise all but one item fit.  There's even enough room left for a few more items.

The Stash 'n Store seemed a little top heavy so I pushed it a little farther back on the table so it would be supported by the basket.

Sigh....And then this happened when trying to remove the tweezers.  Ugg...This isn't a good fit for the Stash 'n Store.

My next thought was " It can't fall on the floor if it's inside the basket".  I've just the place that she might be of use.  Below is a basket at the end of my cutting table.  At the end of the basket is a coffee mug filled with a little bit of everything. Yes, there are multiples of several items and that is intentional.  If I lose a pen or pencil while designing and taking notes, I just grab another until I clear off the table and expose the other or others.

I think I could make all of this fit in all the little holes of the Stash 'n Store but with each additional item it would over load it and make the items to hard to remove.  It would also make it harder to put the item back in the Stash 'n Store.  I would need to dramatically reduce the amount of items to make the Mini Stash 'n Store work in my basket.  Well that's not going to happen.  Anyway, I really love the yellow coffee mug.  It's another thrift store find for about 50 cents.

Maybe a larger Stash store would better but honestly I think it would take up far more space than my yellow mug and not be as efficient, effective and convenient.   Then I thought maybe this Stash 'n Store is more for looks, a display piece instead of being functional.   It would be really cute in a more modern sewing room on a shelf with some cute little notions that are rarely used sticking out of it.

 I suppose it could be nice to set on the end table when I'm doing hand sewing.  It could hold a small pair of scissors, needles(maybe) and a small spool of thread(not likely).  Nah, it's just not functional in my world.  I like my little bowl with a lid that can be tossed in the end table drawer when not in use. 

As I removed the items from the Stash 'n Store the darn thing came apart!  Is this a design flaw or does it need to come apart for some unknown reason?  Now that it's apart maybe a piece of lead in the bottom would help make it a little more stable.  It's easier and cheaper to stick with my cute little thrift store finds.  This little gal is going to a new home this week.  Maybe my best quilting buddy, Bev, will find it more useful than I.  If not she can pass it along to someone else.

REVIEW RESULTS

1.Cost

 At about $8 each it seems a little over priced to me since it doesn't really do much.  But remember I'm cheap.  

2. Ease of use

Yes it was easy to use.  Just stick whatever will fit in it and hope you can get it out without picking up the whole thing.

 3. Efficiency

No, I feel like this item made reaching for a tool more difficult.

It held the items well, almost to well.  Some items came out fine and others would stick and I would need to use both hands to remove them from the Stash 'n Store.  

Now in defense of this product and any product reviewed here on this blog or anywhere, please take the time to google the product and read other reviews.  This is just one person opinion.  I've many notions and quilting items in my Studio that other quilters find to be inferior but I love them.   

If you would like to see more product reviews here on my blog just click the image below or in the sidebar of this blog to be taken to all Nifty Notions reviews.

Just a little reminder that you can still gt 20% off you entire purchase at The Purple Hobbies website using the code PodunkPrettiesJan20 at checkout.  

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~ Nifty Notions #6 ~ Purple Hobbies Quilt Block Markers ~ WINNER ~

This weeks Nifty Notion is the Purple Hobbies Quilt Block Markers.   These were sent to me by Heather Snow of Purples Hobbies for review.  My review is honest, good or bad.  

So lets get started!  For those of you that like to keep the original packaging for storing your notions and tools you'll love the clear plastic resealable hanging bag.  The letters are in a separate little zip-lock bag.  Both are great for peg board storage.

I felt like the best way to store the markers was right by my sewing machine in my pin cushion.  I took the time to put them in alphabetical order so I could quickly grab the next one needed.  If you look closely you can see pins in my pin cushion with numbers on them.  This was my cheap attempt at marking my quilt rows.  They were functional but hard to see.  The Purple Hobbies Markers are much easier to read.

I realize not everyone has a big pin cushion for these markers.  And every time I show my dresden pin cushion I get tons of request for the pattern.  It was made by me flying by the seat of my pants which means I didn't have a pattern.  But today is your lucky day!  No I didn't write a pattern but I found a FREE pattern that is very similar to mine.  Click here if you would like to make a big dresden pin cushion. 

Okay back to the review.   These are super easy to use.  Big enough to grab easily but they do not interfere with piecing.  And unlike some markers on the market, these can be pinned to the fabric not just lay on top of them.

And would you look at that, I can see them even when I drop them on the floor.  Orange sticks out like a sore thumb in my Studio.  As many of you know I'm not a big fan of orange, so it's the perfect color for not blending into my quilts.  I love them so much I'm planning to purchase a second set for when I need double letters for pattern pieces.

All of the Purple Hobbies Tools are available in several colors.

REVIEW RESULTS

1.Cost

$8.00

 Well since you can use the code below at checkout  for 20% off your entire cart at Purple Hobbies Website.  I think it's a good deal!  And since they are plastic they will last forever.  I've made and replaced several paper markers over the years.

PodunkPretties expires the last day of the year 2021

2. Ease of use

Very easy to use and easy to find when dropped on the floor.

 3. Efficiency

Yes these markers cut the time off the time it takes to construct a quilt.  They made the organizing of the pieces and blocks much easier.

If you would like to see more Nifty Notions reviews click the image below or in the sidebar of this blog. 

Okay now let get to that winner from last weeks Giveaway.  

Congratulations! to Brenda who commented here on my blog.  Brenda I'll be sending you an email.

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