~ Nifty Notions #2 ~ Clover Fork Pins ~

This week for Nifty Notions #2 I'll be sharing my review of the Clover Fork Pins.  Nifty Notions is not necessarily notions I love but notions I'm reviewing.  Most will be new notions, bought or gifted, some will be pulled from my modest stash of quilting notions.  No matter how they are acquired my review will be honest.  They will be measured by price, ease of use and if they make my quilting easier.  I love that you value my opinion but it's one persons opinion of a product.  Please take the time to use the Google search for more reviews before making the decision on whether or not to add them to your notions stash. 

The Clover Fork Pins were part of a subscription quilting box.  Subscription boxes are tons of fun if you like surprises and don't mind getting fabric and notions you may not like or need.  I cancelled my subscription for those reasons.  I would rather purchase things I really want and need. 

The Clover Fork Pins came in a pretty little blue plastic box.  35 pins per box.  A few months ago I saw a very popular quilter(fabric designer) promoting these pins.  So I was really excited when I found these in my subscription box.

To perform my pin test I pulled a few scraps to make (2) sample 4 patches.  The first 4 patch will have the seams pressed to the side and the other one with the seams pressed open as suggested by the popular quilter mentioned above.

As always, I'm finger pressing. 

The fork pins are a much thicker than the super fine glass head pins I normally use.  The extra bulky pins are a little harder to pierce the fabric.  They also distort the fabrics.  

The bulky pins and distorted fabric caused no issues with sewing.  I decided to get a little wild and crazy by sewing over the pins.  My machine hopped right over the pin with no issues.  The seams match perfectly on the front.

Block 2.

Seams finger pressed open.

Pinned and distorted once again.

For some reason I could not sew over the seam.  This is where the machine came to an abrupt halt.

And this is the result of the sudden stop.  It's not uncommon for this to happen occasionally when I'm piecing on my Brother, so I'm not going to blame the pins.

Once again perfectly aligned seams.

But I can get the perfect seams with the glass head super fine pins.

Here's my thoughts.

1.Cost  

35 pins for about $8 is a little high 

2. Ease of Use   

They were not easy to push through the fabric. 

3. Efficiency  

Nope they didn't improve anything.  It was actually harder to use than my normal pins.

So to be honest I may never use these again. But I'll keep them just encase I find a good use for them.

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

Offer ends February 29, 2020.   Make sure when adding the code to your shopping cart that you click APPLY.  You can see my review of the BladeSaver Thread cutter here.  And the Third hand Binding Folder Clip here.

50% OFF Sweet Sixteen PDF pattern

Sale ends 2-15-2020

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~ Nifty Notions ~ Wool Pressing Mat -vs- Homemade Pressing Mat ~

Pressing fabric in the quilting world has started many debates over the years.  Press the seams to the side or open?  Steam or no steam? Starch or no starch?  Now we have a new topic of Wool mat or ironing board?  So when I received a small wool pressing mat in a monthly subscription box I was excited to finally see what all the rage debate was about.

But before reviewing the wool pressing mat I want to tell you about the new idea for my blog.  As you all know I've never been much of a gadget person.  But this year instead of spending tons of money on fabric that I really don't need I'm going to put that money towards new notions or new to me notions and review them here on my blog.  Not all the notions will be purchased by me some may be sent to me to review.  Free to me does not mean telling you a product is wonderful because it was free.  The product either makes my quilting process easier or it doesn't.  All of my product reviews will be labeled under Nifty Notions in the sidebar of this blog.  I may even at some point include a product review video along with the blog post.  If there is a new or old product you've been curious about and would like for me to review let me know by leaving a comment on any blog post or send me an email at podunkpretties@gmail.com

Okay, Let's get started!  Today I'm testing the Gypsy Quilter Felted Wool Pressing Mat.  This is a small mat measuring 5.5" x 9".  Since it so small it's only good for pressing smaller units or very tiny blocks.

For years I've used a homemade ironing station along with a smaller homemade pressing board for blocks and applique.  The truth be told I rarely use an iron on my fabric after it has been starched and cut.  The heavy starching allows me to finger press everything until the quilt top is complete.  Once I have a quilt top finished it is then pressed with an hot iron without steam.

Both my large and small pressing boards are made the same.  A piece of plywood wrapped in cotton batting.  Then wrapped in aluminum foil and topped with a cotton fabric.   When the cotton fabric starts to look yukky I just add another layer of fabric on top.  Every so often, about 4 or 5 layers of fabric, I'll remove the multiple layers of cotton fabric and start the process all over again.

For this test I'll be pressing HST's that will become pinwheels.  Each seam will be pressed for 5 seconds without steam and with no pressure on the iron. Which means my hand will be removed for the 5 seconds.  I almost never use steam when pressing blocks so I thought it only fair to stay consistent.  Over the years I've learned that steam and over pressing can cause some major issues, so I just don't do it.  I realize some of you always use steam and that's okay.  There are no set rules or quilt police here, I'm just telling you what works best for me.  And to be fair I've used a wool pressing mat before with my quilting friend Judy.  She received one of the larger wool mats for Christmas 2018.  We used steam.  What a mistake!  It smells like a wet barn.😦  For those of you that have never been to the livestock barns at the fair, a wet barn smells like old wet grass and manure.  Yep, no steam is best when using a wool mat.  Well unless you like the smell of a barn.  I've heard from other quilters that the steamy wet barn stink fades over time.

And here we go.  Sewing and pressing 5 seconds each.

They are both coming together nicely.  I'm more worried about whether or not my pinwheel centers will line up correctly.👀

Yah! Perfect centers!  I love pinwheels, so classic and cute.

Everything is looking good back here as well.

Now is the moment of truth.  Does the wool pressed block(on the left) lay flatter?

Lets take a closer look.  Well what do you think?

Now a  little closer.  Well, I can honestly say I don't think the wool pressing mat makes any difference.  I'm sure someone is thinking I should have used steam but again I almost never use steam.  If you decided to use a wool mat and use steam, make sure you cover the mat with fabric.  A hot iron with steam will scorch the wool and leave a residue on your iron. 

I like my homemade pressing boards better.  They aren't stinky, they don't require extra caution to use and the best part is if I scorch it I can recover them or wash the fabric cover.  Now if you really want a wool mat but have been putting it off due to cost, there's an cheaper option.  In several Facebook groups I've read quilters are buying wool saddle pads at a fraction of the cost.  My concern would be the wool might not be as clean and smell a little more.  YUK!  So there's my 2 cents on the wool pressing mat craze.  Hope you found this helpful or at least entertaining.  See you next Friday for another Nifty Notions!

 #woolpressingmat #woolpressingmatreview #niftynotions

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

Offer ends February 29, 2020.   Make sure when adding the code to your shopping cart that you click APPLY.  You can see my review of the BladeSaver Thread cutter here.  And the Third hand Binding Folder Clip here.

50% OFF Sweet Sixteen PDF pattern

sale ends 2-15-2020

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~ A little of This and That ~

Hello Happy Quilting Friends!  I've been working hard in the studio this week.  With all the hard work you would think I'd be posting everyday.  I wanted to but you know how it is, things don't always go as planned. So today I'm going to give you a sneak peak at the different on going projects.  Instead of saving the best for last lets start out with the best first.  Below is a small test block I made yesterday using one flower and 2 leaves from Block 1 of the Home Again BOM by Erin Russek.  You can find all the information about this FREE BOM over at Erin's blog One Piece at a Time.  It may be out of my color pallet but I still love it.  Very Mary Engelbreit-ish, don't you think?

The black background is a little out of my comfort zone.  I'll share with you later in the week why I choose the black.  This little block was made for a tutorial and product review that will be posted on Friday as part of my Nifty Notions series found in the right hand side of this blog.  If you're new to my blog or haven't stopped by in awhile Nifty Notions is where I review new or new to me quilting notion reviews.  When you click on the image in the sidebar it will take you to all Nifty Notions posts from oldest to newest.  This weeks product review on Friday will be Aleene's Ok to Wash It glue.

Earlier in the week I also used Aleene's Ok to Wash It glue for a binding video tutorial.  I wasn't happy with the video when finished.  So I'm debating if I should share the awful thing or not.

Since the binding tutorial didn't go well I decided to make another video for the flower block in the first picture.  And once again I was unhappy with the video.  In both of the failed videos this week I stumble around my words, bumped the camera and can't seem to keep my project in the video.  So if you don't mind poor quality I can share them anyway.  There have been many set backs this week  but that's just a part of quilting and blogging.  Playing in my smallest bits of scrap stash kept the frustration at bay.  I love playing with fabric!  No big surprise there, huh?!  HA!

Taking a break from those frustrating moments in life is one of the keys to happiness.  No matter what is going wrong it's important to let go, find something to take your mind off of the hardship.  Laughter and smiling is the best thing when things go wrong.  If you can't laugh at your problem at least find something to make you smile.  This week I've found great joy in a new internet viral sensation.  A BALANCING BROOM!  Of course it's because the planets are lined up perfectly or the Earth is tilted differently(eye roll)🙄.   Yes it gave me a chuckle.  Who knew a broom could balance on its own?  At first when a friend of mine posted on Facebook his broom standing up like this.  I thought it was another one of his corny magic tricks.  Nope!  I started seeing them everywhere.  People (and by people I mean quilters) balancing their brooms.  So I had to give it try with my broom.  TADA!  I no longer need a kickstand for my ride!

Linking up this post over at Quilt Fabrications for Midweek Makers.  Click here to hop over to Midweek Makers for lots of quilting inspiration!

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~ Nifty Notions #3 ~ Magnetic Pin Cups and Bobbin Clips ~

This week for Nifty Notions I'm review 2 products from Purple Hobbies. Both of these products were sent to me by the Purple Hobbies after I purchased and reviewed their Blade Saver Thread Cutter and their Binding Folder Clip.  I am not getting paid for this review other than receiving them for review.  This will be an honest review of good, bad or indifferent.  While I love that you trust and value my opinion I encourage each you to seek out more opinions and reviews on any products in the Nifty Notions reviews.

Bobbin Clips

Okay onto the first Nifty Notion, the Purple Hobbies Bobbin Clips.  These clips come in several different colors.  You can purchase as many as you need.  Each clip is sold separately.  My clips are for 15 class bobbins.  These will fit many different brands of machines as long as your machine takes a 15 class plastic or metal bobbin.  Brother, Ever Sewn and BabyLock to name a few.  They also come in a larger size to fit Bernina 7 and new 5 series sewing machines.

At first I didn't see the raised portion of the inside of the clips.  This raised part holds the loose end of the thread in place so it doesn't come unwound.  Genius idea!  I can't tell you how many bobbin storage devices I've owned over the years that simply did not work and would become a huge mess of tangled threads.

Now the next cool feature is something I figured out on my own.  The raised portion doesn't work on the bobbins with a small amount of thread on them.  The thread could work loose and become a tangled mess but not with these bobbin clips.

The snug fit of the bobbin in the clip makes it easy to secure the thread by pulling it in between the bobbin and the clip.

Trimming off the tails will keep them out of the way so they won't work loose.

This is the notion drawer for my Brother sewing machine packed full.  All of the clips fit in there perfectly with room to spare.  I've added some of my older metal bobbins for my advanced testing of this product.  After adding a few more notions, I closed the lid and gave her a good shaking and tossing around to see how well the bobbins stayed in place.

Then I dumped them out on the table.  Not one bobbin or thread came loose!

  

Lets take a closer look.  Yep, they are all still nice and tidy.  

I don't use my machine for storage but I thought some of you might so I wanted to let you see how they worked in the small space.  My bobbins are tucked away in the top drawer of my sewing table.  This is much better than my previous bobbin storage method.   

REVIEW RESULTS

1.Cost

 At $1 per bobbin clip they are a bargain.

2. Ease of use

These are easy to use.

 3. Efficiency

They definitely help keep my bobbins organized and tidy.

Magnetic Pin Cups

The second review is the for the Purple Hobbies Magnetic Pin Cups.  They are sold separately and in many colors.  These are designed with the retreat quilter in mind.

Within a couple of seconds I had both of them extended to full size.  This is the size they will be when traveling.

I use many different sized pins while assembling a quilt.  The larger flower head pins I use on my frame quilter.  The smaller ones in the blue pin cup are super fine pins used for assembling the quilt top.  So I filled both pin cups with a few pins.

The little cups easily collapse exposing the pins.  How neat is this?

The lids will never get lost because they screw onto the bottom of the cups!  Very well thought out design.  

Should you knock this onto the floor and the pins go flying out, no worries.  The magnet in the bottom of the pin cup not only helps to keep the pins in the cup it will help pick them up off the floor.

REVIEW RESULTS

1. Cost

Small pin cup $16, Large Pin Cup $20.  This may seem a little high for a storing pins but I think it's worth every penny.  But you can get 20% off with a code at the bottom of this post.

2. Ease of Use

Yes they are easy to assemble and disassemble.

3. Efficiency 

I've never gone to a retreat but I do occasionally sew with a quilty friend or two.  I can't wait to share these new little pin cups with the girls.  They will be easy to pack up and bring with me.

Just a little reminder that you can still get 20% off you entire purchase at The Purple Hobbies website using the code PodunkPretties  

Code is good for the entire 2021 year.   Make sure when adding the code to your shopping cart that you click APPLY.  You can see my review of the BladeSaver Thread cutter here.  And the Third hand Binding Folder Clip here.

50% OFF Sweet Sixteen PDF pattern

expires 2-15-2020

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