Five Favorite Things

Five favorite things for hand quilting. Assorted (there are more favorites hiding in that pretty box where I stash my hand quilting tools and current project threads) and in no particular order:

1. I am not about to waste my hand quilting doing "stitch in the ditch" nobody's going to notice it's not machine quilted. However some quilts really cry out to be quilted along the seam lines of the blocks. Thus my love of Quilter's quarter inch tape. Run a piece along the seam, stitch on the other side -- past the bulk of the seam allowance and out where you can see it but still in a straight line. (I can usually repostioin the tape three or four times before it gets too much lint and doesn't stick very well anymore.)
2. Now, See how worn my old leather and coin thimble is? I finally had to get myself that new one I love these, I never could get used to a regular solid thimble but I wouldn't want to be with out my leather one.
3. That round thingy is actually a pendant (if you want) thread cutter. I usually stand mine in the hole at the top of my spool of thread to be handy. AND these are not banned on airplanes -- at least, they weren't banned the last time I flew.
4. Beeswax . Some threads come prewaxed but many don't. The difference is remarkable, waxing even made hand quilting with metallic threads easier!
5. New Skin may not seem like a quilting tool but I can never get used to having a thimble on the under-hand (I need to feel the needle as soon as it comes through to get those "small" "even" stitches right). So I apply a layer or two of New Skin to the tips of my fingers before I start quilting and I can still feel the fabric without bleeding on the quilt.