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Christmas Gift for someone that sews and quilts.

noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
in Help / Advice Forum
Hey folks,

I'm participating in an Office exchange this year, and the person I got is really into sewing, quilting, and general crafty affairs. That's honestly the ONLY thing I know about her, so I'm trying to find a good gift. Something around the 20 dollar marks that isn't just a new pair of sewing needles.

So umm, help?

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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    You could probably find out their favorite animal and get a pincushion of that and assorted things fitting that theme?

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    A really nice pair of scissors. Really.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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    see317see317 Registered User regular
    Do you have any fabric stores nearby? You could get a stack of fabric squares for quilting, maybe a book of quilting patterns depending on cost.

    Another vote for some good scissors too. Cutting through stacks of fabric can dull scissors like you would not believe.

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    ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Even just cutting through thread. There is a huge difference.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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    CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    edited December 2013
    noir_blood wrote: »
    Hey folks,

    I'm participating in an Office exchange this year, and the person I got is really into sewing, quilting, and general crafty affairs. That's honestly the ONLY thing I know about her, so I'm trying to find a good gift. Something around the 20 dollar marks that isn't just a new pair of sewing needles.

    So umm, help?

    This is kind of a cool thing for sewing and crafting, particularly handsewing.

    Edit: And yeah, nice, new sharp scissors are good too.

    Cambiata on
    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
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    BelruelBelruel NARUTO FUCKS Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    noir_blood wrote: »
    Hey folks,

    I'm participating in an Office exchange this year, and the person I got is really into sewing, quilting, and general crafty affairs. That's honestly the ONLY thing I know about her, so I'm trying to find a good gift. Something around the 20 dollar marks that isn't just a new pair of sewing needles.

    So umm, help?

    This is kind of a cool thing for sewing and crafting, particularly handsewing.

    Edit: And yeah, nice, new sharp scissors are good too.

    Third hands can be super useful, I don't know what I would use one for in quilting, but I bet there is a use.

    I own what looks like that exact model, actually. If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, I bought mine there for about $3.

    These kinds of mats are always damn useful, if you go to buy anything at Joann's fabrics, make sure to grab a coupon first. They have a 50% off one item one on their website right now.

    Giftcards to a store like Joann's (if you have one nearby) are always good because then she can go buy her own fabric, another pair of good scissors is always welcome and loved, a set of nice new pins in a magnetic case or with a wrist pin-cushion.

    Silk pins
    magnetic pin holder
    You could get her this, and I'd say to get her a set of bobbins too, but I don't know what sewing machine she uses, and I think that might matter?

    Rotary cutters are also a freaking godsend when you are quilting.

    A 12"x12" square acrylic ruler is really useful for quilting too.

    There are also things like quilting calendars.

    Whatever you get her, make sure to include a gift receipt as well; she might well own whatever you get her already, or it might not work for her.

    vmn6rftb232b.png
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    UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    A really nice pair of scissors. Really.

    AGREE

    However, this is sort of a personal preference thing as different sizes and shapes of shears have different purposes, and will fit their hand differently (and good shears are ~$40-50)

    So...gift certificate? Or maybe a small pair for snipping threads?

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    ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    You can get super awesome thread scissors for $10-15. My mom quilts pretty seriously and they're a must for her. Also handy for people who sew on the go: they make necklace charms with tiny gaps in them that contain a small blade that you can take on airplanes, or just if you're out and don't want to worry about losing nice scissors. My mom had one of those too.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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    tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    @noir_blood, are you still in the NYC area?
    If so, I'd also recommend http://www.purlsoho.com -- they have a shop in Soho and the ladies who work there are super helpful with regards to sewing stuff (they're a hybrid knitting/quilting shop, they should have some classy small-gift things)

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    ihmmyihmmy Registered User regular
    I bought myself something like this (minus the lanyard) and honestly it has made sewing soooo much easier ot deal with. Try just going into a fabric/quilting store and perusing their aisles - our local semi-terrible one still has some ridiculously cute knick knacks for not too much money

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    HollerHoller Registered User regular
    tapeslinger wrote: »
    @noir_blood, are you still in the NYC area?
    If so, I'd also recommend http://www.purlsoho.com -- they have a shop in Soho and the ladies who work there are super helpful with regards to sewing stuff (they're a hybrid knitting/quilting shop, they should have some classy small-gift things)

    I clicked this thread pretty much just to say Purl Soho, I'm glad someone beat me to it !

    My other suggestions is Makoto Oozu cross stitch books, I think this is the only one in English. They're definitely A Certain Aesthetic, though, so if she isn't youngish/nerdyish/doesn't have kids/doesn't like dinosaurs and robots, she may or may not be into it.

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    HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    My wife and mother are avid quilters, and the best thing I can recommend is to go to a fabric store and pick out a selection of fat quarters, which are 18" x 22" blocks (it's a quarter of a yard of fabric, which is 44" wide). Make sure you get 100% cotton fabric, and don't buy cheap fabrics. Cheap fabrics are low in thread count and/or quality, so the don't hold up well and they tend to stretch when quilting (which ruins a quilt).

    The easiest to utilize fabrics are what they call Batik fabrics, which are textured fabrics without a specific pattern. They will look kind of tie dyed. The mix of colors make them easy to integrate into a quilt. You should be able to pick out between eight and a dozen Batik fat quarters for around $20, and most fabric stores will have bundles of quality fat quarters ready to sell.

    Other alternatives are high quality quilting rulers (generally made from a thick, clear plastic) or quilting stencils (from the same plastic).

    The scissors are a good idea, but if she's an avid quilter, she probably already has a high quality pair (or two).

    Don't buy needles, because they are specific to the sewing machine and very few people do hand quilting as it's extremely time consuming. I also don't recommend buying quilting books for either art or patterns, because both depend on the style of quilting the person prefers.

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    ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Really? My mom only does hand-quilting.

    But yeah, needles are not a great idea.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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