I love new sewing tools. Obviously there are the ones that wow you and the ones that you know are going to make your task at hand so much easier to accomplish. At the Janome Convention last weekend I found one of both. There were some really great vendors there but these two stuck out.

First, the HoopSisters. I don’t know how many of you like to embroider or quilt but for me the combination of both is a fantastic concept. I have seen many embroidery designs that “quilt” in the hoop but it seems to be the same crazy patch concept in just a little different design. Not Annie and Lynda. I met Annie in the booth and was amazed at the amazingly beautiful quilts they had hanging there. These embroidery designs are available in multiple formats and can be done on any machine. I hope to get my hands on one shortly and start to try it out!

The second vendor was the tool I knew would help make my task at hand easier to accomplish. The Accuquilt. If you’ve seen the BigShot or Cuttlebug for scrapbooking it is the same concept…but with fabric and with dies designed specifically for quilting! Gone are the days (and for me it is literally days upon days) of rotary cutting endless strips and squares and circles (yup! Circles!). The Accuquilt Go! cuts up to 6 layers of fabric at a time. This tool would help immensely with one or two of the projects in my upcoming book so it has been promoted to the top of my “really want for Christmas or my birthday” list.

I’m going to go finish a project and start a new one…I’ll share them tomorrow!