A few years ago, I came across the next generation of pins—a little bit thicker, but the GLOW in the dark. I am not sure why that was such a big thing, but they came in their own combo pincushion and plastic jar.
Taking on piecing and quilting this past year, I was introduced to flat head pins. I love the length and flatness, but their thickness created quite a bit of lumping in the fabric.
Enter fancy-schmancy French extra fine pins I got at Prairie Quilt last month. These have glass heads and are a svelte .40mm thick. They are perfect for some of the projects I've worked lately. The fact they're 16 cents each is a little scary.
Just the other day, I found an extra fine pin, though a little larger than the French ones for half the price. At 40% off at Hancock's, they're about one-third the cost of the Frenchies, and I think they'll do fine in most fine pin applications.
And I found those flat spring hair clips being repurposed in quilting world as clips that secure folded binding waiting to be tacked or sewn down. They were also another 40% off deal and they worked quite well!
Granted, it doesn't seem like a 'big' thing, but having the right tool for the job is so helpful. Oh, and I came across a contraption called Pintastic (click for YouTube video) by June Tailor, Inc. You dump all your ball head pins into its hopper and turn on the motor and it begins feeding you pins, one at a time, at your fingertips. I think the noise would get on my nerves. I reasonably sure I will not feel compelled to get this. Anyway, Hancock has them for $29, for the time being.
I am very picky about my pins, too! It makes a big difference in time and ease to have a good pin. And I remember thinking "are you kidding??!!" the first time I saw a Pintastic.
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