If you’re thinking of gifts for quilters, or for yourself, here are a few hints based on either things I’ve found useful or would like to try. (Please note: these are my personal opinions for which I received no compensation of any kind.)
1. Very large square ruler. A friend recommended this, especially for 
squaring up quilts. It’s great! You can buy it here or here, and you can see a tutorial on how to square up a quilt here. The big square ruler is a great help. The largest I’ve found is 20-1/2″ square.
2. Curved ruler. I don’t have one of these yet, but I’m intrigued by Allison’s post showing a ring quilt made using this ruler. Looks like lots more fun than the usual way of making ring quilts! And of course there are many other possibilities for new designs with these curves.
The Quick Curve ruler is available at Connecting Threads, among other places.
And here’s a picture of Allison’s quilt.
This quilt was made by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew
The pattern is Metro Hoops, by Sew Kind of Wonderful, the company that also makes the Quick Curve Ruler. Allison’s review of the quilt pattern and ruler is here.
3. Batting tape. I use this stuff a lot to join scraps of batting. Sometimes I have the piece I need for a quilt, IF ONLY it were a few inches longer. Just use this to add a few inches and you’re good to go. I’ve also joined two fair-sized scraps near the center to make a piece big enough for a quilt. I’ve had absolutely no trouble quilting through this stuff, and it doesn’t feel or look different once the quilt is finished. You can find it here or in many local stores.
4. Finally, no quilt can be made without CHOCOLATE! So be sure to ask for chocolate for the holidays to keep your quilting efforts fueled 😉
P.S.: Here are a couple of things I’ve tried that didn’t work for me. Maybe you’ll have better luck, but I say borrow from somebody else and try before you buy:
This looked like a good idea but it was no better than just holding the rulers together while I cut.
This does help with pin basting, but probably is no better than the spoon I used for years
Zippy Quilts 
Mary, I totally agree that a 20 1/2″ ruler is worth the price. I bought one about a year ago and have found it great for squaring up a quilt top as well as trimming the quilt after quilting. I’ve used it for squaring up pillows and for drawing longer diagonal lines when marking a quilt top. The 20 1/2″ ruler I have is Omnigrid and I found it at a discount on Craftsy.
I haven’t used a curved ruler before but have recently seen some gorgeous quilts from Sew Kind of Wonderful at a quilt show. Take a close look at the quilting on their curve-pieced quilts, it’s extraordinary!!
Maybe I’ll ask Santa for one of these rulers.
Santa can be pretty smart when you specify exactly what you want!
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