In my mind, dish-aholism and quilting go hand in hand. It’s just a fact of life, a Jane-Austen-ish “truth universally acknowledge”. :) You will see why in the following picture:
I often use dishes to mark my quilts. That Snoopy bowl above is one of the more frequently used. The other one is a 13″ service plate.
Since many of you have many more years of quilting experience than I do, I am curious to know what other household gadgets you have used to mark your quilt for quilting.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ve got to run for now. Take care.
Ivory Spring 
I use loads of dishes, too! And glassware!
Please tell me more
Prescription bottles for small circles, bowls and plates and canned goods have some great shapes.
I agree with all of the above! (Especially Peg) The best part with all of those items, generally, is that there is some type of “handle” to hold it secure during the marking! Absolutely canNOT buy all the gadgets that are out there (no matter that DH thinks I already have!)!-D
I haver used painters tape alot for straight lines, and alot of designs (free) from forest quilting, I love feathers!
I use dishes to mark for my yo-yo’s. And sometimes glassware. I used a glass for my Off the Cuff pincushion.
I use the dishes/med bottles, too. but what I really love to do is make “Caltrate Corners” for after the quilting is done and the quilt is ready to be bound. I use the big lid from my Caltrate bottle to mark the corners on the quilt and then trim off the small 1/2″ excess. The corners are then “almost” square but the poke-y corner part is gone and in its place are gently curved, soft corners. I don’t do this on “judged category” quilts, just my utility quilts. It is simple and everybody loves them.
donna j from kansas
You can add me to the list of quilters who use household items. I’ve used all of the above, along with spools and cans of all sizes. I will look around until I find something, anything, that is suitable to create the shape I want.
I too use dishes & plates, odd shaped things too!
Cups and saucers work for me.
I use dishes also. I also use cookie cutters for motifs.
Oh, I absolutely love Snoopy. Do you remember where you got that great bowl? Fabulous!
Believe it or not, to make a large circle for feather-quilting, I used a 16-inch pizza pan! It worked great! Necessity is the mother of invention.
My favorite is the top off of a new deoderant (the cover under the lid). It is oval shaped and has a little handle on it.
I also use cake bases they are in draw with other templates
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