Hi everyone - I have just spent about 15 minutes of pure pleasure reading these posts!!!! And LAUGHING!!!! I feel SO MUCH BETTER about all the crap (Creative Resources And Products) I've bought! Let's see .... the Flynn frame - just eventually threw it out. The Fabric Motion mover thing - gave it away, I think. The "ergonomic" rotary cutter by Martelli - nothing ergonomic about it for me! Rulers galore. Books that I've purchased ... TWICE ... because they put on a new cover!!!!! Pins that are so thick you could tenderize meat with them!!!! Etc., etc., etc.
Now, for what I DO like - I do like the Accuquilt. I think it takes some practice, and as for the "waste," I keep most of that and make fun quilts where I just sew all sorts of strips together and turn them into houses, for example. The turning mat - I LOVE! I have the Olfa, the smaller one (sort of wish I had gotten the bigger one ... but I won't! !!!!!). It is great for squaring up blocks. And I LOVE EQ - it is a fantastic program. Quilting University online offers classes in it. They are helpful, but I think it is mostly a question of getting familiar with the program. I do have FLORIANI software, and they DO do free updates - I think it is worth it if you enjoy embroidery because you will never fall short.
Phew!!!!!!
Jil / Chicago area

I honestly don't have any bad purchases. I'll tell you something I absolutely love so much that I have bought these items for my friend. Martelli's non-slip strip ruler and their ergonomically correct rotary cutter. This 24" x 6" Strip Ruler allows you to cut accurate strips in multiple widths. You can cut bindings, borders, or strips for many quilt patterns like the Log Cabin. Works only with their Ergo Rotary Cutter. Size of Strips 1/2 to 5 1/4, 1/2", 3/4", 1 5/8", 2 1/4", 2 1/2", 2 5/8", 3", 3 1/4. They carry cutters for right and left handed quilters. I no longer strips cut the wrong size and no more "V's." These are excellent quilter tools.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]383944[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]383945[/ATTACH]

I wouldn't consider them a waste of money if you love to relax looking at them. I'd call them a cheap form of therapy.
That being said, I am cancelling two of my quilting mags. to cut down on the clutter around here. Only keeping my favorites.

thanks for that tip - will try it!

I love my AccuQuilt Go. One of my best investments. I don't use it often but when I do it is a time saver and I love the accuracy of the cuts. I buy my blades at Harbor Freight. For less than a dollar a blade I believe I have had only one bad blade. As for books, unless I am taking a class that requires a purchase I check them out from my library. You would be amazed at the selection. Some include the pattern templates. I have made several Amy Butler bags. If I need I just renew my check out or request it again. I have EQ6 upgraded to EQ7 and love it. I did download Rhonda's lessons and am working my way through them. I love importing fabric lines from Moda to create my quilts. Usually if I hate something it is user error. I do like the feedback here and will consider my purchases in the future.

Then I must be a brain surgeon - I love mine. I'm math challenged.

Yes, you do just rub it over the stencil. I recently used mine to mark placement of applique when I needed four BIG blocks all the same. Only drawback I see is that it brushes off rather quickly. If I were doing a large quilt I would only do a small portion at a time.

You know, after reading all these comments, I am amazed at how many of these "duds" I've bought myself! Call me "sucker"!

As mentioned previously - mine is rulers I keep on using the same one yet have a vast collection and marking pens

Fortunately I haven't made any really pricey boo-boos. I've never been to a quilt show so have yet to fall prey to the old "they made it look so easy" schtick. One thing I bought was a specialty foot to sew circles and flowers. I used it once. It's now in its box pushed to the back of a drawer where there is a knothole in the wood. It works very nicely to keep other things from falling out of the drawer. It cost less than $20, so no huge loss. I do spend money on books that I never actually make quilts from, but I always buy them cheap and if they even inspire me, then they have served their purpose. Nowadays I do tend to buy more books that actually teach techniques than those that are just collections of patterns. One other thing that turned out to be not so hot was some kind of ergonomic rotary cutter my DH bought for me. It was made by True Cut and was supposed to be designed for folks with carpal tunnel. But the way my hand fits over the cutter makes it almost impossible to see what I'm cutting and the angle was awkward so I would up having to press down a lot harder to get it to cut, which just made my wrists hurt in other places. It's hanging on a hook in my sewing room gathering dust.

I am curious which kind of rotary blade sharpeners have gotten the most complaints. I bought one years ago that is a hassle to use because you have to take the blade out of the cutter, sharpen it, then reassemble the cutter before you can test to see if its sharpened enough. If you have to do this several times before you get it sharp enough, it's a royal pain. And it only works on 45mm blades, the one I use most is a 65mm. Again it was not terribly expensive so no great loss. Then a few months ago I bought a linear sharpener from the Grace Company that works on any size blade and virtually any brand of cutter. I absolutely love it. You leave the blade in the cutter to sharpen it. It now sits on my table right next to my cutting mat and I use it all the time when my blade starts to get a little dull. It won't make a blade last forever, but it sure extends their useful life!