You are excited! You’ve been waiting months for this workshop. You paid your money before the deadline, and have spent hours and hours on choosing your fabrics for this project. You’ve sent the kids off on a play date, organised a meal for tonight and turned your cell phone off (not even to silent!).

You arrive 25 minutes early, because you want to organise yourself before the tutor arrives. You set up your machine with the right colored thread and feet. You have all your tools ready on a tray, as if you were performing an apendemoctomy. (My word, no-one else’s!). Your fabrics and pressed and in color order. You are ready!!

In floats the tutor, flourishing instructions with both words and hands. At last the workshop begins. BUT you realise you’ve left your favourite pins at home. No worry, you’ll manage with the long bulky ones. Then you look for your fine cutting scissors that are required for the tiny clipping you need to make. Darn, left them at home. You will have to manage with the dressmakers shears that can cut a yard in one wild snip.

Ok, so you get my drift. It’s easy to forget tools, when preparing for a workshop. Over the years I have developed a Checklist for Workshops. It is this list that I use when attending workshops as a student and also when I’m writing up Requirements Lists as a Tutor. Stick this list to the inside of your machine bag, or somewhere safe where you can access it as you’re packing. It may save some tears some day!

¼” foot for accurate seam allowances
Applique pins
Beads
Bias Bars
Cardboard
Chennille Needle
Coloured Pencils
Cotton Threads for hand sewing
Cotton Threads to match fabrics
Cushion approx 16” x 16” (for bringing your handwork closer to you, and stops neck strain).
Cutting Board
Dressmakers Carbon Paper
Document Holder with Plastic Inserts
Embroidery Sharp Needles
Embroidery threads to match fabrics
Fine Applique Pins (about 1” long, white head)
Fine fabric scissors
Flower Pins
Free motion foot for free motion quilting
Graph Paper
Hand Sewing needles (No.12 Peacemakers)
Large fabric scissors
Large paper scissors
Masking Tape
Non Bleeding Biro or Pen
Notebook
Paper Clips
Pen or biro
Pigma Pen
Plastic Zip Lock bags
Quick Un Picker
Quilters Ruler (12” x 6½” and 24” x 6½”
Rotary Cutter
Ruby Beholder
Sewing Machine in good working order
Sewing Machine foot pedal
Sewing Machine Power cord
Sewing Machine manual
Sewing Pins
Sharp Pencil (Mechanical or Pacer)
Small paper scissors
Spare machine bobbins
Spare machine needles
Spray Starch
Sticky tape
Sulky Pen
Tape Measure
Tear-Away
Teflon Ironing Mat
Templastic (Graphed)
Templastic (Plain)
Templastic Marker
Thimble
Transfer Pen
UHT Glue stick
Vanishing Marking Pen
Vilene – lightweight
Vliesofix
Walking foot for straight line quilting


Click here to download a Workshop Checklist