This is the basic equipment for patchwork, that I couldn’t do without. The little perspex cuboid rod is known as a ‘quilter’s quarter’: patchwork pieces are joined together with quarter-inch seams, so it and the 2B pencil are used to rule quarter-inch margins on the backs of the pieces. One then pins the pieces, front sides together, and sews along the lines using a simple running stitch (putting in a back stitch about every 6 stitches for extra strength). The other pieces of kit are a cutting board; a long perspex ruler marked in inches and a rotary cutter for cutting strips of fabric (much better than scissors), and a smaller perspex ruler for cutting smaller

pieces, which is easier to handle. One day I’m going to get a bigger cutting board!