Win- Win, Win-Win... Win!

I must be one of the least gadget-y people on the face of this earth. Honestly. I didn't even own a seam ripper until one came with my Bernina two years ago. Quilters are shocked to learn I use the same ruler for everything: 6-1/2" x 24" with 30°, 45° and 60° markings. (What else do you need?! :) There is one thing in my sewing studio which I swear by however, and would not want to be without: a teflon slider sheet for quilting. This sheet is placed on the bed of the machine to help reduce friction in free motion quilting. Being able to move the quilt sandwich freely helps greatly in achieving smooth stitches, and I want my stitching to be the best it can. For several years I have used a Supreme Slider which now is looking pretty ratty; I decided to treat myself to a new one. In the course of Googling the product, I stumbled across something called The Sew Slip II. It is similar to the Supreme Slider in what it does, but it does it oh so much better! For starters, you can see the Sew Slip II sheet is larger, 12" x 18" compared to 8 " x 11" for the Supreme Slider. That allows more of your quilt to easily slide around.
There are larger sizes of the Supreme Slider available...but at a correspondingly larger price (significantly more than the Sew Slip II.) One of the issues I have had with the Supreme Slider is that even though it is supposed to stay in place on its own, it doesn't. I have sewn through the sheet several times as you can see in the picture below. To hold it in place, I have had to tape it securely around all edges.
The Sew Slip II clings to the bed of the machine, no tape required. It isn't glue on the back of the sheet, but it feels tacky. This is the shiny back of the sheet.
The absolutely best thing about this Sew Slip II is the centre opening for the needle. My previous sheet had a small opening which covered the feed dogs but allowed the thread to pass through for stitching. This meant that when I switched back and forth between free motion and guided quilting (i.e. walking foot) - which I do often - I had to take my quilt off the machine, untape the sheet, remove it, pop the feed dogs up for stitching, take the quilt off the machine, and then tape the S. Slider back in place again to continue the free motion. The opening on the Sew Slip II was designed to accommodate the feed dogs, which means you can put this sheet in place and leave it there for all your stitching. BRILLIANT!!
It's a perfect fit. My feed dogs can move up and down as required.
Me being me, I went to the Sew Slip website for more information, and then emailed the company with even more questions. (I ask a lot of questions.) Nancy Hepp, the owner of Sew Slip, responded promptly and over the course of several emails very kindly and enthusiastically answered all my queries. I learned the sheet is extremely durable and may be cut with scissors (not your good ones!) to any size. It rolls up for storage and may be ironed if you like (it is Teflon, afterall). Nancy recommends occasionally rinsing it under running water to clear any loose threads...(or stray cat hairs... Polly!!) She also mentions you can pop it in your dishwasher for a thorough cleaning (now that's the easy kind of cleaning I'm into :)
In Canada, the Sew Slip II will be available very soon at the Covered Bridge Quiltery in Riverview, New Brunswick. If you email the shop, I'm sure they will be pleased to let you know when the order is expected.
As noted in the heading, everything about the Sew Slip II is win-win: it is larger, cheaper, stickier and more convenient to use. That takes care of 4 of the heading "wins" but there were 5...hmmm. Sounds like we need to add another win, so here's your chance to win a Sew Slip II! The rules are...

1. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post by clicking on the word "comments", telling us what you are working on right now. Anyone can comment, you can choose "name" from the drop-down choices, or "anonymous". You do not need to register for anything EVER to comment on this blog.
   
2. Your comments will be numbered in the order they arrive, and a number will be selected randomly to choose the winner (it isn't based on your sewing project; I was just being curious as to what everyone is making for Christmas gifts.)
3. Make sure I know who you are and how to contact you afterwards; your email address does not show up in your comments so it's up to you to ensure I can reach you if you win. If you are not certain, please email.
4. Contest closes at midnight (Eastern Time) on November 28, 2011.
5. You must be in Canada to win. My apologies to readers outside our country, I promise to have another give-away just for you when this ends.
6. One entry per person.

Wow - that's a lot of rules!!! :) Good luck!!