Tools I Can't Live Without

There's a newsletter I subscribe to, Textile Artist, that posts interviews with fiber artists.  One of the questions they regularly ask is What tools can't you live without?  I was thinking about this recently when I unpacked and used my new ball winder.  It's my newest favorite tool. 

You use a ball winder, along with an umbrella swift, to turn hanks of yarn

into manageable balls. Don't ask me how I know, but you really don't want to try to pull lengths of yarn directly off a hank without winding it into balls first. 

(My apologies for the cluttered background of this photo.  See last week's post about my studio.)  With this one, by Stanwood Needlecraft,  the yarn no longer gets trapped in the gears.  I love it!

 The balls are also called "cakes," which is a more accurate description, as they sit flat and don't roll all over the place.

These are some of the other tools I can't live without.   Of course, my floor loom 

 and my tapestry loom

 You can see my Ott Lite shining bright "sunlight" on my work--another indispensable tool.

My sewing machine is indispensable too

as are a rotary cutter, mat and acrylic ruler

My iron and ironing board that folds away on the back of my studio door--what a space saver!

And of course my computer that allows me to communicate with you!  And to handle all those tasks on the business side of art--inventory, bookkeeping, marketing, purchasing. . . .

And finally, my corkscrew--to open the wine that eases out the soreness in my shoulders at the end of the day!

Which tools do you find indispensable?