I love scraps and I like to prewash. I wash small pieces and pre-cuts in the kitchen sink to avoid strings and raveling and use my salad spinner to spin them dry.
Love magnetic car parts bowls for pins and needles.
By the way, love the pool noodle tip!
And this pathetic but right now I'm extremely 1/4 seam challenged. Solution? 3" square ceramic tile taped to the bed of the featherweight at exactly 1/4". Sort of overkill but it was close to hand and it's working...