I also use the hard cases that come with eyeglasses. (My glasses are always on my eyes. :lol: I put a piece of magnetic strip in the bottom. When I carry handwork, the eyeglass case comes with me. There is even a tiny pair of scissors that fits into my little kit.

GailG, I think your idea is much, much better than mine. I will get my empty eyeglass case set up per your instructions right away!!

Thanks...

Piecefully yours,
Kay Susan

There are always little bits of fabric that are too small to be used in crumb quilts. I keep those in ziploc bags and will be using them instead of fiberfill in handmade stuffed animals.

We have shirts with the company logo that we've been asked to not donate to Goodwill--the company doesn't want anyone taking the shirts and potentially masquerading as an employee. I have the group giving me their old shirts that are stained or torn, and I'll eventually gather enough material to make a quilt for one of our charities.

I have bags of blue jeans that aren't quite good enough for donation that will eventually be made into a rag quilt.


:oops: I'm seeing a lot of saving for future projects and not so many projects being done now.

maggiebooboo I love your idea of saving the thread in a jar for the birds. Going to try it because billsobon bon could have been my exact reply. Love the birds.
I collect/save old shirts to make a quilt . I take the buttons off and use them on yo yo centers. Church sales are one of my favorite ways to find fabric. I search for dresses.shirts etc.
I just bought a book on making potholders so love the tip about using old towels. Lots of good ideas,thanks ladies.

You mention a 'string quilt'. What is a string quilt? I know that I use just as much thread ripping out seams as I do getting the finished straight line in my quilting projects. Is this what you use to make a string quilt? :?: :?:

I save toilet paper tubes and stuff them with sewing machine cords when I take the machine to classes. Works for extension cords, too.

I use the same idea with gift wrap paper tubes, to wrap fusibles and stabilizers on the outside. I stuff the plastic directions inside the tube. I store the tubes in an empty wine box that has the dividers to keep the bottles from bumping each other. I use a Sharpie to label each tube.

I think a string quilt is when you take strips and foundation piece them to paper shapes (rectangular pages or star points) and use up your left over pieces of strips. I don't think you actually use the threads. I have a thread catcher at my sewing machine and cath all the snippets. Then I take them and use my rotary cutter and cut them up in smaller bits and put them out for the birds. I don't want anything too long that could get caught and hurt them. :?:

Thank you Shemjo. That makes a lot more sense now. :-)

I cut up all my scraps in 2", 3", 4", & 5" squares and then package them up and sell them on ebay!!!! Its a great way to get people to visit my store and buy lots more!

Where are you in the UP Ksusan? I'm on the Canadian side of Sault Ste Marie but frequently go to Joann's in the Michigan Sault. Sunflower