What is your "best tip" to pass on to the rest of us?

Post by **purrfect-lady** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 4:23 am

I'm loving all these tips and use several of them myself. My tip is about scraps. I keep my scraps in a plastic drawer tower. Each drawer is the size of a shoebox and is labeled 'whites & creams', lights, mediums, darks, etc. And if my scraps are really small, I cut them in my spare time to 1" squares and use them for 'jump cloths' when I'm machine sewing. Each time I pull my project from my machine, I sew two little squares or more together. Eventually I figure I'll get a postage stamp quilt out of it! using only thread and fabric that would otherwise have been wasted.

My second tip uses cookie sheets. When I have quilt pieces all arranged and ready to sew, I put them on cookie sheets. If I have more than one sheet, I stack them criss-cross fashion. This way I can easily clear off my table space if I need it for something else.

shelly322002 · Post by **shelly322002** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:59 am

Suzette!!!
ohh you've changed my sashing/binding life!!!!!!

i've put your tip into action tonight. i used a shoe box with a rod inside, with a hole cut into the top, and it's BRILLIANT!!!!!!!
it's made life 'sew' much easier!!!!!!

i'm putting the sashing on my 'cupcakes' blocks!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!

shelly322002 · Post by **shelly322002** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:05 am

maryz, i'm doing something similar with the little triangles you get spare when sewing a small square into the corner of a larger block. i run an extra seam next to the required seam that the pattern dictates, which in turn makes an extra 'half square triangle' (that the pattern doesn't call for) i then make these HST's into a pinwheel (you usually get 4 HST's) which goes into a bag with all of the rest i have made over time. i hope to make a scrappy pinwheel quilt one day...

Susie · Post by **Susie** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:32 pm

Oh, thought of another "tip". I don't know about all of you but do you ever think of how little excercise you get when sitting at a sewing machine all day????? I have started setting up my ironing board in the kitchen. That way I have to walk from my sewing room to the kitchen in order to press my blocks. Hey, it's not much but I figure it is better than nothing! LOL

shelly322002 · Post by **shelly322002** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:53 pm

lol susie, i know how you feel... i have a little travel iron in my sewing room, but if i feel i need a REAL GOOD IRON on my project, i have to run down stairs to the bedroom on the ground floor where we have the iron set up all of the time. i really hate my stairs sometimes, but i hadn't thought of it in that way...
good point!!

xxx

Suzquilts · Post by **Suzquilts** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:17 am

Keep your old prescription bottles and use them to put your broken/old needles and pins in. That way no possibility of them somehow becoming a danger in your trash. This was important in our house as I have a very curious Cocker that likes to stick her nose in my sewing room trash can.

Susan

Hummingbird · Post by **Hummingbird** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:40 pm

These are all great tips! I plan to try them in my own sewing room.

Along the lines of the pill bottle for needles, I have small round plastic containers that I think came from the Chinese buffet (maybe egg foo yung sauce?) that I use to dispose of used rotary blades. You can stack quite a few in there and then just tape the lid on it and throw them away.

Course I also bought a rotary sharpener recently so am hoping to not have as many to get rid of!

QIAD-Linda · Post by **QIAD-Linda** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:59 pm

I know this is a simple idea but I still want to share it with you. I used to buy those pre-wound bobbins and loved them until I found out that they were too short for my bobbin case. When having my machine serviced the technician told me that when the bobbin is to small for your bobbin case, it causes the bobbin to bounce around and makes your stitches uneven. Since then I wind my own bobbins. Before starting a project, I wind 5 or 6 bobbins so that I don't have to stop in the middle of something. It is a real treat for me to have my bobbins wound and ready to go!

Post by **Marilynsgrammy** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:01 am

Linda, those pre wound bobbins are great for applique projects or to baste things with.. full bobbins are great to take in a travel project.. it's a real great way to use up the small amount of that funky colored thread you needed so you can empty your bobbin..

Joannequilts · Post by **Joannequilts** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:55 am

Suz..I do the same with my broken and dull needles and pins! The RX bottles are perfect for that purpose!

And Linda, I wind at least 4 bobbins for each project, too..then I store the leftovers with the spool of thread..I just hate to stop to wind a bobbin once I get going on a project..it's a great tip!

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What is your "best tip" to pass on to the rest of us?

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