A sewing tip...

Have you ever seen this item?  You wouldn't find it in a quilting shop, or even at Joann Fabrics.  I first saw one out in my husband's shop.  He uses it hold small parts, so they won't get lost when he's building something.  But I knew it would solve a problem I was having with all my tools rolling onto the floor constantly.  And it works wonderfully!  It's a stainless steel tray that has two strong magnets attached to the bottom. 

It holds all my scissors, seam rippers, needles, bobbins, even my various pressor feet.  All those items that were once hard to keep from rolling around,  are solidly stuck until I need to use one.

These trays come in different sizes.  I like the round ones to put pins in.  To find one, you just have to make a trip to the " Man Store,"  as we call it, otherwise known as Harbour Freight.  One word of caution to those who have computerized machines -- keep the magnets away.  I'm pretty the two don't mix.

 My last tip of the day is to always date your new scissors.  I have many pairs of these, and by using a Scharpie to date the newest pair, it's now easy to find the sharpest pair.

The scrap quilt is coming along nicely.  It's not turning out as I wanted it to, but for a scrap quilt, it's okay.  It needs some kind of pieced border, probaby more scraps.  But I haven't decided upon a design yet.  Maybe smaller blocks, half the size of those in the body of the quilt.....   it will take some more playing with scraps to figure out.

 The color of the triangles isn't right in the photo.  The true color is softer, a soft cheddar, not orange at all.  For some reason, this quilt didn't photograph well.


Pulling out the scrap bin again really isn't something I relish.  It's a bit of work picking colors, ironing them, cutting, etc...

But... there is one member of my household who loves it when the scrap bin comes out.  I don't know how, but Pippa knows every time I start digging through this bin, and she wastes no time climbing inside for a cozy nap.  I try to keep her out, but she is so determined!  It must be very comfortable!