SIMPLY SOPHISTICATED DESIGN WITH A TASTE OF THE UNEXPECTED.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Confessions of a Noncompliant Threadender





Collection of thread from napkin project.  Any ideas?
jill here....


When I get the creative spirit, I loose the neatness element.  Thread ends are trimmed and eventually find their way to the little trash collector. Well, some do! In the mean time there is thread all over the ironing board...or hitch hiking on my velour.

New year's commitment:  deal with trimmed thread ends!  I frequently run around with dog hair and tread on my sweat (sewing) pants.  Can't do much about the magnetic dog remnants.  I have vowed to use those little fabric scraps to start and end my stitches... less waste and much neater. It is soooo hard to change old habits.


As you can see, lots of encouragement!
 Not too successful using them...
Maybe it's because they're just boring white!

The thread collector!

 Anyone have any sewing behavior modification ideas?   I'm open to suggestions or just a comment on what you would like to change in 2014!

'till Tuesday...



8 comments:

  1. Love your jacket - I don't have anything that densely covered - I think you could win a prize! I switch between starters-stoppers, using my machine's automatic thread cutter, pulling threads over my machine's cutter or using my tiny scissors to snip the threads. Sometimes it depends on the projects. Having to sew lots of half-square triangles usually means a little extra attention. Strip sewing is easier to accurately start and stop.

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  2. One more thought ... when I do collect my threads, I toss and scatter them outside in the spring when birds are nesting. One time, I found one of my yarn pieces in a nest in a lilac bush.

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    1. I'll save some for spring and wait patiently! jill

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  3. I use a pretty piece of fabric from each new project for my starter-stopper, then add it to my quilt scrap book along with fabric scraps and a picture of the quilt.

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    1. So you mean I have to keep a scrap book? Really fun idea! jill

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  4. I have made a wonderful scarf from the threads and yarns. You need two pieces of wash away stabilizer, preferably one of which is stick. Drizzle your threads and yarns over the stabilizer, cover with the second pieces, then stitch a dense graph paper design all over (1/4" or so squares). wash away the stabilizer, and you have a scarf! Stitch with metallic thread to add sparkle to the scarf. You need to start with the stabilizer the size of the scarf you want. You may have to drizzle some extra threads or yarns. Mix it up. It's a fun project and you can make as many as you collect threads. Also a great way to use up those end of spools to make room for new spools.

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    1. This could be really fun. I"ll add it to my list and be more selective in my thread colors! jill

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  5. We received this comment from Laurie. "You should look at Kathleen Loomis's art quilts. She takes those sew off bits and makes quilts out of them! Anyway's fun to look at even though I'll never do it." You will find the quilts under her "Postage" tab.

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