Crazy Quilter on a Bike!: Bobbin along!

Friday, August 4, 2017

Bobbin along!

Yesterday's post was so exciting. The quilt is back on the wall of the library. I sent a note to all the parties involved in the process to THANK them for making it happen. It would appear that the library manager was instrumental in the process!

Without an imminent deadline, I feel like a ship lost at sea! I know I should be taking advantage of the downtime and get working on the next project, but there is no sense of urgency. I'm started to work on the next project as I did cut out part of what I need for the next deadline quilt, but there is zero urgency! Wait until next week! Actually, my plan is to work on that quilt, a quilt for work and one of my UFO projects this weekend BUT ONLY after the dogs have been to the park and I've been out on my bike!

I've also been dealing with the aftermath of that last batch of rushed projects. Sorting the scraps and putting away. The cutting table is looking positively clear. Well - better than usual.

I thought I would follow up on the bobbin situation. I heard back from several people and there were two main ideas for keeping the bobbin threads tidy. One was to use those small hair elastics - you know the colored fuzzy ones. Something like these ones.

I was certain that I have some around the house, but no idea where. Then as I'm sitting here writing, I realize that YES I do have some of these elastics and I know exactly where they are. However, I found this picture on the internet so that will have to do.

So that is one solution. The other solution was to use plastic tubing. Hm - I had to make a trip to the hardware store shortly after I posted the bobbin issue. I scoped out the plastic tubing section and came up with a suitable piece.

I cut a section of the tubing and then cut a slit on the side. Actually, I cut a small length of tubing, then sliced it open. I opened it up, lay it flat on the mat and used my rotary cutter to cut the circles.

Bobbin holder

They work really well with full bobbins and even the partially filled bobbins. I think I might cut a few more as some of the ones I cut were a teeny bit thin and don't always do the job properly. I just eyeballed the cutting. I'm going to do it again, but using a ruler to get it the exact width of the space around the bobbin. But they are slick. They do take a bit of extra space around the outside of the full bobbins, but not much.

There is only one draw back to this solution. I had to buy a long piece of plastic tubing!

Leftover tubing!

The thought did cross my mind to cut a piece off in the store (OH GOD - what was I thinking!), but I did not. I bought the entire piece. It wasn't that expensive. So should anyone want a small piece of plastic tubing - I got lots! It's always awesome to find a solution to a problem. I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. This was inexpensive (The entire piece of tubing was less than $10 and if I sell it to quilters by the inch - well I could easily get my money back! I'm kidding - if anyone wants a piece, just let me know.

One more area of my sewing is neat and tidy. Someday the entire place will be tidy!

There is only draw back to the plastic tubing. I did find that if the bobbin wasn't completely full, that little piece of plastic wrapped around so snug that it was hard to grasp it to pull it off. I think I could have used the point of my awl or seam ripper to help me.

By the way - if you have young children in your life - check out my latest free download! It's a teepee. Very cute. Made with Northcott's Tiny Treasures Fox and Friends collection. I made M one when she was a kid. It was ORANGE and blue! Long gone, but now I have a new one.