Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Thrifty - maybe to a fault

One of the things that has always bothered me about quilting is all the waste thread. Once I started quilting for others I was amazed at how much thread did not make it into the actual quilt! Considering that the genesis of this craft was the use of things past use for their original intended purpose, it has always seemed wrong to be wasteful. That, and I just have trouble throwing things into the landfill.
This is a cloud of waste thread from the past month or so's worth of quilts:

And this is what I did with it this morning before school:


The spindle is a home-made one, using a piece of dowel sharpened in a pencil sharpener with a craft-store wooden wheel glued at the cup-hook end. The whole works cost me about $1.15 to make...and I have enough materials to make another just like it, maybe a low-whorl version.

What'll I use the spun thread for? Well, I've got a couple of ideas...

Happy stitching (or spinning)

Lisa

4 comments:

arlee said...

Well. I admit to a bagful of cut off metallic threads, some of which are maybe half an inch long.....

flippytale Quilter (Christine) said...

What an amazing idea! I can't wait to see what you make with thes!.

Rosalyn Manesse said...

You're as bad as I am. I can't waste any little bit of left over quilt batting, and I'm making a puff quilt from stuff any other quilter would probably have tossed out long ago. If a tiny bit of thread is left on a bobbin or spool, I use it for basting, sewing on buttons, and so forth.

Debra Dixon said...

I save every little tiny piece of thread and fabric. I have a huge bucket of threads so let me know what you plan to do with yours. I have thought I might sandwich them between water soluble sheets and quilt them.

Your Blossom Lady is going to be beyond awesome!