Ann The Gran Community

I know a lot of us have all sorts of colors wound on our bobbins and at times we have more than one color out on our sewing tables waiting for color changes. This morning I went to my local convienient store to get my daily fountain drink and as I was standing in the line to pay I noticed they had a tray on the counter that had held bic lighters. The tray was empty and I noticed that the slots looked about the right size for a bobbin. I asked if I could have the tray and I brought it home and guess what. The class 15 bobbins fit perfect. This tray will hold 50 bobbins quite nicely. I have them in this little tray wilth the loosse end down and I don't have to worry about them coming unwound or getting knocked around on the table. Just a thought for something really inexpensive to hold your bobbins.  FREE. I hope this is of some help for someone out there.

How cool! We need to have an open mind, just as you did, to see the possibilities of everything!  Could you reply again and add a picture?  If you have a photo, select the icon between the tree and happy face and upload there.  I would like to see this in action.

I love to recycle.  I look at places like hardware stores because they can have some unusual items.  I like Costco because they have the most unusual box shapes and almost everyone is extra sturdy.

Thanks for this great tip!

Pat

Here is a picture of the tray that used to hold bic lighters and now holds my bobbins. I like the convienience of having the bobbins I am using close at hand.

I have had nothing but trouble with those *^@#% bubble packs that items come in these days.  The firmness of the plastic is really hard on my hands and scissors are out of the question.

Well, I had just read this thread about a bobbin holder and I was trying to think out of the box....

Then I remembered my rotary blade (page 2) and I got such a great idea.  I used the rotary blade on the straightest edge of the package and made a cut and - - OMG!  It worked so well... It took 3 second and I had my merchandise in hand!

In the past, I used newspapers under my projects to do my cutting.  Well, that was a very bad idea...  So, I got this self-healing mat that is worth its weight in gold.  Mine was purchased here at ATG and I use it in so many different ways.

When I want to cut a piece of stabilizer, this mat is perfect, there is no wasted stabilizer.  I use it to check the approximate centering of an item.  Of course, for complete accuracy, I do use the placement tools, but for a quick check, this is great. 

I do make an effort to keep the mat clear of any supplies, so when I need a clean place to work - guess what I use?

If you already have this combination of cutter and mat, you are so smart, and I will bet you have other things you use it for.  Since it is a recent purchase for me, I am just going nuts finding uses for it. 

Tell me your favorite use for your cutter and/or mat.

Pat

I use mine for my stabilizer, interfacing and have been known to use it for coupon cutting and pictures. I also use a exacto knife when needed with my pad.

Sandy

Great idea!!!  I hate those plastic things too.  They will cut your hands to pieces. I use my mat and rotary cutter for lots of things.  I have a cheap holder that I put my dull blades in to use on things other than fabric and stabilizer.  I use waste cardboard to make templates for my quilts.  I also cut out frames to use as shields for my hoops when I use spray adhesive.  The smaller rotary cutter can be used for cutting out patterns.  It's great, especially on slippery fabrics, because you don't have to lift it to cut it. 

Linda

Pat.

The rotary cutter and the self-healing cutting mats have been forever the No. 1 and No. 2 tools for quilters for years.  They sorta travel room-to-room with us quilters.  I also use my cutter and mat for cutting hand-made cards, photos and not to mention; ah yes, stabilizers!

If you look deep into a quilt shop or even your local Wal-Mart or Joann's, you will also find a plastic cutting grid that measures out 1/2", 1", 1-1/2", 2" increments and so forth up to 12".  I also have a cutting grid for 1/4" increments and another one for 1/2" increments up to 18" long.  Cannot live without these grids.  Own about 7 currently.  They are manufactured by June Tailor.  

Now...to discuss you opening those thief-proof packages with a rotary cutter.  Ah, no.  Rotary cutters are meant to be placed in a downward positon so that there is control above the blade area.  Holding in the air against an object can make this cutter slip and the outcome would not be pleasant.  I failed to close mine on a few ocassions and upon carelessly grabbing it created a nice slice under my fingernail and other stupid injuries.  These blades are very sharp.  We forget that when we use them all the time.  Razor sharp.

There are special tools for opening these type of plastic packages and CD cases.  One that I own is manufactured by "Open Smart".  It has a locking blade - a very small blade.  Has a handle.  Very safe and very effective.  Package opened in a split second.

Be safe!

Joan/NJ

WOW!  I would not have thought of that.  I did place in down on the flat surface, but what you say makes sense. 

I cannot think of a more painful cut that that under a finger nail.  It hurts to think of it, not to mention infections.  I will check into the "Open Smart" because a few dollars well spent makes more sense than a painful cut.

Thanks for your info!  Pat

What a wonderful idea!  My daughter happens to manage a convenience store, and I know she sells a ton of bic lighters, so will ask her to save me some of the trays.  I currently am using a couple of round trays made just for bobbins that I purchased from the Victorian Cottage, using a search engine on the Web, but I can always use more, and there's nothing better than free, right?  Thanks for the tip!

Wanda

My DH made me a board to keep my bobbins on. He used chop sticks cut in half - drilled 4 holes in a small 4" circle of scrap lumber, glued in the chop stick in a vertical direction.  My bobbins drop onto the chop sticks and are very well contained.  I also use 5/8" clear plastic tubing found at your local hardware store, cut into slices narrow enough to fit inside your bobbins, and then split it so it will fit around the bobbin.  Keeps your loose end of thread in control, but is clear so you can still see the color of the thread.  Hope this is a clear explanation.  I have one of the bobbin boards for each of my sewing machines as the bobbins are a little different in size.

RuthieMann-Do you rent out your DH?  (It never hurts to ask)  LOL

Could you take a photo of it to share with us?   When you are ready to upload it, you 'reply' in this forum, select the 'media' Icon (between the tree and smiley face) and upload there.

We would love to see it in action.

Pat

Clever - very clever - thank you for sharing the idea. Just another example of how creative sewers and embroderers are!