best wacky quilting gadget

Oooh ... very cool. I have one of the ol' fashioned kind, but this one looks much more versatile!!

For putting a loop on it, what about heating up a nail and using it to melt a hole in the plastic (being VERY careful, of course!!!)? Hubby did that for me a while back (turned a plastic "Apple" promo disk into a key chain - he melted a hole in the plastic and I was able to put it on a key chain).

Hubby took a nail, held it with pliers and heated the thing up until it was REALLY hot and just manuevered it to melt through the plastic.

Or maybe see if anyone has a wood burning set and an old tip you could use?

Hugs!! Connie :)

I should probably have mentioned that hubby has an extreme "dangerous" side ... if it's a project that could result in loss of life or limb, or has others saying things like "OMG, what the &*^% are you doing???!!" he takes it as a personal challenge. So that being said, YMMV. Your hubby may not have as much of a looney streak.

Hugs!! Connie :)

Ask friends and family if they have a Dremel tool they can use to drill a hole through the handle with for you. Debra in VA See my quilts at

On swapping stories, you got it ... but you have me stumped on strawberry poptarts and saltpeter!!!!

Okay ... how many of your stories involve loss of body parts? My hubby managed to cut off the fatty pad of his middle finger using dull scissors to cut aquarium tubing. His rationalization? "It saved me $2.00 off the cost of pre-cut tubing!!"

'Course, the hospital visit when we couldn't stop the bleeding and us not being able to remember the last time he had a tentanus shot COST us $500.

But he's still proud of how good that incident made the tank look. Go figger.

Your turn!! :)

DS opening Christmas presents with a new pocket knife he claimed was dull. I suggested he might be holding it backward just seconds before he cut his finger. Getting in and out of urgent care really quick on Christmas morning.

DH walked backward into the pool the other day while doing some yard work. Was really cold but he survived. No damage on that one.

I can remember dad doing something on a table saw he never should have tried to do. He came to the window and hollered in "get your mother we have to go to the hospital". I still think of that any time I need a piece of wood cut and that has been 40 years!

BTW, they usually want to give you a tetanus shot booster when you get cut even if they know when it was. Taria

SewVeryCreative wrote:

These are wonderul. I have two sizes of the tubing and use tons of both. One thing I have found very useful, especially for embroidery thread, is that thin plastic that you find on the long rolls in the fabric dept. at Walmart. I cut it into strips about an inch wide and two inches long then wrap it around the spool of thread. The plastic clings to itself and holds the thread in place so it doesn't unwind.

Hugs, Mika

I wondered about using Press & Seal around spools that don't have a slit or that button thingy to wrap the loose end of the thread around it. Anybody tried that yet?

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

Leslie, I tried Press & Seal before I got the plastic. It's actually a vinyl type stuff I think. Anyway, the P&S sticks too tightly to itself and gets all wonky. It also it kind of gummy and it leaves a residue on the thread. At least when I tried it, it did. But the plastic comes apart just as easily as it sticks.

Hugs, Mika

I have two more (that I can recall off the top of my head), but they sure as heck aren't as good as yours!!

First story: Hubby decided that he wanted a "one-of-kind" aquarium (back when we had only

Great until he decided, about 3 months later, to give it a REALLY good cleaning. Of course, you can't use chemicals to clean a fish tank, so he decided to use REALLY hot water in the bathtub (are you seeing where this is going?). He crouches on the side of the tub, balancing the globe on his thighs, swishing the REALLY hot water in the globe.

All of a sudden, there's an explosion of glass - glass is EVERYWHERE. In his hair, in his legs, in his hands, the tub is damn nigh full of blood. His blood. It took a total of 34 stitches - thighs, forearms and chest.

We took him to the hospital and began telling them what happened ... we didn't even have to finish. As soon as we had gotten to the part about hubby turning on the hot water tap, the doc knew.

Second story: Not really an accident, but a testament to the male drive and what testosterone can accomplish. We decided to move and had to schedule it between hubby's business trips (I'll bet you're surprised I let him out of the house unsupervised, much less out of town, right?) ... after about 12 hours of his moving the furniture (it was just him and me doing all the work), he tells me he thinks he has something in his shoe. So he takes his boot off and there, on his big toe, was a blister *literally* the size of a golf ball (if not a tad bigger). He looks at it, shrugs, puts his boot right back on and gets back to moving furniture and boxes. Later on that evening, when everything was at the new house, he pops the thing. I won't disgust you with the nasty details, but that bathroom STANK for a long, long, long time. I damn near made us move AGAIN because the smell wouldn't go away. And I would've except it would have meant another blister and more stank.

We still laugh over the golf ball sized blister. But we are forbidden to mention the "globe incident." :)

Hugs!! Connie :)

Your pour dh wins! 34 stitches is awful. The blister story, well it stinks. You need to keep a close watch on that man! Taria

Yikes! Thanks, Mika, for being the guinea pig on this one. I won't try it- doesn't sound pleasant and I have a small fortune invested in well over 500 spools of thread.

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

You can't feel TOO sorry for'im!! He actually enjoyed himself in each episode for the most part.

And yes, yes, yes, yes, it WAS stinky. Really. The smell was actually a million times worse than how it looked (which was REALLY gross). He only popped it because I told him there was NO way I was goin' to sleep with him with that ... that ... second head on his toe. The silly booger, prior to poppin' it, had actually named it (not kidding). Erk. Ugh.

I think I need to toss my cookies now. :)

Hugs!! Connie :)

I think I have a really good story in progress. DH has been fighting gophers for months. Today he was mumbling something about "hooking up a 110 volt....". I told him he was going to end up a candidate for a Darwin award. Will let you all know.

Sherry

Sherry, I can't wait to hear your update!! We have approximately 6 more strings of lights to hang (most "new" - so it means putting in hooks, nails, etc) and since hubby's bum knee will mean that he has to be "inventive" in getting the lights up this year, I will need something to read while we sit in the emergency room to be seen!

But I do have to say that your hubby can't possibly be a Darwin Award candidate! Why? Because he simply must be VERY smart - he married YOU after all!! :)

Hugs!! Connie :)

Know that 'blue' threader floss they sell for getting floss between your bridge and gums so you can 'floss'. Mine come in small plastic cases. (Its a long piece of blue thin plastic with a loop on the end. You put your thread thru the loop, thread it thru the looper holes, and pull gently. Works a charm)

Well, the Serger Saleslady said to use it to Thread Your Serger. I no longer have the serger but I still keep the threaders around. I also use it to thread the floss, yarn, etc, thru the eye of the tapestry needle when I'm doing that kind of work.

Saves a lot of frustration and easier to replace than those metal threaders.

Butterfly (have a set by the SM, with my crochet work, etc)

Sometime this year I saw what seems like a good idea for inventing a lightbox. You turn your Pyrex glass casserole pan bottom up with a short string of Christmas tree lights beneath it. When I saw the suggestion, of course, our holiday decorations were stored away and there weren't any tree lights for sale anywhere. So. Now. Note to self: buy a string of little lights. We'll hope self can find some that don't heat up and get somebody to finish the last of the sweet potato casserole so we can have the pan. Light boxes are rather pricey, seldom needed and I would have to find a place to store it. This wacky idea will only require that I have a string of lights and can remember where I put them. The bottom of the decorator basket where I hide my very own extension cord sounds logical. I won't share my extension cord. Don't even ask. Polly

Debra: Good idea, one I hope I will remember in future, if I ever need it. On this tool, the handle (entire tool) is metal, about diameter of a generous pencil. Drilling will not work.

I've been thinking of getting some gunk that adheres to tools and such, molding to the desired shape, and then dries that way. This is some lightweight stuff that is often used by people with arthritis or other issues, to facilitate occupational therapy. HEY, I need to ask my buddy, the OT what this stuff is!!

PAT > >

He's perpetually off-topic, Pat? ;)

NightMist, that story sounds to good to keep to yourself ....