Looking for spool tube

For your needles... check out the mechanical pencil lead refills. I use the pencils all the time and so have several of the little refill containers... they work PERFECTLY for needles... seal tightly so you don't have to worry about them spilling out.

As for your threads (spools) containers... stop by Lowes or Home Depot and check out the PVC pipe. It comes in pretty small diameter (2 1/2") and you can (or can have it) cut to whatever length you need. And they sell covers for the ends of it! My DH made a tube for me to use with my applique. Works great!

Such good ideas Kate. Don't know why I didn't think of it. The pencil lead refill containers are even see-through.

Thanks

Steven Alaska

As for your threads (spools) containers... stop by Lowes or Home Depot and check out the PVC pipe. It comes in pretty small diameter (2 1/2") and you can (or can have it) cut to whatever length you need. And they sell covers for the ends of it! My DH made a tube for me to use with my applique. Works great!

Steve, instead of tubes you might enjoy a 'roll'. I've made several from ultrasuede. You can make it as complicated and convenient as time and need permit. Mine are about the size of a legal sheet of paper - two sheets stitched together on three sides. The inside sheet has a layer of felt stitched on it with assorted pockets. One for snips or scissors, one for Thread Heaven or wax, others for little things such as embroidery skeins and a thimble And! a sort of book of felt for needles and a few pins. I squish inside the pocket formed by sewing the two pages together whatever hand work I'm enjoying. It rolls up, is very convenient for long trips or quick (we hope) moments. Polly

Polly

What a fountain of knowledge, thoughts and ideas this group has. I remember on a thread a bit ago about some of you that had made a simliar item that was sewn around a piece of PVC tube to roll up the project they are working on. I got to thinking, why not make one of those with a cap on one end instead of sewing a piece to finish it off and use Kate's idea of the PVC tube for the thread and combine it with your idea and I can then insert that in the bigger tube holding my project and all the supplies inside that I need all in one unit.

I can see that I have to start designing so that once school is out I can sit right down and sew it to have it done in time for summer travels. I will definitely let you all know how it turns out.

Steven Alaska

I have access to an occasional empty pll bottle, like the ones from the pharmacy, and I use one for bobbins, one for needles and another for spools. This works for me! Barbara in SC

Mine came from a bead shop - people cover them with beads, and one day I will cover mine!

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)

Woops! These are the needle cases.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)

Steve have you considered using bobbins? You can find small bobbin containers that hold several bobbins, many come with generic bobbins in them. Wind some of each color thread you want to take on the bobbins, and there you go. Personally, I have never liked the idea of a tube to hold spools of thread, with my "luck" the spool I wanted would always be in the middle of the tube. With the bobbins you can easily see the color and pick out the one you want. (The bobbins don't have to fit in your machine, just use them for the hand work.)

Have fun on your trip.

Pati, > Hi all

I travel quite a bit and always have some piecing or some other small- to-pack stitching with me. I put spools of thread into sandwich baggies, which keeps them clean, visible, and convenient. The wood tubes for needles can be a challenge sometimes, although these days you can often find them at most fabric stores. (I used to find them only at historic site gift shops.) I keep different size needles in different tubes by size, and have put the size number on the wood lid in plain ballpoint pen. For ease in packing, I made a quilted "box" for tools, which is about 2" tall and 4" square with a zipper around 3 sides of the lid. It holds thread, needles, embroidery scissors in a small fabric case, beeswax, thimbles, etc., and squishes nicely in the corner of a suitcase. I also made a quilted tote bag to hold the quilted "box and the work in progress, and added 3 inside pockets -- one shallow and one rather deep on front and back insides, and one very long one on the inside of the side for sunglasses. I also had plenty of fabric left over and made a zippered pouch to hold money, etc., and added a long tether with a keyring ring to attach to the handle of the tote bag. I have taken that bag all over, and it was a huge hit on the QE2! It works very, very well, holds what I want, keeps things clean and safe, and looks great. I could have taken orders to make at least a dozen of the things, but instead let people take a very good look and measurements so they could make their own after they got home.

Howdy!

"see-through" : So are pill bottles. Some are skinny, some wide (I identify with that). I took a skinny pill bottle, wide enough to hold a spool of Gütermann thread & a few quilting needles, wrapped masking tape around the middle of the bottle (for marking quilting lines) & had a nice little sewing kit which went into a small zipper-lock-type baggie w/ a cutter (small envelope opener, a tiny sharp blade covered in plastic) and a Bohin thimble (can't be crushed like my favorite ceramic), on the big airplane to Germany. Convenient and cheap. All this was tucked into a larger zip-bag, see-thru', w/ the quilt project (DFW security checked it because it was pin-basted ), and fit into a corner of my backpack. Now I carry bobbins of Gütermann if I plan to change thread colors. Anyway, pill bottles are cheap or free. And see-thru' goes thru' airport security w/out having to open them. Jeanne Kimball's Foxglove & Roxanne's needles come in tiny containers, F-g in plastic, Rox's in glass. Good luck! Happy trails!

R/Sandy - also cheap, but easy, > Such good ideas Kate. Don't know why I didn't think of it. The pencil lead