Storage Tip for Small Items

Since I've been quilting, I've become somewhat of a hoarder.  You know the feeling... you see something cool and you think, "I might be able to use that in a quilt."  It might be an old piece of jewelry, a bottle cap, a sea shell,....you get the idea.  It would defeat the purpose to go out and buy a storage container for all these "doodads."  So here's my solution.

I started saving the plastic containers that our coffee comes in.  I buy coffee at Costco, so the containers are roomy.  I keep on hand a can of black spray paint that works on any surface, including plastic.  Once sprayed, I have a sleek, round bin with a snap-on lid.  A white paint marker could be used to label it, or just stick on an adhesive label. 

Welcome to Green Quilting!

And we're off!  I hope you'll enjoy my journey into the world of eco-friendly quilting.  As I look around my studio, I realize that I have a problem.  I'm a fabric-ruler-pattern-quilt book-notion-thread-aholic.  If it's new, I want it.  I rarely buy new clothes, but I can drop a few hundred dollars at a quilt shop without blinking an eye.

Since I'm only a few days into my journey as an empty nester (the youngest just moved out of state for college), I thought this new phase of my life would lend itself well to GREEN QUILTING.  What is green quilting?  Basically, it's using what you already have.  It's making do.  It's being creative by using things in different ways.  And it's about making beautiful quilts.

My goal with Green Quilting is as follows:

1.  For one entire year, I will not buy any new fabric, books, rulers, etc., for my quilting.

2.  The only items I'm allowing myself to buy as needed, are machine needles, thread, and rotary blades.  When I do so, I promise to report these purchases here!

3.  In addition to making use of my stash, I pledge to use other recycled items in my art quilts.

So join the bandwagon!  This is our chance, quilters, to make a difference in the world, in our own small way.