It was then that I wrote myself a note to buy new pins or find a way to sharpen the old ones. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit but let’s just say that getting those pins through two layers of satin made me grit my teeth and ask my kids to leave the room before I said something I shouldn’t. They were so dull, I doubt I could’ve poked a hole into hot butter with one. While pinning the hem where I needed it to be, it suddenly dawned on me that my safety pins must have been from the original batch manufactured in 1849 by Walter Hunt. This past week I have been modifying a bridal gown into a “Snow Queen” gown for a Christmas play. It only takes one project with a lot of pinning to remind me to replace my pins periodically! I think safety pins, as well as straight pins are one of those things that you probably don’t think about replacing very often. I’m on the hunt to find something better. I own the dullest safety pins in the world. You’ll find their links at the top of the page, under Link Ups.It’s official. Linking to Freemotion by the River and Let’s Bee Social. If you have tried this already, let me know your thoughts. The safety pins leave a larger hole than my sharp pins, especially with batiks. In addition, I can use a thinner pin since I am not using the safety pins. I love taking regular pins, instead of safety pins, out of the quilt while quilting. It will be interesting to see how long these last. One of the purposes of using these is to protect your fingers and hands from being poked so this wasn’t exactly helpful. (I suppose one can be too frugal though.) They were not long enough and the tip of the pin would poke through the other end of the plug. When I was experimenting with these, I cut a few of them into three pieces, rather than in half. I think I had only one fall off the whole time I was quilting. They held to the end of the pin quite well. Kind of like they deflated when I put one on a pin and then it puffed back up. I found that when I put them on the ends of the pins, the natural shape was restored after a bit. I think they are supposed to be squishy like that if you are using them in your ears, as they are intended. The ear plugs squish down with the least bit of pressure and I thought they wouldn’t work bec ause of this. I gave these a try for the first time when I was basting the baby quilt that I made with the orphan blocks. When they arrived, I unwrapped about 15 of the little packets and quickly cut each plug in half using my regular craft scissors While the price difference that I ended up with was good, it could have been even lower. There are others listed on Amazon that look to be the same and are priced even lower. In all honesty, I didn’t do a great job of pricing these plugs when I purchased them. 35 each and this method sets the cost at. Cutting each one in half nets out 120 stubs. Thirty pair provides 60 individual pieces. I purchased a jar of Sound Blocker ear plugs which was priced at $17.95 for 30 pair. Isn’t he brilliant? I looked around online and saw that there was already some discussion of using the earplugs in this way on an old forum.Ī quick search on Amazon showed myriad choices of ear protection. He immediately suggested the little ear protection plugs he uses when working with power tools or using the chain saw. I was mentioning my surprise at the price of these little stubs to my husband and asked him what else I might use. Sometimes this means buying fabric or notions at estate sales and thrift shops or choosing not to buy some of the many gadgets that are available (and oh-so-tempting.) If I can minimize some of the cost, I will. Quilting is an expensive hobby obsession. They are kind of spendy, for my budget at least. The little stubs that I have seen on other quilters blogs were intriguing. That is actually the part that annoys me most, removing the pins when I am quilting. It takes time to fasten the pins when basting and even more time to remove the pins while quilting. Until now, I have used the curved safety pins when I baste my quilts. I have been wanting to try those little rubber tips that you can put on the end of your straight pin while basting a quilt sandwich together.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |