Friday, September 5, 2008

Trash Talk

No matter how careful you think you are, someday you may write something not very complimentary in an e-mail, and then you are apalled to find it has been copied off to a large group of people!
But the trash talk here is about your very own trash can in the sewing room/ studio.



Look! Actual floor space showing in my studio! (the white thing on the left is NOT a trash can...it's a Scrap Basket!)


This odd contraption is exactly what it looks like: a brown paper grocery sack stuck into a cardboard box. The original intent was to have a disposable bag, stabilized by the box. Over time it has all become stuck together and the space between the box and the bag makes a convenient place for stashing odd bits of possibly-useful-in-the-future cardboard.
(OK, we can talk about my Pack-Ratism at a later date.)

Meanwhile, when it gets filled, I just dump the contents into a large trash bag.

I learned to make the paper bag trash container at an early age, and I highly recommend it for all class situations. The turned over edge keeps it open and sturdy. It is an excellent "green" recycling item, especially as I believe a paper bag is a better grocery holder than the plastic thingies.
(of course, a cloth bag is the BEST!).


SECRET DIRECTIONS:

Fold over the top edge of the paper bag but do not crease! Just bend the paper, working your way around. Then go around a second time, making the crease. If you crease it the first time around it will tear at some point.
You can throw the entire thing away when it is full.


Recently the Mysterious Ms. E asked me about disposing of sewing needles.
While I admire her for putting safety first, I personally don't care, and just chuck the needle right into the bag. Often, they are parts of needles, as yet again I have managed to smash one up by aggressive machine quilting, or forgetting to replace the single hole throat plate with the zig-zag one. You know what I mean!
Otherwise, I must lead a charmed life, as I have never had a bad encounter with a discarded needle while pawing back through the trash looking for a scrap!

I know you know what I'm talking about!

Rotary cutter blades are another matter. They are round razor blades.
I wrap them in sheets of paper....or even a piece of that cardboard... which is so handy, waiting right there with trash!
(this is the root of Pat-Ratism... can't throw this away, I really will need it some day!)

Post Script & Happy Talk:
I really cannot leave you with "trash talk" and that strange photo.
Do you remember this quilt, started in a Dianne Hire class?


Today it will be going to it's new home...at Cherry-Cherry's house! She doesn't even know it yet.
Happy Birthday to my Alpha Beta-tester!



















1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I do remember that quilt from the Diane S. Hire class! And I am beset with a sudden case of "other envy": It always looks better when someone else does it than when I do it!

I really like your wonky curves! And the angled sashing strips that bring it together. Why can't I do that? More to the point, why don't I do that? Well, hurray for you!

I have some friends who have made it VERY clear that they would like a quilt, and I would like to do one for them in an informal, improvisational style. I seize up every time I start thinking about it. Well, I will keep looking at this blog post for inspiration.

Meanwhile, it occurs to me that one could take an old film cannister (surely a pack rat would have one), and tape a label to it that says, "Discarded Needles," and not actually throw it away until it was full, which might be quite a long time. Or an old prescription bottle (with the identifying information carefully obscured, of course).

Keep up the great work and the great blogging, Sunnie!

Sincerely,
The Mysterious Ms. E