Storage ideas for quilters

Quilters are the quintessential recyclers, cutting up old dresses, T-shirts, blue jeans and flour sacks for re-use. Quiltmaker Suzanne Nelson shares these tips for storage ideas for quilters, who never seem to have enough room to put all of our beloved gadgets and gizmos!

• Diaper wipe or handi-wipe containers are just the right size for toting rotary cutters, pencils and marking pens, and even spare buttons or other embellishments.
• Small margarine and cream cheese containers are perfect travel containers for pins. You can even glue a small wad of batting to the underside of the lid to serve as a pin cushion.
• Laundry detergent boxes are perfect for storing quilting magazines and patterns. Their sturdy forms support several issues, and their height allows you to see the covers of each magazine. Label each one with the magazine’s name and year if you like.
• Foam trays are lightweight, lapsize, and very portable. Their tacky nature grabs onto fabric scraps and thread snippets. They also serve as handy pin cushions!

Finally, it’s no secret that quilters love chocolate. Did you know, the Hershey Company in the US produces about 20,000,000 kisses each day using 133 square miles of aluminum to wrap them in? This material is recyclable and most of it ends up in the trash rather than the recycle bin. The next time you share a Hershey’s Kiss, kiss the Earth and recycle your wrappers!