Tip Tuesday! Bobbins

"Tip Tuesday!" - Bobbins

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired!

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Do you have a bunch of bobbins that look like these? They are only partially filled and there is too much thread on them to throw away, but just enough to make it a pain to start sewing with them because you know you're going to run out real soon after starting. 

I can't tell you how many times I've had students tell me that they hate changing bobbins and would love it if there machine had a bobbin auto-refill. I have to admit that I used to feel the same way. 

At the end of last year, I read a blog post written by Susan Favro of SewMuchSmarter,com and I have to say that she makes some interesting and logical points about the value of having a bobbin that needs refilled. 

Here's what Susan has to say... 

Why I love having a bobbin ...

Posted by Susan Favro - SewMuchSmarter.com on December 08, 2014 

Lots of quilters dream about the day when we no longer have to fill and re-fill bobbins. When/if that day arrives, we can just quilt and quilt with never a thought to having to re-fill a bobbin.

Well, I got to thinking about why I like having to stop to change bobbins. Here are the reasons I came up with:

• First, it gets me to take a break. It's good for the creative spirit to sometimes take a step back to get refreshed. It's also good for our eyes, back, etc. to stretch a bit and change positions.
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• Second, it gives me a timer of sorts for when I should be cleaning and oiling my machine (quilting machine or sewing machine). It's a quick and easy thing to clean out the bobbin area and get some oil to my hard-working machines.
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• Third -- When I use my serger it is nice to be able to sew and sew with nary of thought of my bobbin running out. But then again - that thread path! Sure I can tie off my threads and pull them through but on occasion that doesn't quite work out and then I have to re-thread all the cones. It's moments like that when I'd be glad to be able to just quickly pop in a bobbin and get back to sewing/quilting.

Trade offs. I guess it's all trade offs.

Until my next post: Quilt like you mean it!

What do you think? She makes some good points, doesn't she? 

And since we've started the conversation about bobbins, next week's Tip Tuesday! will include some important information on bobbins that we all should know.