Thursday, May 30, 2013

"Frugal Frannie's" tip of the day!


(image from google images)


First of all, I must add my disclaimer: 
"No my name isn't Frannie, and by no means am I starting an advice column, and no slight is intended to anyone named Frannie or to anyone who has an advice column!" 

But I do consider myself very "frugal" - not a hoarder, just keep things that I might use later! (by the way, I DO throw away fabric that is less than 1 1/2" square!)

But I was just "pleased as punch with myself" and wanted to share and give ya'll a laugh!!

Well, I have been stitching away on some small quilts and what's a girl to do with the little strips of batting left over? Well, Frugal Frannie just couldn't throw them away so she thought and thought and thought some more - put the strips in a pile and thought some more...




Then Frugal Frannie had an idea!!! Make stuffing!!!!
So, she lined up the strips into handable (not a word I know - but hey this is Frannie talking! and Frannie likes order!) piles:



Then with the handy dandy rotary cutter (love the person that invented this - why didn't I think of it!! LOL) and large ruler, cut the piles of strips into smaller strips (about 1/4" wide):



Then turned the handy dandy cutting mat (love it, too!) and using the rotary cutter, cut the narrow strips into about 1/4" squares.



Then with the edge of the ruler scooped them into a nice pile,


and put them in a box!




Took less than 5 minutes total to do this!! And boy do I feel good about my tip!!! (LOL)!!!

This really is just to show ya'll that I have been stitching!!! The results to come soon!!




20 comments:

audrey said...

Great idea! I think that will work wonderful for stuffing in a pillow etc.!

Scarecrow Cabin said...

I do the same with all my tiny scraps of wool. The small pieces make great stuffing for pin cushions. Thank for sharing!
~Kelly~

Gwynette in NW Arkansas said...

Great idea, Doniene!! I save teeny tiny pieces of fabric and sew them together and then cut 3.5" blocks. With a narrow sashing, I have cute doll quilts for the granddaughter. It's a waste not, want not thing with me and I PAID for that scrap!!! ;>)

Sue said...

Great idea, Doniene, When I see or speak of the word Joy I think of you. A great word you chose for this year, and after reading your last post, it fits perfectly for you.
Thanks for sharing.
Sue

Betty Lou said...

Frugal Frannie would be so proud of you. Waste not, want not. I think you have hit on a new regular feature for your blog.

Carrie P. said...

great tip. I like to use pieces of batting for Swiffer sweeper.

Janet O. said...

Oh, no, Doniene, don't give me another something to save! LOL! I have used small pieces to create practice FMQ sandwiches, but I have tossed strips. Now I won't dare. : )
It is a great tip!

Julie Fukuda said...

Oh yes, I have a zip lock bag full and waiting for something to stuff.

Vickie said...

A person could learn a lot from you. I'm impressed, and I like Carrie's idea of using left over batting for the swiffer. It's all but impossible to get a thread off a piece of batting ! Have a good day Frannie....see you at the meeting in a few weeks !

Raewyn said...

HOW satisfying!!! Great idea - I keep a lot of my trimmings for pet cushions but never thought of chopping up my batting like that before - thanks for the tip!!!

Sarah said...

I donate mine to my kids classrooms and preschool. The teachers love it for their making tables and art creations.

Nancy said...

Clever idea - thanks for the photos.

Teresa in Music City said...

Well aren't you smart!!! Why go out and buy bubble wrap when we can use what we would throw away instead - genious!!!!

Frances Leate said...

I don't like to think of myself as a hoarder so I call it recycling and collecting. I love using scrappy pieces of fabric and find all sorts of uses for offcuts of batting. Take care.

Ruth said...

Thanks for this tip! I think we all should try to come up with more ways to use the left over batting. You should see my closet! I can't stand to throw it away, so I have a huge bag filled with strips. I do sew some together for small quilts, but hate to sew it together if it's only 2" or so. Maybe we can come up with other ideas too.

Dawn said...

Looks like a great place for a kitten ;-)
Very creative thinking!

Kathryn D. Duke said...

oh my...what an idea!! don't we learn the most things from each other!! THANKS

Marga (MarPie) said...

Great Idea thanks Doniene!
I already start thinking of what kind of pillow I wil make to use this ;o)))

Warm regards,
Marga♥

Denise :) said...

Brilliant!!! I'm just like you -- I'm *not* a hoarder (I can't afford to be--I live in an RV, for Pete's sake!), but I do hate to toss things that might be useful later on!! Great job on repurposing!!! :)

Melanie said...

What a brilliant idea. I shall be using this one... Thankyou xxx