Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April Tip- Pizza Box Block Organizers

Sometimes it's the simplest things, isn't it? I've been storing projects in pizza boxes for years. Recently, somebody saw them and thought it was the best thing since sliced.... well..... sliced pizza! I guess I never thought it was much of a tip, but she surely did so I thought I'd share it here. I get clean, new pizza boxes from a nice pizza shop owner. Sometimes they give them to you for free and sometimes they ask you to pay for them, which is never much. I line the bottom of the box with batting (I like warm and natural for this rather than polyester batting) or with flannel. No need to get fancy- just lay it in there. When it's lined, your pieces don't slide all over the place. when cutting, pile up your block pieces in the pizza box the way they will be assembled. Take 2 piles and sew and iron them- them put them back where they belong in the "puzzle". Keep going this way and keep putting them back in the box the way they belong in the block. It keeps me organized, they travel well, store well, and I make less mistakes with complicated blocks. Be sure to go big with the boxes. Even if you're doing 8 or 10 inch blocks, it's good to have a 16 inch box. If there are a lot of pieces in the block, it takes a lot of space to lay them out before they are stitched.

2 comments:

Mishka said...

Sue,
Great idea to line the pizza box with batting to keep the pieces from sliding... now why didn't I think of that? haha

Love the foldable fabric marker.. what a neat idea.

When you have a chance, can you check if I'm subscribed to your newsletter? I thought I was, but I didn't get it (saw it on Facebook).

Cheers,
Michele

Sue said...

Hi, Michele-
The fabric folding pen is amazing- really! You just draw a line with the pen which has water and a few drops of the "magic liquid" in it- and just fold it over with your fingers. It's as if it was ironed! And it leaves no residue or sticky stuff- no stiffness. It's magic! It's really great for circles or Hawaiian quilts. I want to try it with applique.
I didn't send the newsletter out yet- I just proofed it and got it on facebook. I'll send it out tonight. I want to change a few links first.
Good to hear from you!