Devil's Puzzle

When you’re sewing bits of fabric together to make a quilt block, the sewing machine frequently tries to “swallow” those bits through the hole in the throat plate where the needle dips down to pick up the bobbin thread. This can cause a nasty jam; not to mention cursing. I’ve always used a thread-saver (a folded fabric scrap to “lead” the pieces I’m sewing over the throat plate). After I’ve used a thread-saver so much it’s more tangled threads than fabric, I toss it and start a new one. But this week I’m trying a suggestion I heard from Eleanor Burns. I’ve filled a paper sack with 2 1/2” square scraps. Instead of stitching into a thread-saver at the end of every seam, I’ll put two of these fabric squares together and sew them together along one side. When I’m done I’ll have something useful instead of a bin full of rubbish. Maybe I’ll make a scrappy 4-patch quilt.