Catching Threads

I was cruising Pinterest yesterday, looking for a small sewing project, when I ran across a tutorial for a thread catcher. I have one on my upstairs machines and love it. I bought it at the Amish store last summer and would have picked up another the last time I was there, but they were out. After reading through the tutorial, I thought, “This cannot be that difficult,” so I got out some remnants, made a few quick measurements of the thread catcher I have, and started cutting.

About two hours later, I had this:

If I make another one, I might make a few mods, but overall, this went together easily. I had plenty of walnut shells for the pincushion/weight portion, having bought a 25-pound bag of lizard litter at Petco a few years ago. The top of the bag is held open by a strip of plastic cut from an empty gallon vinegar jug. This thread catcher should work nicely and is now installed on the industrial Necchi treadle.

I am getting better about flying by the seat of my pants with my sewing projects. That’s a big step.

My Dirty Girl tomato seeds have finished fermenting and are drying on a paper plate:

I’ll store them in a small envelope until next spring.

Someone asked me why I fermented them—it is to remove the gelatinous covering on the seeds and neutralize substances that inhibit germination. Tomatoes obviously do this on their own and will pop up as volunteers in most gardens, but I think it does help when saving seed.

We’re so close to the end of August, and of tourist season. This summer felt more like a marathon than usual. I am grateful that the days are getting shorter, only because it means the husband has to stop working and rest a bit sooner. Fall really is my favorite time of year.

I am up to four gallon zip bags of tomatoes in the freezer with more on the way. I usually do at least 50 quarts of sauce, so I need lots of tomatoes. And Susan has some apples to share from her trees. I’ll be making a batch of apple pie filling soon.