Jenny,
In my old Air Guard unit, we used to call that expedient methods. Use what you have on hand to make it work. Good on ya!!
eileenkny

I have a small Janome machine that doesn't have a vertical spool holder. When i received my 2000 yds spools of thread from superior i didn't know what to do, the spools were never going to fit on my machine, then remembered a tip about using a paper clip at the end of the machine, instead i sticky taped a small safety pin upside down to the end of the machine and threaded the small hole at the bottom of the pin with the thread and just stood the spool at the end of the machine. works like a dream.
Jenny in Oz