I reckon buckwheat and rice would be similar weight per volume. My son suggested gravel or sand. If it had a double lining it should be okay. I fancy making one of those too Nancy. But I would definitely not be happy if it kept falling off the table!

I know that magnetic things are not good for electronic sewing machines. There is a magnetic seam guide attachment which should only be used on mechanical machines.

the weight problem was one of the reasons i have never attempted this - but sand is probably heavy enough - and easy to come by. never thought of the magnetic pincushion hoders and electronic equipment - although that really makes sense - will have to be more careful with my holders - thanks for drawing my attention to this

lotti wrote:
Hi Lotti,

If you get around to making one of these organizers, I'd suggest a filler other than rice. I used rice because it was cheap and handy, but rice doesn't give the organizer enough weight and so my organizer is constantly falling off the edge of my sewing table. It's been frustrating to the point where I plan to open the weighted pincushion part and refill it with something else (e.g. crushed walnut shells, buckwheat hulls, sand, or emery)--maybe I should start saving the walnut shells from my holiday nutbowl.

I just read, by the way, that magnetic pincushion holders should be kept away from electronic equipment and data storage devices. That's not a problem for me, because my old sewing machine has no electronics in it.

Great new look !!

nope just not my usual scruffy self - vito seems to think that he should make my hairstyle look like a style when i leave his - of course that never lasts more than a few hours

WOW! Lotti, I thought we had a new member posting to the forum! I like the new photo!!

I buy catfood in little boxes (each has 12 pouches in it). Rather than throwing the empty boxes away, I use them on my cutting table and next to the sewing machine for the bits and pieces that get thrown away. Once full a box is thrown away plus its content. I only have one cat here, but thanks to her there are plenty of these boxes. They are about 8x4x5 and very sturdy. They are actually so strong that I could cover one of them in fabric and reuse. But I rather makes quilts in the little spare time that I have.

When I first saw the topic here I was baffled because I have never got dirty when playing with fabric. Rugby players get dirty, dogs running around outside after a lot of rain get dirty, my granddaughter gets dirty when feeding herself gets dirty..... but quilters......??

i really like your pincushion organizer nancy.
may be about time i get one of those made too... but my pots have been trusty and helpful friends for more than 20 years... (you're right - over-pot is certainly not the correct term - i just straight translated from the german because i was too lazy to think... believe in english, cachepots is more commonly used - from the french )
the important thing is that we have something nearby where all the throw-away scraps can go. i generally have a plastic bin in the area for the reusable fabric scraps

i had the same problem until i put more then one small plastic containers so where ever i am in my quilt corner i have nearby a container

All of you are just great and have given me some great ideas. I surprisingly never thought of a dustbuster--maybe because I don't have one. I have previously used empty Kleenex boxes as small trash bins, but now use my Weighted Pincushion Organizer (a free Elizabeth Hartman designed project in the TQS project list) for that purpose. Here's a photo of mine:

Believe it or not, there's already much improvement in my process for keeping my area neat as I'm working on my paper piecing. I've started keeping small pieces of leftover batting for clearing the debris from my cutting table after trimming each seam. Also, I am immediately sorting my "large enough to save" scraps from trimming and tossing out those that are too small. So far, my scraps are just sorted into piles--I need to make those trays or get some over-pots (I'd never heard them called this before.).

I recently bought a magnetic tray (from Harbor Freight Tools) to hold my pins, but learned that my pins cannot be magnetized. I'm still using a huge roll of whitehead pins that my sister gave me back in the 1970's. Therefore, new pins are in my near future.

Thanks so much to all have have replied, because yesterday I was really feeling overwhelmed by the mess.

Yep the kleenex boxes is a great - I might just go away and have that idea! Thanks Lotti and thank your mother too please.

HHF ! ( hand hitting forehead) Kleenex box..why didn't I think of that? Wise mother!
BTW....Blk and white blocks are fabulous and will we get to see the hairdressers' work..since
we can't see the stunner himself ??

i use plant over-pots - nice clean over-pots that i like but are either the wrong size for my plants or just not in use - they look good and clean on the sewing table, or coffee-table or wherever i'm working - fit quite a bit of stuff and can easily be tipped into the bin. with me it's also important that whatever i use is heavy enough to stay in place and not easily tipped when i'm moving stuff around - the clay overpots are great and come in so many shapes, sizes, colors.

my mom uses empty kleenex boxes - these accumulate at an alarming rate - especially in winter - look good - it's very easy to stuff thread bits, fabric scraps, paper piecing scraps and even used needles and bent pins inside where they are out of harms way - the little clear plastic strips on the opening also prevent stuff from coming back out if they are accidentally tipped over - it's amazing how much can be stuffed inside and then they're just put in the bin.

Nancy, what about having a dust-buster or one of those hand-held vacuum thingys nearby. They should clean up stray threads and little itty bitty papers. When I have done paper piecing, which is not often, I sit with a bin at my feet and tear straight into the bin so that most of it is dealt with that way. Then I just use a bit of spare batting to dust off the table, cutting mat etc. My workspace seems to be in a permanent mess and I have become accustomed to it mostly. I tidy up after each project but once I start the next one well it's a mess again very quickly.