Look what hubby has started making for me, I am so thrilled about it.
OK I hear you asking.....What is it?
Well, you know when you buy those large cones of beautiful embroidery threads that outlast the (lower quality) spools they are wound onto......
{You know the ones I am talking about, lovely threads, beautiful colours, gorgeous shine, inexpensive and you bought them when you were just starting out, before you knew much about embroidery thread and how cheap and nasty some of the spools could be???
One really bad offender is branded under the name of a fire breathing, mythological, animal?}
..... and you end up with a huge mess of thread that you cannot use because the spool is broken and the thread won't run freely?
Then all you can do is throw it out because, after wasting a couple of hours trying to salvage some of it, you just give it up as a pain in the butt and all too difficult and time consuming and you don't have the patience???
Well this little gadget (when it is finished) will allow me to transfer the thread onto an empty (better quality) reel so I can still use it.
I have been saving all my bobbin thread reels (as I empty them) because they are of much better quality than the cones and they have a top and a base to keep the thread in check.
And since I now have at least 8 broken cones, (and 92 others that are likely to break) all still with quite large amounts of thread, I am truly excited for Ray to finish this little winder so I can use it.
Watch this space for further developments. :-)
122864
what a great way to save all those nasty D----- threads that would just be thrown away ,,,,,,,I wish my hubby was a handy man
23581
3644lauris en France, j'ai ce problème avec des bobines de mauvaise qualité, elles se cassent , je garde les bobines vides des fils pour la couture et je les rembobine avec une perceuse a petite vitesse pour avoir un travail assez régulier, mais attention ne pas trop remplir.il faut être deux . mais actuellement je remplis plusieurs cannettes , le fil est régulier et se déroule sans problème pour les broderies demandant beaucoup de couleurs c'est assez pratique amitiés
209After having all my time taken up, constantly cleaning two very fluffy kittens suffering with diarrhoea and vomiting, for the last month, I am finally getting back to this but not with any good news.
Firstly, suggestions to make the winder automatic would not work because the thread coming off the damaged spool needs constant untangling, making the whole process, by necessity, very SLOW going. (Just ask Chris LOL!)
I have one of those wool winders (came with my Empisal knitting machine) and I still use it for wool but it is useless for embroidery/sewing thread.
I also have an automatic bobbin winder, which I love, but that too is useless when trying to take thread off a damaged spool.
Hubby, as always, (God bless his loving heart) ALWAYS over thinks everything and complicates every item he makes. I keep telling him about the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) but he never listens, hence this project has been scrapped until such time as I can get downstairs to 'supervise'
I now have ANOTHER four Dragon brand threads with broken spools just in the last week and I am getting more angry with every spool that breaks as I purchased over 100 spools of this brand of thread and they have been stored inside dust free, air-tight, ultraviolet protective tubes and yet they just keep breaking!!!!!
It is such a shame because I love the colours, the shine and the way it stitches out and washes. But I could NEVER recommend anyone purchase DRAGON brand threads simply because of the poor quality plastic spools.
flowers to all for your suggestions.
122864Thank you Meganne,Ray and Chris will have to show my hubby and see if he can also make one for my threads..
45918This looks pretty clever and a very neat idea! Thanks Chris, for getting the pic up for us to see. Meganne, if Ray needs something else to think about, maybe it could also have an option of winding it using an electric drill/screwdriver -maybe from the opposite side to where the manual handle is. It might be lots quicker that way and be a smoother fill. When I was young, my father used to make rope from hay bale string using a drill-just a thought -my brain thinks way too much!
23163Meg,this is a half baked idea but here goes.Ask hubby if there is a way,instead of manually 'cranking,winding' if he could rig something where you could use a drill to wind it.He may understand what I am trying to say.I just thought it would save your hands and time,too.He has the right idea though,to save your threads.
109780Meg sent me this picture last week and I can see there are a few problems on here. I see Bettina suggested I do this, so here it is! Love Chris
4 comments
by lindalee757
edited 06 May 2014
ok-I see it-but now does this mean manually winding it off the cone onto the spool? I actually have a little blue gizmo that I got from somewhere??? I think it was called E Z Winder of something like that-fits on the bobbin winder spool pin and then you p
by lindalee757
06 May 2014
seriously-I got cut short?? to finish my sentence-then you put an empty spool on the peg and hit wind. I didn't care for it because you had to guide it up & down for even distribution.
by anssmile
07 May 2014
Years ago (more than 20 years ago, my, but times fly!) I had something similar for winding wool to use on my knitting machine. Your hubby sounds clever, I'll have him incorporate that drill idea (mentioned in the comment above) to wind your spools.
234497whoops no picture. Thanks for trying. Would love to see it.
Cloreta
1543
30988
173693Meg maybe you can send the pic to Chris and she tries to upload it here in this post (should work with a comment). Have tried now with all my programs (firefox, chrome and safari) and it is still invisible ;-)
Could also be a problem of the page. The last few days there were some glitches with not being possible to dl the freebies or seeing pics.
Greetings, Bettina
33986oh meganne I can not open the pic. but I know it is wonderful so happy for you.
Lenamae
32767Hi, looks like your hubby can patent his contraption...
3 comments
by lindalee757
03 May 2014
really? were you able to see the gadget? how are you able to see it??? :(
by anssmile
05 May 2014
I have a very good imagination. Reading what she described, it sounded like something a lot of us need, no matter what it looks like!
8037I can not see the photo ,but am very interested in what you described ,I have so many spools of thread that the cones have disintegrated ,I badly need one as well
23581I have been wanting a good quality spool winder - instead of bobbin winder and they are not to be had. I am anxiously waiting your device and hopefully I can get my hubby to make me one.
173693I've loaded the photo twice and twice it has been visible both times, only to disappear later, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
I'll wait a couple of days then post it again.
2 comments
by toogie
03 May 2014
I had the same problem with some of mine,Meg.I did a second post and I guess everyone is seeing the rest there,no one has said otherwise.I tried loading again,twice, on my orginal post.I could see it but then it would go away-I thought,since some were hid, I had been playing peek-a-boo with the baby too much-LOL
122864
8586713216wow-I posted a comment awhile ago and it just vanished??? Oh well-try again. :D You have my curiousity up Meg, I can't wait to see the picture of Ray's creation. I also have quite a few of those dried out, crumbling thread cones. ~linda~
1 comment
by lindalee757
02 May 2014
LOL-oh man-call it long day and old age-my comment is there-sorry ladies . It's been a long week
20173I too am anxiously waiting to see.I have a hubby I need to put to work-lol
109780Oh darn Meg-now you have my curiousity aroused!!! I have quite a few of those blasted cones that are in that brittle state myself-the thread so far hasn't been comprimised,but it's just a matter of time. Can't wait to see what Ray comes up with ~linda~
20173
42046reloading the image, we'll see how long it lasts this time
5 comments
by dragonflyer
02 May 2014
Hmmm, looks interesting, but I still cannot grasp how it wll transfer thread from a broken cone to a new one ...
by meganne
02 May 2014
It isn't finished yet. but when it is, you turn the handle to wind the thread onto the new spool.
122864would love to see the picture of your life saver. I have the same problem.
1993Will look forward to seeing pictures of it... I have the same problem with some small cone that were gifted to me, at the moment one is upside down on a doll stand (the ones for china dolls) it ia a beautiful varigated blue and don't want to throw it out that would be wasteful..
2 comments
by meganne
02 May 2014
Hmmmm? Curious? The picture WAS there, wonder what happened to it?
I'll check back later and upload another one if I have to.
45918