Tipsy Tuesday :)

So what do you do with Pool Noodle floaties after the trip to the beach house is over? They don't really store well in the garage (They're always in the way, no matter where you put them, and if you have more than one, just try to coral them together if you need to move them...they try to escape in all different directions...things can get knocked over...expletives can fly...possibly ~ anyway, I got my revenge...)

So on with the today's Tip:  If you're a quilter who participates in block of the month programs, or you take blocks to guild/club meetings for show & tell or swaps, you know that if you fold them to transport in a tote bag, the result is a crease in the block...
 

...and depending on the fabric used, the resulting creases can be hard to press back out.

Here's the solution (and my revenge on the Pool Noodle).  I know it sounds petty on my part, but chop those babies up!  With a serrated knife they slice like butter ~ a smaller knife can be used, but at the time this one seemed right :)
  

I cut about a 15 inch length of Pool Noodle for a 12 1/2 inch block.  Stack the blocks, and place the resulting Pool Noodlette (Pool Penne?), centered along one edge of the blocks...

Roll the blocks up, and pin right into the Pool Penne...and Voila!  Just drop it in a tote and head to Guild.  This works great for small quilt tops too, just cut the Pool Noodle to whatever length you need :)  I store my Baltimore Album blocks this way (because Lord knows it's going to be years before I have enough of them for an actual Baltimore Album quilt). 

Pool Penne can also be cut to size, wrapped in muslin, and used in place of a tissue paper roll inside the folds of an antique quilt in storage.  Folds and creases are the worst enemy of a stored 100 year old quilt (Remember this quilt) ~ always make sure to support those folds to make them softer.

(Btw ~ I may have shared this Tip before, it's one of my favorites...I share it at classes that I teach, and I'm starting to do that old lady thing of telling a story over and over again like I've never told it before...(I'm sure my kids will hear about my fight in the garage with the Pool Noodles for years to come).  So please forgive me if I've shared this Tip here already.  To avoid this problem in the future, I've created a blog label for Tipsy Tuesday, that way I can check back at tips I've already shared, and readers can easily reference future tips :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn