The Bobbin Buzz & Stitchin' Bits

I like to do "in the hoop" projects and embroider on strange things in strange places!! Sometimes that is difficult to do without special hoops or tools. I am on an extremely tight budget, and cannot yet afford much in extra hoops right now for embroidering in difficult areas. I also have a serious lung disease that prohibits me from using the spray adhesives to keep fabric and loose items from wiggling around in my hoop. I was getting very frustrated and felt like I was so limited as to what I could could embroider on. Then I thought of something I use a lot for scrapbooking and cardmaking. I have a couple of boxes of different sizes of removable adhesive "dots." I tried using those in a few places instead of adhesive spray, and they held pieces of unhooped fabric and unhoopable items such as dog leashes and patches in place beautifully. I just placed them in spots where the needle did not stitch. They pull right off immediately afterward, with no problem, and leave nothing behind to clean up. Not only that, they are reusable over and over again, so they are extremely economical. There are several hundred on a roll in a box for just a couple of dollars, and are available at craft and discount stores and on the internet. Sometimes I use them now in regular sewing to hold something in place temporarily instead of basting. If I do happen to accidentally sew through one of the adhesive dots, there is no harm done. It cleans off the needle quickly and easily. (ask me how I know!) There was no damage done to my machine at all. I have learned to make sure I am familiar with where a design stitches ahead of time before I use the dots all over the place for the first time!!! Using these glue dots has saved me MANY hours of frustration, preparation and clean up time. I have put embroidered and made piles of "in the Hoop" projects since I thought of this idea, and I have not even made a minor dent in my $$3.00 box of glue dots!!!