I’ll cross that stitch when I come to it

Some people call them snips or oorts, but I prefer to call them snubblies. They’re the little bits of floss leftover when you finish a length of stitching. I tend to make piles of them while I’m cross stitching, and if I’m not careful, they migrate over the entire house. I’m sure many people just throw them out, but I, being the pack rat I am, save them.

Storage
I’ve gone through several ways to store snubblies (and keep them from getting all over the place). My first idea was to just use a ceramic dish. This was nice, except that if you flipped it over (which happened pretty often), they’d still get everywhere. Then I’d have to spend valuable cross stitching time picking them up and putting them back. Also, sometimes giant piles of snubblies aren’t all that nice to look at, especially when you have company over.

Next, I tried a metal box from the thrift store. It had a spot for a picture on top, so I used one of my cross stitch pieces - a picture of a mouse sewing. Aha! Now, not only were the snubblies out of sight, but I was also displaying my beautiful cross stitch and motivating myself to stitch more! Since it was heavy (it’s made of metal, after all), it was lot harder to tip over. However, it was also harder to put each individual snubbly in, as I’d have to stuff it in one-handed, while still holding the project in the other hand. So, most of the time, I still pile the snubblies up on the armrest of the sofa, but after each bout of stitching, I make sure to stuff the snublies in the box.

Recently, I’ve seen ort holders in a lot of needlework magazines. They’re made out of fabric, often quilted, and resemble smaller versions of armchair remote holders, in that they’re made to sling over the arm of a chair or sofa. Often, they also have a magnetic strip for needles or scissor holders. This also seems like a nice solution, with an easy-to-deposit-snubblies-in pouch, especially if you’d make one for yourself, as the premade ones can get a little pricey. It’s also something that can be easily folded up and put away if company’s coming.

Uses
Uh-huh, you read that right, uses for snubblies! Now, you might be thinking to yourself, alright, I’ve got an overflowing box of snubblies. Now what? Well, sometimes, I like to display them in glass jars, kinda like button jars. It’s something nice to put on your desk or near your stitching chair, as, for me at least, all the colors mixed together are soothing.

Another way to display them is to put them into clear glass ornaments. I like to take a selection from the year and put in a ball, and then label it in glitter glue with the year. That way, I have a nice reminder of all the projects I’ve stitched that year. If you have a little Christmas tree devoted just to cross stitch ornaments (or you’d like to start one), now you’ve got something else to put on it!

Have other ideas? Let me know! Anyhow, I hope you’ve enjoyed this article, and happy stitching!