Sort your Orts

Apparently scraps or morsels left after a meal are called orts. Someone, somewhere along the way, extended this definition to include snippets of thread. I didn't know that until fellow Gathered Threads member Dorothy made all of us these sweet origami-like 'collapsible orts boxes' last year.

On Friday, she came equipped with instruction pages, scrapbooking paper and glue sticks so we could all learn how to make them. The pattern was shared by Merilee Belanger in the May/June 2000 issue of Needlepoint Now magazine (I'm not sure if this is her original pattern, or an old origami one). This is the perfect thing to stash in your sewing kit for take-along projects...it is most impolite to litter your hostess' floor with your orts, don'tcha know! Once the tea pot is dry and it is time to head home, simply fold your box with your orts inside and take them with you!


This is my dining table, orts box construction getting underway:

Here the lovely hands of Marsha demonstrate folding and gluing:

And finally, the finished orts boxes, one folded, one open!

Come back for a visit this week - I'll be having a 'Thread Management Giveaway" starting tomorrow. Thank you sooooo much everyone that voted for, and commented on, my table runner tutorial...I didn't win the $50 from sms, so there won't be any Love fabric included. Rest assured though, plenty of real love went into making my giveaway!!