I'm finally starting to tie my medallion quilt. If you notice the "dish" there with my thimble and semi-circular needle in it--this is my recycling tip. I cut off the bottom of empty plastic milk cartons and use them to hold thread ends, pins, or whatever. Very handy and they are free! You can cut the dishes to be short or high. So useful for the discarding of thread or yarn ends. And they can still be recycled some day. I'm using crochet bedspread cotton thread for my tying. I make a surgeon's knot. It's like a reef knot but with one extra turn of the thread. Oh, and underneath the quilt, I place a cutting mat to protect the table surface.
I should tell the story about the time I was invited to a quilting bee. It was about 36 years ago. I knew this lady named "Dolly" from my Mother's Support Group (Le Leche League.) And her mother phoned to invite me, "Because Dolly hasn't many friends and she knows you." Anyhow, I arrived at the home and there were several ladies there who were relatives of Dolly. The first thing that happened was a rather awkward moment for me. A gentleman entered the room and gave an invocation. I wasn't aware that prayers were required at a quilting bee! Anyhow, it was not of my Faith, so I just had to sit there awkwardly. I guess that I wasn't making much of an impression. Then they stretched a nine-patch quilt on a quilting frame and proceeded to tie it with red wool. I didn't do so well at that either. I don't think that I had ever tied a quilt before. Anyway, I was cutting the wool too soon or something, and wasting yarn. "Oh, who cut that yarn?" So I sat on the sidelines for a while and then I went home early!