Orts.

They’re little scraps of colorful thread.

All over my table they tend to spread.

They’re blue, they’re yellow, they’re white, they’re red.

I could pitch ‘em, but I save ‘em instead.

And I don’t know why.

All my orts this year so far fill up a jar.

The fact that I keep them is quite bizarre.

Ahhhhh, orts. What to do with them? I’ve heard of folks using them to stuff pincushions and other stuffable things. I’ve heard of decorating bushes and trees with them in the Spring, so that the birds can add them to their nests.

(I actually tried this one year. I had little bits of embroidery thread all over the front bushes far into the summer – even in windy Kansas. They cling like all get-out. I’m thinking birds don’t like my orts.)

So, what do you do with your orts? Keep ‘em? Or pitch ‘em? Or something ingenious? I’m all ears! Tell me, tell me!