And definitely functional! Not to mention that reuse is the purest form of recycling. These broken-fishing-pole and broken-hammer-or-flat-iron thread guides are “constant comment” items at Seldom Seen Studio. My darling husband made the hammer version first, and then we (various quilters) discovered how very functional it was and asked for more! Now there is one at each sewing machine and one at the embroidery machine, enabling us to use large cones of thread without difficulty on machines that were not designed to hold them. He feels they are less than aesthetic — but the other quilters and I think they are perfect. AND they were definitely affordable!