I had a great day yesterday with Linda. We looked through the threads I had & found a variety of threads that I must have inherited from others stash. The most interesting was some Belding Corticelli twisted silk on old wooden spools. Since Linda sews she had heard about the threads & knew that it is a strong thread used for making buttonholes. Mary Corbet wrote a great article on the history of the thread. What I have was produced in the U.S. between 1925 and 1932. You can still find some on eBay. I will hold on to this for finishing when I bind edges. I received an interesting note based on experience from a reader: “Be very careful if you use them. The wooden spools leach acids into the silk and not only weaken them but change the colors as well.” So, I think I’ll get rid of them – why take a chance.
Linda is also an amazing sewer and she made this wonderful Catch All Caddy for my retirement. It is just what I needed for my stitching tools and fits perfectly in the living room coffee table. I love the colors and pockets. Inside are cute Stitch Happy items and a cute golf piece that I can stitch for Bill. There is also a bag of spool stockings for contolling threads. What a fantastic, practical gift!
We spent a good amount of time walking around The Container Store and found drawes, drawer dividers, and a couple of bins. Great store. We even had time to organize some of the drawers.
Thanks to Linda for her valuable input, suggestions, and especially the caddy.
All cabinets are done! No major glitches. Didn’t use the feet because I gained just enough space for 2 drawers that will fit on top of each cabinet. Heading to The Container Store tomorrow.
I’ve been sorting threads into color families for several hours on a daily basis and may be not even half done. I didn’t expect it to take this long. Within each major color like red or blue, there are so many color families (10 & more).
In about an hour & a half, I put the IKEA Helmer drawer unit together without swearing or bleeding! Not many screws (only for the feet and handles). Mostly, I just bent metal. Seems very sturdy too. Another day, I will put the other two together. That will give me 18 drawers for my threads.
Each drawer maximizes the available inside space compared to other units I looked at. And, there is a handle instead of an opening which could let dust in. Also, there are small gaps on each side where the drawers were bent allowing the threads to breath. I am putting the 3 cabinets side by side under a counter. But, if I need to expand, they could stack. I would just have to find somewhere else to put them. The overall dimensions are width 11″, depth 16&3/4, height 27″ (with 1″ casters); inside, each drawer measures 9″, 15″, and 3&1/4″. I should be able to use inside dividers or maybe a tray to help keep things neat. That will probably depend on what threads I have in my stash now.
I am going to arrange by color and decided to follow the DMC floss color chart. I sent more time rearranging the flosses than putting the cabinet together. But, I can see color families now which will help me with figuring out color combinations. My stitching buddy, Linda, has graciously agreed to help me sort through all my other threads! Isn’t she wonderful!
Before and after . . .
Some members of my ANG Keystone Garden Chapter wanted to stitch this for a project this year. So, I wrote up the directions and made up diagrams that they could follow. I am restitching it to see if I can improve it.
Instead of using a blue Copic marker and clear Water n’ Ice for the water in the river, I switched to the blue Water ‘n Ice (WT2).
And, instead of Splendor and Pebbly Perle for the crescents, I am using Shades of Africa Two Oceans, Au Ver a Soie, hand-dyed by Chameleon Threads. The packet has 5 wonderful shades of blue that blend smoothly. I stitched the water first with the crescents placed on top. The darker crescents are on the bottom this time and they are a little smaller this time. I made sure the threads are not showing through this time by using away knots for each crescent.
Also, the overall design shape will be rectangular instead of square.
IN 2015, I took Janet Perry’s cyber class about learning to create your own stitch guide. I submitted a picture of a design which she chose for one of the class discussions. It’s Swirling Leaves (DH3825) an Elements canvas by Dream House Ventures Inc.
She suggested stitching the background first so that the focal points are on top of the rest of the stitching. However, she suggested an open Tent Stitch pattern. I didn’t realize until now that I didn’t do it correctly. It isn’t open. No wonder it took so long to stitch. Now, I will just have to stitch Alternating Continental to get the non-directional pattern that she intended. I won’t rip all that out – it just won’t be open. I’m using Elegance. Good thing I bought enough! Near the bottom left corner inside the swirl you can see where I started going the other direction.
It was tough getting the hang of the heart-shaped background pattern but it was a good choice. I matched the color of the thread to the canvas. So, it fades in the background and doesn’t conflict with the patterns in the large heart.
Filed under: Uncategorized
We added some of Color C this month. I selected copper as my neutral color. The stitch is a simple but interestingly placed straight double cross.
Filed under: 2017, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Color Inspirations by Orna Willis, New Jersey Needle Festival
Another wonderful day yesterday, seeing old friends, meeting new people, looking at what everyone is stitching, and shopping at New Jersey Needle Festival (NJNF).
I took my pillow – the finished Stitch of the Month, Feuilles d’ananas by Susan Hoekstra. Several of us had finished the piece and several others are still working on it. It’s fun to see what colors everyone selected.
I picked up 2 large project bags from Trish Vine Design. There are a couple of pieces that will take some time.
I had hoped to finish my second Color Inspirations at NJNF but it took most of Sunday too. This is my second piece from our Orna Willis class. All done now! The stitched piece (right) is supposed to reflect the colors from the magazine page (left). I’m very happy with the outcome.
Patrick (far right) joined us for the first time. And, from left to right some regulars: Lori, Rona, Ginny, and Buff. There I am in the bottom photo (left).
Filed under: Embracing Horses
Embracing Horses is a design by Laurel Burch. I just got back from a 3-day class at Nashville Needleworks with Laura Taylor. This piece is a stretch for me because it is so large. I’m working on 22″ x 16″ bars! The stitch guide that Laura put together is great – also challenging which is one of the reasons I took the class. It’ll be fantastic. There are different stitches than you find in books. I enjoyed Laura as a teacher – she demonstrated everything, checked on our progress, and had interesting tidbits to share! All my classmates were such nice ladies & fantastic stitchers. A wonderful 3 days.
Bill & I had a blast doing the bourbon trail in Kentucy. And, in Nashville enjoyed Johnny Cash Museum and Willie Nelson Museum. Then, with Linda enjoyed the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Old Opry! Nashville is a fun city. We’ll be back!
And, Connie has a fabulous store – three rooms! There she is with my stitching buddy, Linda. Look at all the canvases and threads!! Truly amazing. I got lucky & won one of the 2 gift certificates ($150 off next year’s class went to a local woman). The $50 gift certificate was promptly spent on a LOVE canvas (not pictured here) that I’ll use as my travel piece for my next trip.
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Filed under: General comments, Organization
There are 18 drawers from IKEA with solid color thteads and 6 Like-It drawers from The Container Store on top with various overdyed threads for a total of 24. I still had to have a drawer for EdMar threads for Brazilian Embroidery and threads for 13/14 count canvas in the basement. And, more than likely, the white drawer is too full. So, I am contemplating what to do.
I put 2 hanging magazine holders on the left with velcro to hold thread cards.
Let’s hope this works for awhile. I did find a thread I needed for a project!