First of all the Travelling Pattern:
This was two steps forward, one step back this week. I only stitched the end of the fence on Tuesday as we were busy but on Wednesday I realised I had missed out the central post in the gate and it looked all wrong as it is supposed to echo the Blessings curve. So I unpicked and restitched the right hand side and voila, all fine.
The problem with choosing your own colours is that you do tend to try something, doesn't work, try something else and end up stitching twice. The leaves are a good example. Paler colours don't look good on this fabric.
Next up is my Mermaid, I've been concentrating on the boring border. I've started to back stitch it but don't like it so will unpick it and leave it plain. The eagle-eyed Mira obsessives may have spotted I've moved the border out. This was advised on the Mira board and is a great idea. I moved the top and side borders by 5 stitches each but left the bottom border and the seahorses where they were. I've bs the seahorses in DMC500 not the 3371 recommended which I used for the crown but only in one strand. Her skin will be bs in turquoise not 3371 (yuk).
Number 2 in the series "Doesn't Everyone Do This? Oh OK Just Me Then"
These are my "scraps bags". When I finish a kit I always have loads of thread left over and I just used to put it all in a large bag. This year I spent time sorting it into colour groups and putting into individual bags. Each length is on a piece of cut-up thread sorter. I use spare cardboard as DIY thread sorters if the project doesn't come with one. Even the threads which claim to be DMC colours go into this bag as I learned early on that things-are-not-always-what-they-seem-to-be.
Now when I need a thread for a small project I just go to the relevant bag and select a suitable colour. There's usually only one length of threads from cover kits but from larger kits there is often half a skein leftover.
So do you do anything like this? What's your "it's just me then" thing?
19 comments:
Jo, all your stitching is lovely. Your mermaid is looking great and I am realising that charts can be altered or stitched in different colours. I even changed a bit of a Chatelaine differently recently.
I love your floss bags. I use small plastic boxes and do it by brand rather than colour but I like the colour sorting.
Lovely stitching. Congrats on your finish. Your mermaid looks gorgeous as well.
Hmmm...I do it different then you with my left overs. I'm a convinced bobbin lover. I put almost everything on bobbins.
And I have bobbin cases for DMC, for silks, and for variegated cottons. Once a project is finished, the bobbins go into the cases, sorted by manufacturer.
If I buy a dimension kit or something like that, I tend to throw the rest of the floss away
Throw thread away!!!!! Shock!!!!
If I've kitted a design up myself then the threads will be DMC or known hand-dyeds and they stay in their labelled Floss-away bags.
These threads are all anonymous leftovers (like from your Dimensions kits) but I can't bear to waste anything. Result of a deprived childhood haha
Beautiful stitching! I like the change to the border - balances the whole thing. I do something similar with any left over thread from a kit, but I don't have them seperated into color families just dumped in one big box. It makes a lot more sense to sort them - sounds like a perfect project for a cold, rainy day.
Your stitching is wonderful, Jo. Your mermaid looks beautiful!!
As for left over kit floss, I donate it to my daughter, who in turn makes bracelets out of it :) Leftover floss from non-kits (my floss bobbins) just goes back in the main DMC stash for future use :)
Jo, I think that the leaves look just fine! Ar eyou going to do them over again? I like the freshness of the greens in the photo!
I do the same as you do, but I keep the leftover floss in a box woth compartments. I use that floss for anything, a few small stitches, color changes, sewing & finishing, and general craft. I do throw out the leftovers from kits using unknown stuff, just like Gabi.
The problem is what to do with the leftiver silks, now that I have started stitching more with those...
I really love the colors you've chosen for the traveling pattern. And the mermaid, wow. I love all the colors!
I save leftover thread too on the little cardboard thingies. (cutting up cardstock or cereal boxes works great for me too.) Some threads are so old I have no idea who even made them. I don't have enough of them to sort by color though. I used up a bunch awhile back. :)
Blessings, Jessica
wow..your stitching is really very wonderful..
count your blessing is growing so lovely..dont forget me for this travelling pattern:)
mermaid is so stunning..well done dear..xx
Congrats on the stitching progress-- even if the leaves and gate gave you roubles. Your mermaid is stunning, not that you should need me to tell you that, but... :)
I don't do littel scrap bags like that per se, but I do save the left overs-- they just go back with their affiliated thread friends -- the Weeks with the Weeks, the Sampler Threads with the... you get the idea. DMCs and Achnors get wound onto their color bobbin if I wasn't working off it in the first place.
If I have unnamed leftovers from a kit or leftovers of threads I don't usually use, those get saved in the kit's project bag (a nice, cheap ziplock) until I'm certain I didn't miss any stitches or that I don't want to do any part of the piece again-- then they get chucked.
The funny bit is, when xsing I save lots of floss, but needlepointing usually leads me to toss any floss (DMC or Anchor) left overs on the basis that I'll not match the color again. Sometimes I wind the floss onto a bobbin, but not always. Silly girl.
Lovely stitching.Your mermaid is so beautifuland I love the little picket fence in "count your Blessings"
I keep my left over threads on their cardboard,I use waste cardboard too,they are all numbered and I just put them in a small clear bag so I can see what colours I've got. I write DMC or Anchor on the bag..although I mostly use DMC these days and some speciality threads.
Your travelling pattern is growing well, and the mermaid is lovely.
I save all my little odds of thread on cardboard sorters too, but I don't sort mine by colour they just go in the next available slot
Nice work on the travelling pattern even with a minor blip.
Your mermaid is stunning. What a beautiful joy you have done.
Hi Jo - the travelling pattern looks really good, I like the leaves are you going to change them?
Ditto Bluebeard's mermaid, you must be pleased to be so close to an HD.
I do a similar thing with left over threads, I store everything in floss away bags, I don't normally bother with the left over thread from freebie kits as the quality is not great so I know I won't reuse it.
What I do do is store it by thread type as normally I'll think about the type of thread and then the colour, but that's just me.
Hope you're having a good weekend.
Hannah xx
Oh nice I have my dmc in floss bags by number groups but the kits I just tend to keep together and use it if I'm doing something on my own like a book mark or something and just need a color that I don't have to worry about running out of. I like your idea though!
Thanks for your ideas on my pattern for my next Love Quilt Square!
Thank you for your lovely comment on my blog. It's lovely to meet you :)
Your mermaid is looking beautiful and I love the Count Your Blessings piece.
I don't tend to stitch kits very much but when I do and I pass the chart on or sell it I send the threads as well so they can matched up.
Hmmm.... I like the leaves on the fabbie, Jo. :) They fit in beautifully for me with the rest of the colors. Sorry you had to frog... that sucks.
Bluebeard looks great!!
Hmm... my it's just me? I hate new starts.... ROFL.
Love your stitching! The having-to-restitch part is exactly why I have a phobia for choosing my own colours :-)
I love your mermaid, beautiful stitching. A great idea of yours to sort your threads out like that. :0) Michelle
Frogging and re-stitching is certainly the bane of every stitcher! I've had to do some over one frogging, not pretty!
Your Mira looks fantastic.
I used to be a "thread miser" and would keep/conserve thereads left over from kits and little cut bits.
I stopped doing that because I found I just wasn't using it and well really thread is pretty cheap unless its some fancy over dyed silk!
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