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Friday, December 28, 2012

Sitting and Stitching....

It started out as a day of sitting and stitching.  It wound up another cleaning and clearing day.

My New Year's Resolution shall be, "Finish things!"

It will probably last all of three days, twenty two hours, seven minutes, and two seconds....Not counting the milliseconds.... It wouldn't save any time.

This is one of those rugs in a book that I liked...I am doing pretty good on it, with Tessie's help.

Maybe I should mention some tips and tricks I use whilst stitching.  I just got new glasses, but I still prefer using a lighted magnifier to work.  Less eye strain.  I like this type, with the magnifier and light separate and adjustable.  It works well to keep an eye on Tessie too.

Storage for all of the floss I have can be a problem at times, so I use the DMC color chart.  I bought my first one about 30 years ago.  Wore it out.  Bought this one about five years ago and will probably wear it out too.

Walmart carries a version of this...I wouldn't buy it.  It has photos of the thread colors...Not the real thread.  This one costs more, but it is much more exact in choosing threads.

The three boxes in front are all my threads in numerical order. ( The color chart goes by groups of colors.)  That way I can pick and choose by color on the chart and then go to the appropriate box to find the thread of that number.
The three boxes from Plano(fishing gear from Walmart) stack and fit nicely on a book shelf.  They take up very little space, compared to some of the other storage units that the thread company puts out.

The last time I checked, I was lacking 5 of the colors on the chart....They were out of those colors everywhere.  I suspect that they have been discontinued.
The secret is out....These are just some of my unfinished rugs.  They will all get done eventually.

Remember, the more projects you have going, the longer you will live!
This is the last secret.  It is a four foot high jewelry chest.

I bought it years ago, at an after Christmas sale.  Half price.

I don't think that I have ever had it close to filled with jewelry.

The bottom five drawers are filled with the fabric and other items for making the rugs.
The drawer that Tessie is standing in, is the drawer that you see in the photo above.  Believe it or not, all of those unfinished rugs in the plastic boxes fit in the one drawer.

The top one that you see has all of the silk items that you saw a few days ago.

The second, fourth and fifth have fabric.  Hey! You never know when I will want to start another project.

One thing I forgot to mention.  When I start a new rug, as I add colors, I write the number on the outer selvage of the fabric.  That way, if I pilfer a color from one box to work on another one, I will know which color to search for and chances are, the number will be written on the edge of one of the other rugs.

It's not a fool proof system, but most of it works for this fool.

See you tomorrow.

4 comments:

rosanna said...

I am stitching too and I have the same boxes for the threads.
Great minds think alike ;o)
Happy stitching :o))

Tanja - SugarCharmShop said...

I wish more manufacturers made color charts with the actual product instead of a printed picture, whether it's paint, thread or something else the pictures rarely match that well.
love the way you have everything organized

Kathi said...

This sure beats my "system" for storing floss! I keep mine in plastic sandwich bags with the numbers written on the outside with a marker.
They are all stuffed into a big plastic shoe box. I like your jewelry box idea so much better! :D

Muriellisa said...

I have the same resolution, but it is very difficult.
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