New stash!

Well, I now have 2 more projects in my stitching cabinet. One is the Rainbow Bridge pattern I was looking for (on sale...yay!) and the other is Independence Day by Laura Perin.

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I'm going to do it on black, though. I think it will set off the colors better.

Not that I needed more patterns...........

Reply to
Joan Erickson
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The Laura Perin pattern is beautiful and I agree, on black should really pop.

Nancy

Reply to
Nancy Spera

Awesome stash Joan!

I had to pause and consider the person who asked the NUMBER of stash a stit cher might have. That thought made me shudder a bit...I've never counted my stash but I think it's a good exercise to know how much you have.

I have 7 current WIPs...I love finishing more than starting projects so thi s number is always low. As for patterns I'd guess I have about 20-25 in my stash at this moment. I do go through it about once a year and donate any p atterns or WIPS that just don't thrill me anymore. If I did not cull them o n a regular basis I'm sure I'd get up to about 75, maybe more.

The thing that frustrates is that my tastes are constantly changing and som etimes what I buy with great enthusiasm doesn't stand the test of time...I REFUSE to stitch something I only feel ho-hum about. To combat this and try to save some money and space in my closet, I usually make myself wait seve ral months before I buy a new pattern (since there are no stitchy shops in my area I don't have to be worried about impulse buying in person). Lately I've also made the rule that I can't kit something up until I'm ready to st itch it, so as not to waste the money if I decide never to do it.

So come clean ladies...how big is your stash? Any tips for keeping it manag eable?

Reply to
Violet Stitches

Forgot to say Joan, I'm really considering getting the fireworks pattern by Perin you showed...that looks super fun! I'm putting it off because I alre ady have a counted canvas in progress (Zecca's Bird In A Nest) and I find c anvas work hurts my hands quite a bit. But I've put a note in my stash to c onsider the fireworks one when I've finished Bird.

I did order a mirabilia pattern yesterday called Bluebeard's Princess. I sa w this pattern on flosstube a few months ago and have been drooling over it ever since. It's actually an older pattern, but somehow I missed it when i t came out. See pic here:

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Reply to
Violet Stitches

I'm usually just a one-at-a-time stitcher but I currently have 1 knitting and 1 cs project going (and some crocheted crosses that I do only occasionally).

I probably have that many in one *file folder*!!! 20-30 file folders, plus kits...plus my 20 or so years of Just Cross Stitch issues and a few scattered issues of other titles...well, I'll let you do the math! I guess I'm more a pattern collector than stitcher. :)

Guess I don't have *that* problem!

File folders by subject: floral, animals, babies, a couple of designer-specific ones, etc. (I am a librarian, after all). :) 2 file drawers in the bottom of the stitching cabinet I designed and my dad built for me plus a 3rd drawer for my kits. 4 parts cabinets for my various flosses & beads with perle cottons hanging on the inside of the door of my cabinet. I think I have pics of it in my rctnp folder if you're interested.

Reply to
Joan Erickson

Oh my gosh, you're a monogamous stitcher! A long time ago I used to be one of those, where'd I'd only have one project of a specific type going at a t ime. Sometimes though I'd get bored with the project or hit a snag, and not stitch for a few weeks or months trying to avoid it. It honestly never occ urred to me I could have multiple WIPS. Then several years ago I found Conn ie's blog (The Spinster Stitcher) and was blown away by how she would work on whatever project she felt like. Boom! I became a polygamous stitcher and have never looked back. Joan, you're the only other monogamous stitcher I' ve known.

One thing I've done to cut down on space is to not store threads anymore... I just buy what I need at the time for each project and then get rid of the leftovers. I'm always afraid I'm going to run out of the old half-used ske ins in the middle of a project and not get a good color match with a new sk ein. So now I throw out threads after a project is finished and it saves mu ch space. The only problem; I miss seeing all those beautiful threads and p etting them for creative inspiration.

It sounds like you have your stash super-organized Joan...I'm impressed! My stash/kits/fabric/notions are in a three drawer plastic bin thing, but I c an't say there's too much organization. Having folders for pattern themes s ounds like a really good idea and I'm going to consider implementing someth ing like this. That way I don't have to dig through all the drawers to find what I want. :)

Reply to
Violet Stitches

Reply to
Barb L

I know, she's so gorgeous. If you search google images for her you'll see o ther pics that better show how she's covered in beads, and people have put her on many different kinds of fabric. There are so many lovely mermaids fr om mirabilia out there...I want to stitch ALL the 'maids! Must hold myself back.

Reply to
Violet Stitches

who you calling a lady?

Rich, a man stitcher who has a lot of stash himself.

Reply to
Rich

Ack, sorry Rich! I don't know how I could have forgotten about you, as you enabled me to enhance my stash significantly last year by directing me to the Strawberry Sampler. I've seen your photos and you're a fine stitcher indeed. :D

So how much stash DO you have?

Reply to
Violet Stitches

If you're using DMC or Anchor floss, there's no problem with keeping skeins for years (except for a few colors a number of years ago with DMC when they had to change their formulas for environmental reasons). I have floss that's probably 20 years old and they're still the same color as newer skeins.

So don't throw away those floss skeins! Keep them for petting or choosing colors for changing a design if nothing else. :)

Reply to
Joan Erickson

So Rich, how did it go with the grandkids? Did you teach them any stitching?

Reply to
Joan Erickson

Yeah, but. I found 3 distinctly different greens in 503, and I was halfway through Teresa Wentzler's English Cottage Sampler when I ran out of one. I ended up having to combine one ply of 503 and one ply of 523 (or 524) to ap proximate the color I'd been using. Moral: make sure you have enough of yo ur color before you start - although not many designers will tell you if yo u need more than one.

Arliss (waiting to see the doctor about that knee, Joan)

Reply to
Arliss Link

Good point!

Why didn't you ask me about the 503? I probably have the old skein!

It also points out a problem with purchasing old patterns...the fibers may no longer exist. I ran into that just last week with the Independence Day np I got. Luckily, Laura Perin is still around and sent me the list of alternate fibers!

Sooo, I did a search and found this little chart:

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And this is from Mary Beth Lewis's page, a designer who used to be on rctn:
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Since this was from 1998, I have no idea if the address listed is still valid, but it might be worth a shot. In any case, the changes have been few, considering the number of colors DMC produces.

BTW, nice to "see" you here again!!!

Reply to
Joan Erickson

Reply to
Rich

I have over a hundred books and magazines. At least 6 sets of scroll rods, 2 Q-snap frames. I big pile of DMC and Anchor threads. Some fabric... I have 160 patterns, including 71 I have stitched. Plus 5 or 6 patterns kitted up with fabric and thread.

I can't believe I counted them...

Rich

Reply to
Rich

Sounds like you had fun, then. What a good Grandpa!

Reply to
Joan Erickson

Me, either! I have my stitching cabinet pretty full and I am *not* going to go through and count 2 drawers worth of patterns!!!!!!

Reply to
Joan Erickson

On Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 7:25:07 AM UTC-5, Rich wrote: I have 160 pa tterns, including 71 I have stitched. Plus 5

Wow Rich, that's an envious stash...it must be like going to a LNS every ti me you look through it! Fantastic. I would LOVE to expand to those numbers but my storage space is quite limited. I live in a house that was built in

2000 but for some insane reason we only have the two bedroom closets on the main floor. So I have to squish my stash inbetween our clothing, household crap like vacuum cleaners and mops, and my small collection of stuffed ani mals. The stuffies are important because they're my stitching companions, a nd they hold my threads for me. :)

Since you actually counted your stash I decided to count mine. As of this d ay I have 3 WIPs, 3 patterns kitted up and in the queue, and 14 patterns in stash. I find 14 to be an unacceptably low number...now I'm nagging my hub s to take me back to Stitchville so I can replenish. I've had many finishes this year but they were all small projects. I have two bigger projects tha t are going to take me quite some time (mirabilia's Bluebeard's Princess, a nd Zecca's Bird on a Nest).

Reply to
Violet Stitches

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