Thread stash: part two!

So in my last post, I shared my thread stash as part of a little blog hop.  One of the questions was how to build a stash and I casually answered to check thrift stores, because you never know what you find.  Well my friends, I had to share what I found a thrift store yesterday!  65 skeins of hand-dyed floss for a quarter each!!!  I couldn't believe it!  It seems (sadly) that a needlework shop went out of business and donated things that were left over.  So here's what I got!

These are from Stranded by the Sea, which I'm not familiar with, but they are beautiful hand-dyed colors and all have sea-inspired names. 

These are a few random ones I got, a few silks and what I think is linen, but it's not labeled.

 

A few Crescent Colours

 Then, the jackpot...43 skeins of Weeks Dye Works!  I seriously about flipped out in the store. I grabbed every skein that was on the rack.  I couldn't believe I was going to get these for a quarter each. 

Such beautiful colors.  Now I've got to find a way to store all these new goodies!

So be sure to peek in a thrift store every now and then, because seriously, you NEVER know what you will find!

Show Your Stash: Threads

Over at Stitch Bitch, Anna is asking us to show our thread stash.  Seemed like a fun thing, so here goes!

What thread do you usually stitch with? I use DMC cotton floss primarily but I’ve recently purchased some Weeks Dye Works and The Gentle Art overdyed floss for a few projects which is really lovely to stitch with.  But DMC is readily available and not expensive so it's what I use the most.

When you shop for threads, do you buy on impulse or do you buy only what you need?  I have a lot of threads so I don’t really buy anymore unless I’ve run out of a particular color.

How do you sort it?  Since I embroider more than I cross stitch (even though I’ve been cross stitching way more these days) I've sorted everything by color so when I’m looking for pink, I can look at all the pinks together to decide which shade will work best.  It does make it a bit difficult to look for colors by number though when I’m kitting up a cross stitch project.  I’ve spent a lot of time looking for a certain color, knowing I most likely have it, but just don’t know what color I sorted it with.  If I win the lottery, I will buy all the DMC colors and sort them by number and have another set to sort by colors.  How wonderful would that be!! 

My stash!!

 How do you store your thread?  I use the little bobbins for my DMC and store them in the little plastic boxes.  I also have a large plastic bag that I have some specialty threads in—like my metallic, linen, variegated etc.  I could probably use another plastic box for those now.  I use the metal rings when I kit up a project to keep them all together.

What tips do you have for building a stash? Look for sales.  Every once in a blue moon, the craft stores will run a sale on DMC.  A few years ago, AC Moore had them for 4 for a $1!  I stocked up on a bunch of floss then.  Also, you never know what you find at thrift stores and yard sales. 

I store all my boxes in this storage cube beside the couch which is where I do most of my stitching

 How much is too much? Never too much.

How do you whittle your stash down when it's gotten too large? See above answer.

Do you have a current favorite in your stash? Let’s see it!  I’m loving Bubblegum from Weeks Dye Works right now.  Such a fun, bright pink! 

Go ahead and show your thread stash! Link your post in the comment section of this post to link up!

Thrifty Thursday: Shroomin'

I found a cute needlepoint mushroom recently. 

I think it goes great with these mushroom canisters my mom found for me! 

  Have you found any thrifty goodies lately?

What's In My Hoop!

Here’s some progress shots on things I’ve been working lately.  I’ve actually been making tons of things but can’t show a lot of them because they are for a Halloween swap!  But here’s some stitchy things I can show. 

I finally jumped into Halloween Town by The Frosted pumpkin Stitchery.  This year’s design is so adorabe!  I can’t get over the cuteness!  I've finished the first two parts, only two more to go!

I’m also still stitching away on Gingerbread Lane by The Frosted Pumpking Stitchery.  I keep this one at work and work on it on my lunch breaks.  So it’s coming together thirty minutes at a time.  I’m pretty much finished with the second house so will only have one more house to do and the countdown numbers along the bottom. 

I’ve also went a little loony for Halloween stitch-a-longs buying “Whacky Witches” by Cloud Factory, “Early Witches” by The Primitive Hare and "Something Wicked" by Samsarah Designs Studio.  Is there a support group for stitch-a-longs!?  I don’t know when I’ll be able to start them, but I can’t wait!

What’s in your hoop?