I should have taken a before and after picture yesterday but having a dining room table that seats eight means I can make one heck of a mess on that table!
A few days ago I was trying to decide what I was going to make for my New Year’s Day start and . . oh, what a disaster! Digging through patterns, digging through fabric, digging through floss. Add a cat sailing across the table a few times and . . maybe it’s better I didn’t take a picture!
When I first started ordering cross stitch supplies, I told myself I was going to stay organized. That didn’t happen.
I mostly order from either 123 Stitch, Cross Stitching Supplies or Fat Quarter Shop.
With a lot of patterns, 123 Stitch has a feature just below the pattern where you can order all the floss and sometimes the fabric too but I don’t know that there’s been a single pattern I’ve bought that had ALL the floss available so I’d go to Cross Stitching Supplies or Fat Quarter Shop and see if they had the needed floss and if they did, I’d order it from there. Some of the more popular colors, no one had so I’d make a list of those and when I’d place an order with any of those shops, I’d add those colors to the list if they were in stock. So, I ended up with a big mess of floss.
I spent almost the entire day yesterday working on getting all that organized. I feel good about my efforts and think that will help tremendously.
These were two plastic storage drawer units I had in the sewing room in Texas. I’m not sure I’ll have a place for them in the sewing room here. Since they seemed about perfect for cross stitching supplies, that’s what I’m going to use. Maybe some day when we can go out and shop again, I’ll find something that looks a little nicer but for now, I’m happy to have it and I think it will serve the purpose.
My labels aren’t very straight but they’re on there and that’s good enough for me. I still have one large drawer and two small drawers that haven’t been assigned to something. I think one of the small drawers will be for projects I’ve finished stitching but haven’t yet totally finished. I’m sure there will be other things I need that will have to have a place to reside.
I put together 12 kits yesterday. With the cats and the one I started yesterday, that’s 14 project kits. I was watching a flosstube the other day and a lady had finished 36 projects in 2020. WHAT? That’s a lot . . and she has other hobbies too. I feel like a slug. I’ll be happy if I get 10 projects finished this year.
Once I’ve finished 5 or 6 of these, hopefully it will be easier to get floss and I can order what I need to kit up other patterns. For so many patterns, I have about half of the floss but it’s frustrating trying to get what I need. Even the popular DMC colors are out of stock at most places and there’s no way to get everything from one place. If I need 12 skeins and have to order from three places and pay $3 – $5 shipping at each place, that’s not cost effective. So, for now, I’ll stitch what I have.
Hobby Lobby locally had a great stock of DMC the last time I was in there but I’m not going to go in and get it now. It’s sad that I feel like I’m risking my life to get DMC floss but that’s where we are now. Joann’s has curbside service but I think it’s a bit time consuming to ask them to pick out 20 or more DMC colors. If I was desperate – maybe . . but or now, I have enough to keep me busy.
Of the 12 kits I put together yesterday, three needed fabric and four needed one or two skeins of floss. I was able to find everything I needed to complete those kits and I put notes on each pattern as to what I need so when it comes in, I don’t have to try to figure out what goes where . . which would mean it would get piled onto the table and probably used for the wrong project.
I’m going to finish the border on the Playful Cats and then I need to get back to knitting a test knt.
Jo Kramer says
Judy. Call over to The Stitchery Nook. Here is a link https://stitcherynook.com/index.php They are out of Osage Iowa. They are about an hour from me. I give them my list of floss and they typically have everything I need as I have been having trouble with 123 and Fat Quarter. I also have had amazing luck with The Attic in Arizona when it comes to getting floss. The Attic also lets you put your name on a list and as soon as that linen comes in, they send it to you.
Judy Laquidara says
Thanks. I’m going to wait til everything I’ve ordered comes in and then I’ll check out Stitchery Nook. I am on a list at The Attic for a couple of kits with floss and fabric.
JustGail says
More details on the Flosstuber’s finishes would be nice – sizes and number, complexity, were they started from scratch including kitting up or already started, were they fully finished (framed, sewn up, etc) or only the stitching finished? It’s similar with quilters who say they finished 20 quilts in a year, then you find out 15 of them were small wall hangings or baby quilts, and only 7 of those were quilted, bound, and hung up or gifted. In other words, not all finished projects are created equal in effort, don’t be in too big of a rush to feel like a slacker. I’m not dissing those small projects though!!
About Boots and the dining room table – I don’t blame you for not wanting a cat tree in there. From what I can see, there’s nothing in front of the windows? Would it work to set a small stool or chair for him to sit on? Turn one of the dining chairs around for him? Or add a wall hung shelf with a couple of unbreakable bric-a-brac items so it doesn’t scream “cat sits here” ?
One thing I’ve learned over the years – a cat will learn where you don’t want them, but it will not keep them off/out if you are not right there. When you catch him on the table, calmly and quietly go to pick him up, put him elsewhere. If you scare him off by yelling or swatting at him, you will end up with a scratched up table when he scrambles to get away.
Judy Laquidara says
The flosstuber I was watching had them all to show, except for a few that she had given away and she had pictures of those. Most were fully finished. I think she gave details on each as she finished them through the year and what I saw was a recap of her finishes for 2020.
I did put a chair in front of the window, with a soft cushion on it but the table is higher and that’s where he wants to be.
Susan Nixon says
My experience with Weeks threads was that they weren’t dye-fast. I haven’t bought any since I found that out, so they might have fixed it, but I would check it in a canning jar of hot water, if I were you.
Judy Laquidara says
I’ve only used one so far. I soaked it in a bowl of warm water then squeezed it in a white paper towel and left it there to dry and it didn’t fade but I do that with every color of floss except white or very, very light. Back when I was smocking I had a heck of a time with yellow DMC so I learned to test them all.
Paula Nordt says
So maybe not a cat tower, but something as tall as the table? Did you try the window in Vince’s office yet?
Judy Laquidara says
He went in when I was in there using the rowing machine, looked around but didn’t seem interested.
Paula Nordt says
Darn!
Susan says
What do you use to make your labels? It would be really helpful in organizing. Thanks and Happy New Year.
Judy Laquidara says
I use the Brother P-Touch label maker. I love it because it works from my phone. Any where I am in the house, and I think of a label I need, I just do it from my phone. I also have a Dymo for making larger labels but the program for it, as well as the label printer, isn’t here yet.