I open the kit and there is a zillion threads. I don't get the idea of a premade thread organizer since the threads just tangle up on each other on the bottom. Yeah. That works. NOT. I bought a cheap plastic box that said it was made for organizing floss with cardboard thingies and got to work writing color/numbers on each one. Some of the colors have up to 10 strands on them. Trying to wrap them around a cardboard thing isn't working but I continue to plod away. This is going to be so pretty once it gets done I told myself.
What started out as a very organized thread box has turned into a giant mess after a couple of days. This sucks trying to cut the threads when you have so many wrapped around. Try adding one strand from two colors and this is not fun.
What I also didn't realize is that the aida fabric squares are so small you can't even see them. I'm blindly trying to stick the needle in/out of the fabric as I go. I seem to remember the last cross stitch I had done years ago had bigger ones. Oh..just checked the box, it's 18 count Aida fabric. This is only part of the top skirt and a partial rose. I had to literally rip out where I started with the bushes as I had done it wrong since the squares are so small. You can see how small the squares are.
It's also stretching as I go and it didn't help that my cat climbed into the embroidery hoop last night making it stretch even more. I know if you tighten it more, you stretch more of the fabric.
If you know the best way to organize this mess so I don't spend more time trying to find/cut/separate floss and more time stitching PLEASE let me know.
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4 comments:
Love your kitten over your Horizon!
You've hit on some of the Many reasons I wouldn't even cross a room for a free kit :) It's a big PITA! Good luck...
Sharyn
When I have bought kits before, the floss comes on a large card with holes punched down one side, each hole labeled with a color name and number. The floss is generally cut into about 18" lengths. When I use a color I pull out a length out, divide it into the number of strands needed for stitching. I try to use up the entire length before moving on to another color. If using it all up is not possible, I take the strands I haven't cut and loop them back through the hole. To store the strands I have cut I push the needle through the paper near the hole, leaving the strands behind.
My floss stash is in small ziplock bags the size of the floss hanks sold in the stores. I ordered them a very long time ago, so I don't know if they are even made any more.
I don't use a hoop, because I find it frustrating to move it about. I am right handed, so I roll up the fabric to the left of the spot I am working, and hold the rest stretched between my fingers while I sew. (You have zigzagged the edges, right? That makes life much easier.)
If you are having trouble with the square size, maybe you should involve a magnifying glass of some sort.
I think your pattern is lovely -- it is just the sort of picture I enjoy working on -- the more complicated the better, because the finished product looks more like a painting. But maybe I'm just crazy .
Sally
Get a package of little tiny zip top bags, the kind they sell in the craft department for beading. Write down the color name and symbol for each floss on a tiny piece of paper and slide it into each bag with that color floss.
It'll make things MUCH easier to keep track of!
I use a little metal hoop (that opens) OR a fun shaped cookie cutter and just sort the threads in the same order that is on the sort sheet. That way they're always in order. I keep what ever's left on a spare thread hoop or cookie cutter until it's time to do odd crafts that need floss for embelishments. I love the kits because I don't end up with tons of floss that I'll never need for cross stitch again.
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