Have Your Say

Thread Taming & A Couple of Thank Yous

In All Stitched Up! issue #361, Edna wondered if she was the only person to ever find herself with a bird’s nest of cotton in her work bag. Not only isn’t Edna alone, but the suggestions put forward by the Inspirations Community might just point all of us in the right direction when it comes to taming those sometimes-untameable threads!

Gerry, who’s been known to find ‘a huge bird’s nest in (her) stitching bag’ was shown by a fellow stitcher how to avoid that going forward.

Simply ‘leave your thread in the skein it comes in and strip out the length you need one thread at a time, cutting that thread before stripping the next, and so on. Leaving the rest of the threads on the skein ensures that not only do you always know the name and/or number, but the birds don’t get a chance to build a nest!’

And for the heavier threads that don’t require splitting? ‘Just cut them at the bottom of the skein so you have a piece of thread to work with, put the label back on the skein, folding it in half and braiding it so it won’t tangle in your bag’

Jenny always cuts the entire length of thread from the spool or card, taking out the required number of strands and rolling the rest back on, even if it’s just a single strand. She finds the process only takes a couple of seconds and saves time and money as it avoids getting to the end of a project and finding you need that one strand of thread that’s now woven into a tangled nest!

Roberta knows all too well how easy it is to ‘delay returning unused thread in the midst of working on a project and find a mess on the table or in the work bag’. Admitting it takes discipline to store the unused threads, Roberta has learnt from experience that if she takes the time to loop them on the original tag or on a card with their name or number, not only is it always easy to find the remainder of the skein for future use, it keeps the nest, whether it be a bird’s or a rat’s, from ever happening!’

Sharon chooses to stitch long running stitches on the side of her work and just pulls out the threads as she needs them from there. No storing equals no nest.

Perhaps a New Year and some new ideas will inspire all of us towards a new way of taming those seemingly untameable threads?!

We close this week’s Have Your Say with a couple of heart felt thank yous…

You might remember that we pointed Thuy in the right direction in ASU #357 and ASU #359 after she wrote in having the read ‘The Gown’ wondering if anyone could shed some light on whether the technique featured in the book was indeed non-fictional and if so, if anyone knew how the motif featured throughout was created.

‘Thank you, Inspirations and the readers who assisted me to decipher the method of attaching motifs to The Gown. My next task will be finding some quiet time to put it into practice!

Needlework and sewing have truly carried me through the last two years. They kept me busy and distracted from all the COVID statistics and news, saving my soul and spirit.

Again, a heartful thank you – I never thought my query would make a segment in the weekly newsletter! Best regards, Thuy.’

Thuy, we appreciate the thanks as well as the reminder that our time with needle and thread does indeed save our souls and spirits, especially through uncertain or challenging times.

Finally, Jackie emailed with a little thank you of her own.

‘Thank you as always for my ‘Friday Fix’ of all things needle and thread, which means I find my shoulders relaxing as I have conversations with like-minded friends through its contents.All Stitched Up! issue #360 struck a chord with two of us – a friend is already contemplating Flowers for Elizabeth, and I, The First Noel.

We have even decided to meet up monthly to attempt the Hazel Everett’s goldwork decorations from her Goldwork book which will be Christmas decorations and gifts for Christmas 2023.’

Jackie, you are absolutely more than welcome! The team at Inspirations pour a significant amount of effort into each issue of All Stitched Up! and it makes it all the more worthwhile when we know they’re so well received and hear what a difference they make to your time with needle and thread.

We hope the newsletter continues to provide many hours of stitching joy for not just you, but for all the Inspirations Community who give their time to read it each and every week.

Oh, and we look forward to seeing the progress you and your friend make with Hazel Everett’s ‘Goldwork | Techniques, Projects and Pure Inspiration’ over the coming year!