Hometown SAL Page 8

August 2024 - Page 8 is a wrap!

Teresa Kogut

Hometown SAL

36 ct. Vintage Country Mocha

1 over 2

Called for flosses

Bountiful Bee

 

I just love these rounds from Hands on Design.  This is "Bountiful Bee".   This was another find from the Nashville Market.

Fabric:  Changed the fabric to 32 ct. Morning Fog Evenweave from BeStitchMe that was in my stash.

Floss: I used the DMC floss substitutions suggested in the chart.

Note: I did change the ends of the antenna to the gold color because the blue color blended in with the fabric.

4th of July Rules

 I spent the last week stitching up 4th of July Rules by Primrose Cottage.  It was one of the last of my Nashville market purchases to stitch. 

I always enjoy these long band projects.  Each section seems like a finish and I think I found a board just the right size to put it on so I'm excited to FFO it.

Fabric:  32 ct. light taupe lugana

Floss:  DMC 

Floss Storage

 I had a question about how I store my floss.   The answer is several ways. It's easier to describe how I use the storage systems so that kitting is effective and efficient.

I have a complete set of DMC floss stored in IKEA Kvarnik boxes using the Pip & Chip storage system.

The storage system uses the Pip & Chip acrylic chips to hold the floss.  

I call this my "master set".  At present, I have four boxes.

I keep all of my "working" floss in numerical order on a curtain rod on little binder rings so I can kit things up quickly. 

 This also keeps me from purchasing extra colors I do not need.  (The curtain rod is hung in a room that does not get any direct sunlight so the colors will not fade.) 

To create this: I hung a long curtain rod on the wall.  I got cardboard tags from Amazon and used a 1/2 inch punch to make a hole to hang pre-cut floss.  I put the tag on a small binder ring and hung it from the rod. I ended up adding a small round key tag with the number on it on the top of the ring so that the tags hung with the sides facing forward to take up less room.

This holds a lot of extra floss (up to 4 skeins) should I need to do that.  (Sometimes floss comes in kits that I don't use and I end up with extra skeins. I just hang the extra skeins on the ring until I need it.) When I'm done with a project, I will hang a "prepared" floss drop behind the tag on the ring as well.  

For stitching projects, I prepare acrylic or plastic floss drops.  (I find I mangle the paper or cardboard ones a lot.). I write the number (and/or symbol) on the drop with a sharpie.  I can then remove the sharpie with alcohol wipe when I'm done and reuse the floss drop again and again. I only keep one "prepared" floss drop in the working storage.

When I kit something up, I first check the "working" floss and pull any prepared floss drops from the ring.  

If there's no "prepared" floss drop I make up a new floss drop and move any floss from the punched tag to the drop.  

Sometimes I don't find the floss I need in the "working" storage at all (no tag, no drop, or just empty).  I then have to pull a skein from the "master set" storage and move the floss from the acrylic chip to a new floss drop and put the acrylic chip from the "master set" in a "To Order" basket.  

When I'm done with a project, I put any remaining floss back on either the prepared floss drop on the ring or on the punched tag.  If there isn't a tag yet, I just make a new one and hang it on the binder ring. I only keep one prepared floss drop with a tag.  Should I end up with two, I consolidate onto one drop and can re-label the second drop for a new project when needed.  

When I order or visit a LNS, I just take a quick photo of the acrylic bobbins in the "to order" basket so I know what I need to purchase.

After I have the purchased flosses I pull the acrylic chips from the basket, prep the flosses for the acrylic chips and return them to the "master set" storage boxes.  

I sometimes save the floss rings from any finished projects to put away all at once.  This seems to be more efficient.  It's also easy to check for required flosses as I keep them in numerical order on the rings.

As I'm typing this, it sounds tedious, but it is really fast and I never have to wonder what I have and what I need.  The only time I have a problem is when I need multiple skeins for a project. 

I have similar storage for other brands of flosses.  I find hanging them prepped, ready to go, is the easiest way for me.

Red, White & Blue Quilt

 From Primrose Cottage - Red, White & Blue Quilt because Patriotic Quaker was lonely.  These are always comfort stitches for me.  I like to stitch them between big or hard projects requiring a lot of focus to give my brain a rest.  And, they are so pretty! Yes, I know there is an error in there.  I forgot to take a new picture after I frogged it.

Fabric: 32 ct. light taupe lugana

Floss: Used the remaining floss from the Patriotic Quaker finishing kit.