Floss Show & Tell, & a Cry for Help

Not long ago I posted how I store my DMC floss & showed a photo of my designer floss collections ... WDW & GAST ... hanging from large binder rings on a rod in an upstairs closet.  I made a reference to how I had once had these collections hanging from my dining room chandelier & someone said they would have loved to have seen a photo of that.  I had done a post about them in the early days of my blog but had no idea where it might be.  Well, this morning I was searching through some old blog posts for something else & came across those photos ... so here they are   : )

It was very convenient having them hanging there, but since we were planning to put the house up for sale, I had to go the closet route ... much less pizzazz.  

Incidentally, I have added a new list to my sidebar which I've temporarily titled Popular Posts.  As I go back in my blog from time to time & find posts that people have particularly enjoyed, I will add them to the list.  Right now there is only a link to the original chandelier floss storage post.  

Recently I have been delving into the unknown as far as my floss usage is concerned.  My favorite floss to use has always been DMC.  It's not very expensive & it's available at most craft stores.  However, I've been a bit disappointed with it recently because it has been tending to shed little bits of fiber.  By the time I've finished using a strand of 12" in length or so, it looks like I've got mohair threaded on my needle.  I decided that I'm going to give Sullivan's a try. I have ordered some but I have not yet used it.

I've read a lot of good things on blog posts about Nina's Threads & decided to give them a try.  Of course I couldn't just try a skein or two.  The posts I read were so complimentary that I bought an entire set.  I must say I am not disappointed!  I can't show you the project I tried them on because it's for an exchange, but I am more than pleased with them!  Beautiful color blending, very lustrous, & excellent coverage! While using them I felt like I was stitching with the threads of royalty or something   : )

I have also read a lot of good things about the floss that Nancy sells at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe so I ordered a couple red skeins to try for a project I was planning to stitch but have since scrapped, plus I ordered her Antique Christmas floss set & also her 1797 Sampler Floss Collection.  I haven't used any of this floss yet but I am planning to use some in my next project ... another exchange   : )   I will tell you that the colors are beautiful.  I will give you my thoughts on stitching with them in a week or so but I'm sure I will enjoy using them!

They don't look as impressive piled on my floor as they do in Nancy's ad for them   : )

While gathering up the sampler collection, I heard someone giggling & found Miss Pearl in my recliner playing pretty with a few skeins from the Antique Christmas collection!  Silly Pearl   : )

I have some no-longer-available floss I purchased a year or so ago that I have just thrown into a box to play with at a later time.  One of the brands is Six Strand Sweets. The other brand has a W in the name I think. Sigh!  My OCD got the best of me (it usually does) & I had to walk upstairs, find the box, & find the floss.  The name of this other brand is Old Willow Stitchery Floss.  I haven't used either of these flosses yet but I really guess it doesn't matter since they're no longer sold.

Now here's my cry for help.  I was informed not long ago that I am a total moron because I do not have the skill to swap out colors in stitching patterns like other stitchers do.  Lately I've been wondering if this is a skill I can maybe learn.  It sure would be helpful for those times when I see a stitching design that I love but the designer chose to have it stitched with colors that are not to my liking.  The designer floss skeins that I have on those binder rings up above are placed in alphabetical order.  Would it be better to group them by color families within each brand?  I'm thinking that this way, if a design is calling for a certain color of DMC (or any other brand of floss) ... let's say a red color ... & I'm not happy with the red color called for, I could easily see all the reds I have to choose from together in one area rather than having to flip through all the rings to find all the reds.  All the WDW reds would be together, all the GAST reds, etc.  Does this make sense?  Is this how it's done?  I'm not even going to consider the possibility of swapping out a red for a blue or some such thing.  Just the thought of that makes me feel the need to lie down with a cool compress on my forehead.  

How is everyone doing with their 30 Days of Thankfulness?  This morning I actually gave thanks for 2 things.  I woke up while it was still dark & noticed a huge amount of stars in the sky.  It's one of the perks of living out in the country ... no lights to distract from the stars.  How beautiful they are!  God gave us so many beautiful gifts for our eyes to see & one of those gifts would be the stars   : )   I was also thankful when the sun came up & I saw that the grass was covered with frost!  You know me ... I love cold & frost & snow.  Frost is not as good a snow, but it still makes me happy   : ) 

"He sends the snow in all its lovely whiteness, scatters the frost upon the ground,"

Psalm 147:16  (TLB)  

The unknown author of Psalm 147 praises God & encourages us to do so as well.  He also encourages us to sing out our thanks to Him.  He lists many things for which we should be thankful & offer praise, but I am most drawn by verse 16.  I think this unknown author & I would have been good friends   : )  

I wish you all a very happy & thanks-filled weekend   : )