My aha moment about choosing colours...

Stand outside my office door and this is what you'll hear.

Tap, tap, tap, sip, sip, tap tap...

I'm writing patterns and drinking cappuccinos today. 

I did this on Tuesday as well, and thought by today I'd be sewing and singing a happier tune with all my computer work done for the week. But.

On Wednesday and Thursday migraines pretty much stole my hours so everything ground to a halt and apart from a bit of basic food prep in the kitchen Wednesday morning the remainder of those two days have been spent at rest with Mr E and Blossom and Aisha texting through the days to check up on me. Love is such a wonderful thing.

Fast forward to wake-up at 6 am today (Friday) and all pain is gone and I'm feeling rather fresh and sprightly again!

Back to the laptop I have returned and further progress is being made with the next issue of The Stitchery Club.

I even bought a lovely bunch of flowers on the way home from dropping Mr E at work this morning because their gorgeous colours add a smile to my heart no matter how many typing or grammatical errors I have to 'fix' during a day on the computer.

A realisation as I was removing last week's wilted blooms from my favourite vase and replacing them with today's fresh flowers was the increasingly regular appearance of orange, peach, yellow and white amidst the greenery in my weekly bouquets of late.

These are not shades I'd normally tend towards. I usually buy bouquets with more of a pink, red and white palette but at the moment these 'other colours' make me rather happy. 

So I had an idea that before throwing those old wilted blooms into the garden I should choose some threads similar to their hues and put them aside for a 'one day' design, and that's exactly what I did before hitting the office to write. 

The photo on the left is of last week's flowers when they were fresh and vibrant (just so you can see what I mean by having a penchant lately for these colours) and on the right are the threads chosen this morning from the old wilted petals.

I think this is a rather lovely way to choose threads, don't you?

But I should throw in a caution...

One thing I write in every issue of The Stitchery Club is "Choose your fabric first, and then choose your threads to match" and I stand by that.  

There's nothing worse when you've spent many hours on a stitchery and then go hunting for just the right quilting fabric to sew around it (whether in a quilt or as a project) and the colours simply do not blend. 

By having your quilting fabric on hand first you can use it to choose embroidery thread colours that will match, ensuring your finished project will be a beautiful blend of stitchery and fabric at the end.

However, if you're stitching a design to put into a picture frame or only using one tonal colour as a border, then run ahead and find a bouquet that makes your heart beat with joy - whether that be from your garden (oh lucky you!) or like me you purchase a budget bunch from the local supermarket - and gather threads that match your blooms. 

All you need next is a pattern to stitch and some quiet time to enjoy bringing everything together into one lovely project.

Well, there you go, my aha moment this week.

Another thing about flowers and why I buy them for myself, is their ability to lift my countenance when life has taken a toll on me physically, emotionally, in my health, with working from home and trying to balance the home/work logistics...and any number of other challenges.

A cup of tea and a vase of pretty blooms. That's the loveliest down-time, even if it's just 10 minutes before I head out the door to pick up my husband or go down to the laundry to hang the washing on the line. Beauty in it's natural form, God's hand shown in nature, is calming, joyous, and exquisitely divine to behold.

A $10  bouquet two or three times a month is my little luxury, my gift to self, that one small thing which lifts my heart when I'm so darn weary everything can seem too much of an effort.

What's your one small thing?

Share your comments below, and if you like, come join us over here in the Gentle Domesticity Facebook group where we'll be chatting about this too.

Now I'd best return to writing patterns for as much as I try to believe it possible, they will not write themselves. 

Have a WONDERFUL end of week!

Big hugs,

Five fabrics, five threads...

Shopping for fabric and thread is serious business.

So serious in fact that I think long and hard about what I'm buying, and most especially about why I'm buying it in the first place. 

Most hand embroiderers and quilters are becoming increasingly mindful of their stash purchases these days and I am one of them, which is why I thought you may like to know the guidelines I follow when visiting a quilt shop.

In the photo above you can see five fabrics and five skeins of embroidery thread which were purchased last week.

The fabrics are a cream cotton/linen blend (perfect for embroidery), two Tilda prints, and two Tilda basics in spot and check. The threads were purchased to blend with all five fabrics...

As simple as it sounds, this is my criteria for a shopping trip to the quilt store...

* Can the fabrics be used together in multiple settings?

* Can I mix and match the threads with the fabrics?

* Exactly what projects will I make from these items?

* How much do I need of each fabric? 

* Are any of the fabrics likely to be out of stock soon - if it's possible I may need more later should I buy an extra 1/4 metre now?

* Am I sure there's not a similar print sitting in my stash at home? If there could be, how needful am I of the fabric in my hand? 

* Are any of these purchases an impulse buy? If so, what will I make with it? Only buy if I have a clear purpose in mind.

* Can I afford the items?

Note: If buying fabrics for a quilt or a large project you may ask yourself different questions, and hopefully you would have a detailed list of what you need to avoid being tempted with things you don't need.

 Now I'm not perfect, and the odd 'impulse' fat quarter will occasionally travel home with me, but not very often. There were too many impulse fabrics left holidaying on my shelves in the past and I no longer desire their company nor enjoy adding to their numbers, so I've become rather 'Scrooge-y' and fussy about fabric acquisition.

The five fabrics and five threads I purchased last week all mix and match to my requirements...

 

 I can use the linen, pink spot, or blue check as backgrounds for my stitchery designs....

 ...or I can blend the check and spot with the two florals for a patchwork design.

Each of the threads will sit beautifully on, or surrounded by, the fabrics I chose, plus in my home thread drawer are more colours which will marry with these new skeins (such as a deeper pink, mid-range green, and a cream)...

Back home unpacking the bag after my little shopping trip, I was excited about these carefully considered purchases; not guilty nor regretful, just very content knowing I would use them all.

If you're wondering how much I bought of each fabric -

1 metre cream cotton/linen blend

1/2 metre blue/pink/green floral

1/2 metre blue/cream floral

1/4 metre pink spot

1/4 metre blue check

Do you have a list of questions you ask yourself before you buy fabric?

 hugs

About threads...

As a totally addicted embroiderer and stitcher-holic I thought today we might chat about threads.

My inspiration to have this conversation with you was prompted by a parcel that arrived yesterday from Carrie of A Passion for Applique. 

Carrie has been making my Shabby Roses quilt blocks since I began sharing them through my blog last year, and she chose fabrics that were very different to any others I've seen used in the quilt. 

Have a look at some of her blocks HERE. She has now finished all her blocks and the sashing, and her quilt is at the quilters - I cannot wait to see it all finished. :-)

For the embroidery on the blocks Carrie used bamboo threads, and I always wondered what they would be like to stitch with. Now I will be able to find out because that's what was in the parcel Carrie sent me!

Thanks so much, Carrie!!

They feel very different to cotton threads. There is a 'baby' softness to them, almost velvety in texture, and as I fondled them I thought about my other threads and how each of them are used for different reasons, depending on the design I'm using at the time.

~DMC~

I suppose everyone who stitches has a good array of DMC cotton stranded threads. There are hundreds of colours to choose from, they are very cheap - in Australia we pay 89c at Spotlight or around $1.50 in patchwork stores. I use these threads more than any other because of the colour range and the availability. 

I also love using DMC's Perle threads. They are wonderful for sewing on felt, for quilting, and for projects that require a bolder feature to stand out from the fabric. I also choose them if I need to use more than 2 strands of thread in a project (depending on colour availability of course).

 

~ ANCHOR ~

Very similar to DMC, not as easily found locally as DMC, though Spotlight have a good selection.

I only have a few, as they were bought for their colours - I could not find a similar DMC to use. I like stitching with these Anchor threads, though! They seem to 'glide' through the fabric.

~COSMO~

Cosmo threads are Japanese, from the Lecien Company, and were promoted as being much easier to work with than DMC - less twisting and knotting as you stitch. I agree with that statement, however they do still twist and knot. I'm not sure there is a thread on the market that doesn't twist.

~COTTAGE GARDEN THREADS~

These are my new favourite thread! They are hand dyed variegated 6 strand cotton threads, and simply lovely to look at, handle, and work with. They knot and twist even less than Cosmo.

They are the work of Pam down in Victoria, and I encourage you to visit her blog HERE because she has all the beautiful colour swatches of her threads on show to tantalise you!

There are a number of stores in Australia that have begun to stock Pam's 'Cottage Garden Threads', but if you are overseas you can now purchase through her Etsy Shop HERE.

~MADEIRA~

The thing that always attracts me to Madeira stranded threads is the packaging! So lovely neat, easy access to the thread, lovely colour exposed through the window of the package which also allows me to see how much thread is left. These are not easy to come by, so when I find them I stock up - there are hundreds of colours to choose from in the range. These also tend to twist and knot less than DMC.

~TILDA~

These are the threads that Synnoeve sent me last week, and I haven't used them yet as I have them aside for use with my new Tilda fabrics to make Tilda designs from all my Tilda books - yes, I am going to finally make my favourite Tilda projects using all Tilda fabrics and threads! How exciting! I'll let you know how well they perform in my needle once I have used them.

~EdMar~

These are rayon threads, and look simply beautiful when stitched! They are used a lot by those who do Brazillian embroidery because of their texture, sheen, and because you can boil them.

I have only ever used them for backstitch, french knots and lazy daisies because I find they twist constantly and fray easily. However, I think for something very special they are perfect because of the glorious end result. You just need to stitch slowly and gather your patience.

(a little bit of trivia - the first time I bought some of this thread it was because it's called Lola. That's my maternal grandmother's name...)

What threads do you stitch with most?

Is there a certain brand you would prefer to use over others? (imagine cost is not important and you could choose whatever you wanted) What is it about those threads that you like so much?

~~~~~

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx