May 27, 2009

HELP ME, OBI WAN

Where the hell the post title comes from, I'll never know, since I am the only person on the planet that has not seen any Star Wars movies. (Oh, give me a break, will ya? I've been trying to get to the cool kids' table my whole life, but I figure every village needs an idiot and I seem to have a lot of spare time.)

So here's my problem. The Prairie Moon piece that I'm working on (Spring Trainin') is still wonderful, but it has a thread palette that includes 27 different Gentle Art Sampler Threads. 27. And since this is a spot-type sampler, there are a lot of color changes. A lot.

I've never worked on anything like this before, and I am finding the color changes very very frustrating. As a matter of fact, I have futzed around with finding the perfect solution so much that I don't have any stitching progress to show (grrrrr).

How the hell do y'all do this? What system have you devised that will allow you to stitch a project that uses a lot of threads?

I started with the Floss Bags in the perfect basket. The problem I have with this is that every time I have to change colors, I have to flip to the right bag, pull out a tangled mess of thread, pull out one skein, and then separate out one ply so that I can double it in my needle (I'm stitching this 2 over 2). If I leave the thread on the card and tug on it, I invariably rip the cardboard label.

So I got the bright idea to make my own, more sturdy labels. I think what I was trying to create here was a floss drop. Aunt Chrissy and I went to Michaels and I bought Shrinky Dinks and then cut and punched and cut and punched until I had thingies that I could put on a ring and put the thread on without ripping the hole open. This just sucked, since the thread was long and got all messed up with the other threads hanging next to it.

So then I went up to the studio and found one of those big ass metal boards that you can use to mount a chart on and I stuck a bunch of magnets across the top with a paper label of each symbol. Then I threaded a needle with each color and stuck it to the magnet. Again, I don't like the mess of thread that hangs and gets all tangled up. (Stewey finds it all very unseemly.)

Will somebody PLEASE tell me what in the world is wrong with me? All I want to do is sit down and stitch this, but the time it's taking me to futz with the colors is ridiculous. What am I doing wrong?

So help me, Obi Wan. You're my only hope.

21 comments:

  1. I know how frustrating this can be. I started a new project yesterday with 16 colours and put them on a thread card which I made myself, only to find the dangly threads annoyed the hell out of me, so I eventually gave up and popped them in little plastic bags, a method I have used for as long as I can remember and which works for me. A friend of mine selects one colour at a time and stitches all of that colour on the sampler or whatever, before moving on to the next. It might work for you, if there are not too many big gaps that involve counting more than 10, not that you can't count or anything.

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  2. I love the multi-needle method.

    http://threadsofdesire.blogspot.com/2007/06/time-to-remember.html

    Maybe you need to space them farther apart, so they don't tangle or hang them so they dangle freely or remember to separate and smooth them each time you change a needle. ANYTHING is better than changing a needle each time you stitch two crosses.

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  3. This is when I would put it away in the UFO pile! I have never seen a Star Wars movie either.

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  4. Hmmm, I do what Sandra and her friend do. I try to bust through colors and get the one over with before heading onto the next colors. I think if I used the needle method, I'd drop one and the manage to be the one person to stab themselves in the toe with a blunt-end needle!

    I've never seen Star Wars movies either...

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  5. You haven't missed much on the Star Wars thing! I find myself avoiding those finicky charts even if I love the darned thing! But when I do start a difficult chart I work on one area and thread a needle with each color I am going to need. Use them all up and walk away for awhile and then start all over again.

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  6. I've never seen a Stars War movie either (I think the kids tried to make me watch one, once but I never finished it and didn't have a clue what was going on). Not sure what to tell you about the threads. I guess I just suck it up and take the time to rethread with the next color I need. It would give you time to look at that guy in PS. I Love You again!!!!

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  7. I do one of two things. I use the smaller floss away bags. I leave a threaded needle in each bag so that when I need that color, the needle is in the bag, ready to go. I have also stitched designs that are charted artwork, and those might have 90 colors in them. I still use the floss away bags for each floss color, but the threaded needle goes onto one of these http://www.herrschners.com/product.aspx?pid=4056 This item also has a storage case that you can order so that when you want to put it away, you don't have a mess of threads hanging down. The above two methods work well for me.

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  8. I'm like you and hate the threads dangling. I've tried pulling out some floss, putting it on a floss card and have it dangling. So, I just use the floss-away bags and have the mess in the bad. Also I try to work as much as I can with one color of floss - use that up and move to another color. Only problem is that is you don't count right, you've got problems. Not much help, am I?

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  9. I can't do the multiple threaded needles at my house as cats and long dangly threads don't mix. I use floss-away bags. And work hard at developing my zen-inspired patience. Especially on those projects with more than 20 colors.

    PS Did I read this post correctly? Are you doubling overdyed threads? As opposed to using two plies?

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  10. Hi Coni,
    I love having my threads hang out, so I can pet them. I usually use this: http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NN&Product_Code=7075 (I hope the link works) Otherwise, I think the idea of the small floss-away bag with the threaded needle inside would work great.
    Jane

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  11. I do ziploc sandwich bags--I hate the little flossaway bags because they're too small. And all those threaded needles wouldn't work for me--I'd wind up with them in the carpet, and then I'd step on one and drive it through my foot. But the real answer, I guess, and something I'm increasingly short of--is patience. Lots of color changes=more time, which is why sometimes the monochrome stitches are more fun--speeeeed!

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  12. I don't know what to tell you. I rethread the needle even if it's just for two stitches. But I do cut the GAST threads into thirds.

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  13. Have you ever looked at these: http://www.annieskeepers.com/howitworks.php I the one that uses a needle for every color and color combination. I've used floss bags and like those for most things and I've used floss cards with holes along one edge and slits above the holes for the threaded needle with that color in it. These are homemade from a heavy card stock. I'm careful not to use colored stock and I fear the dye may some how (I'm not sure how) bleed onto my fibers. Yes, you will have to 'pet' them occassionally but it works. The closest thing that has come next to my homemade floss card is the Annie's Keepers. At anyrate, enjoy your project and keep on stitchin.

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  14. I just bought an Annie's Keeper to try. I think it holds 16 threads and you can also get an attachment that the whole thing slides into and you can thread all the thread colors and stick the needles in the top or side of the attachment. It's kinds hard to explain but they have a web and you can see what I'm talking about.

    As far as Star Wars....it's my and DH's favorite movies!! We have the complete set and have been known (during the winter) to start at Episode I and play one each night. Greatest special effects of all time!! Sorry you've missed it :)

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  15. hi there, i'm from geneva switzerland ( think cheese and chocolate and you're there..) and star wars has never been big around here, it must definitely be an american thing ! anyway, i love your country and i try to cross the pound once a year ( NYC, boston, chicago you name it ). i crosstitch too, mostly bent creek and lizzie kate and i use sealed envelopes cut in halves ( so i get 2 small ones) to store my threads and then i have one big zip lock bag for each crosstitch i'm working on. did it help ???
    marie

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  16. I use snack sized ziploc bags with a 3x5 index card tucked inside. I write the name or color number (and the name of the manufacturer for overdyeds) on the card. The strand/strands of floss I have on the go are tucked in front of the card and the rest of the skein is placed neatly behind. Being the miser that I am, I keep all of the still stitchable (over 4" or so) pieces of floss in the front for the next project or for those two little Xes that I SWEAR weren't on the chart when I put that color away. ;) I have put eyelets on one top corner of each bag and I keep them together on a project ring in alpha/numerical order.

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  17. wow
    thats a lot of loaded needles
    i wish i were so enterprising
    oh thats star trek
    smiles

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  18. This is where I'd be reaching for one of my monochrome Quaker patterns. I highly recommend these patterns as a powerful antidote to all patterns with a bazillion colors that are placed one and two stitches at a time.

    Seriously, though (assuming I can be serious), I tend to stitch as much of one color as I can before switching. I have no special floss organizers. In fact, you'd realize this as soon as you saw my Happy Chair, with its perpetual row of lined-up floss skeins, each waiting to be called into action. Fifteen colors for this pattern? No problem! My Happy Chair has ample room. More than one project going or company on the way over? No problem! Just cover the arm/skeins with a decorative little quilted pad and I'm good to go.

    As you might have guessed, I've never stitched a HAED project. For that, I'd have to move to the couch!

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  19. I design and stitch projects that have lots of colors and lots of confetti. The only way to manage it is to load up needles with all the threads so that you don't waste so much time threading and unthreading for color changes. I use floss bags for the skeins and needle cards from LoRan for the loaded needles. They have a magnet strip and slits along the edge so that you can anchor the thread, stick the needle to the magnet, and label the color. It really works. There's also a much more expensive system, the Pako system, that I think someone gave a link to. If you do a lot of projects that call for more than 20 colors, it's worth the expense. If you don't, I recommend sticking with the nice, cheap LoRan needle cards available at Michael's and similar stores.

    I liked the original Star Wars trilogy but lost interest afterwards.

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  20. I'm a total 'trekey' and love the movies!! What I do is the floss bags. I hate the cardboard floss holders because I don't like the floss just hanging there - it always gets tangled. I try to do as much of one color and then move on to the next.

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  21. I'm too lazy to do any organzing and such before I start most projects. I would try to do as much of one color at a time though as possible. Look at your chart and pick the color that has the most coverage - if your design has lots of little flowers this is probably a green shade in the leaves. That helps me have a guide for placing everything else. I might have to start and stop and count more, but this way I really only need to have one thread "out" at a time. I generally don't do the thread cards or floss bags either - too fiddly.

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