
I knew a lady who owned a needlepoint shop who was retiring. Virtually everything in her shop was on sale.
That is everything except threads.
I asked her why. She told me “It’s a collection.”
Whether you call it a collection or your stash, stitchers with smaller ones envy people with large ones. And we all would like more of it.
I know, I have a serious thread addiction that I keep, mostly, under control by stitching from stash and by rarely buying threads.
But if you want to increase your stash, here are some great strategies:
- Engage in opportunistic stash building. – Go to guild auctions and stock up on threads. Buy threads when you see them at thrift shops. If your local shop is having a clearance sale, a garage sale, or is closing, go and buy anything that looks interesting in a color you are likely to use. This has been my best way of increasing my stash for years.
- Enroll in a Thread Club – In these clubs you get a group of threads each month. Depending on the shop it could be by thread or by color. You can also create your own thread club.
- Buy an extra skein or so when you shop – It’s easy to do, doesn’t cost much and your shop will love you for it. But buying random colors might not help you. That’s why it’s best to buy those extra skein in your essential colors.
- Save the ends of threads from kits and completed projects. – You may think a yard or two isn’t worth saving, but so often it’s perfect when you need a little bit of a color, or want to do a small project. (The project pictured on this post was stitched completely with stash threads.)
Stitching from stash is a very satisfying process. If you’re thrifty, you saved money by using a thread you had. If you’re creative, you’ve used your creativity by making the threads you have work for the project you want to stitch. If you want to change colors on a project, you might have everything you need at hand. Best of all, when you just have to start that project, you have enough stuff on hand to do so.
If you love to stitch from stash and want projects specifically designed to use it, try my book Scrap Bag Needlepoint ($10) or the two heart sampler books ($3 and $12), all available on this page, or my stash busters club ($35) , available on this page.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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