When Life Gives you Needlepoint Stash. . .

Leftover threads are a constant for stitchers and we always are faced with the situation of what to do with them. It’s a challenge to find places to store them, but it’s also a challenge to find ways to use them.

I’ve stitched from stash for years and it’s getting much more popular.

There are lots of benefits for stitching from stash. The most obvious one is that you’ll save money. Every stash thread you use is one you won’t need to buy. Of course if you don’t go into your LNS you’ll also save because you won’t buy those other things.

The second benefit is that you’ll stretch your creativity because you will need to find ways to use what you have. If you are committed to stash stitching then the prospect of stitching Snowdrift by Dawn Donnelly with CybderPointers next month is exciting. You will need to find enough white threads to do the project.

The third benefit is that you’ll get to stitch some fun new projects. Most of us have many more canvases than we will ever stitch. If your stash stitching extends to canvases as well as threads, look to your stash to find a new project. You loved it enough to buy it. You’ll love it again when you stitch it.

The key is to develop a system for using stash. Here are the three steps that will help you make stitching from stash a big part of your life.

1. Shop the stash first! Look for threads in your stash for every project you start. Use stash threads before buying new threads.
2. Have some stash-only projects. These canvases and patterns have many different colors usually in smaller areas. They are designed to use different threads and stitches. Many of my project books (available here) are designed for stash. Because these projects don’t need consistency of color, thread, or stitch, they are perfect to use bits & pieces. I always have at least one of these in my project pile.
3. Look for non-scrap projects that use your stash,When you need a new project to do, look to your stash. Find combos of thread and canvas and you can start stitching even if the shops are closed.

How do you use your stash?