Floss Arrangement

Preface:

I realize that this is probably something that many Cross Stitchers have already thought about, but hope it will give any other newbie who hasn't a few extra stitches in their busy day! You could share your time-saving tips as comments if you'd like...

I am currently rotating several designs as SALs. I have the graph, color chart, and threads all sorted and ready so that when it's time to move to the next everything is together. All the colors called for by the chart are in a baggie. As you see, this is 'On the Road Again' stitch along from wXSw, and it uses lots of wonderful colors! So many of the great stitchers are finished, but I'm still working on Part II.

While trying to find ways to speed up my stitching, I contemplated what was taking lots of time. One of the things was finding the correct color and threading the needle each time. It occurred to me that if I had the needle threaded with the correct color, I wouldn't have to go through the baggie looking for it each time. Yes, it did seem to help, but when I needed to switch colors I'd still have to get the color chart and see which of the needles in the pin cushion was the correct one.

Another idea: If I printed an extra copy of the color chart and backed it with a sheet of foam I could put the needle in the correct shape, grab it, and stitch away?! All Right! Yes, it does seem to speed the process a bit for me.



When it's time to put the project away and move to the next one, I do unthread and put the threads back with their original skein, but this has been a time savings for me. I hope you can take the idea, modify it to suit your stitching style, and share any other ideas that may help us get more stitches out of the time we have!!