Yesterday, I went shopping for embroidery stuff. You may be thinking “big deal,” since it’s obvious that I embroider, and therefore, I must now and then get stuff. Well, the long and short of it is, I always order online. But yesterday, I ventured forth to find some “Stuff.”
It was not the most fruitful trip in the world. I remembered Why I shop online for my embroidery supplies! Deep down, when I set out, I knew it would be that way – but the fact is, after a very busy 2 months, I realized I hadn’t gone anywhere in a long time (besides work), and I needed to get out. So I talked myself (and my sister) into going shopping for some particular needlework needs – after all, what could be more fun?!?…
There comes a point when DMC becomes irritating. I did manage to go to one shop that sold (besides the full range of DMC floss) Caron Collection threads – a whole 7 skeins of them, in three different colors. Seven. Not a range. Not seven types of Caron Collection. Seven skeins. I felt obliged to buy one of each color – they ended up being 2 Waterlilies and 1 Wildflowers.
I also found a place that carries heaps (and heaps) of quilting fabric – cottons and so forth – but in the back of their place, they have all kinds of dress fabrics and… Trim. Trim Galore. The kind of trim that makes you want to just Buy Trim! Not for any purpose, but just because it’s really nice Trim…. ribbons, braids, bands and weird stuff – lots and lots of Trim.
I only bought two snippets. The blue sheer pleated ribbon is Mokuba ribbon (see why I didn’t buy much – that stuff is deadly expensive) and the rust color is… another kind, but I don’t remember what. It’s a very soft ribbon – velvety feeling, but it’s very limp and light and fine. I like it.
Joy, bliss – they also had a wall of notions, on which I found needles in my favorite sizes and a little pack of needle threaders. I’ve never uesed needlethreaders before, but in doing canvas work lately, I realized how handy one would be for those shorter lengths of thread. So I got needlethreaders.
They had several different types of pencils for marking fabric. So I got one fine lead pencil (sold for “quilters and crafters”), with lead that apparently erases right off the fabric without leaving marks (I figured why not, I’d pay that much for a regular mechanical pencil), and one is made by Bohn (of France), and it has white ceramic leads for marking on dark fabric – and also guaranteed to erase right off. So we’ll see how those work – I’ll let you know. They both claim to be fine enough to fit in stencil lines (I suppose for quilter’s stencils?). My beeswax cakes are falling to crumbs, so I got a handy one encased in plastic. Less mess and crumble? We shall see.
Did I mention they had a great selection of Trim? I had this weird idea when I saw the pleated ribbon that it would be fun to smock. I’m pretty sure I will do no such thing.
I bought some fabric scraps, although nothing thrilling, and I called that my Big Day Out. OH – no, I bought one more thing (three, actually)….
These are placemats from Target. They were on clearance for less than $2 each. I’m going to do something with them that I hope is ingenious. Can you guess what?
This afternoon, I plan to edit some embroidery stitch videos for you and this week, I’ll be posting at least one. I’ll also be posting my stash contest (want some?), so stay tuned!
I hate when you plan to go out and spend on supplies and you can’t get what you want. I am lucky now that I have a good embroidery supply shop nearby -all the other shops around seem to be shrinking their ranges, not increasing them – you can get DMC floss and wool, but thats it – it seems the bigger the shop the less they have – they have all decided to cash in on the scrapbooking craze to the detrement of embroidery!
I like the trim – at least the trip was a total waste of time. As for the placemats…..embroidered over and turned into book covers?
have any video tutoriols been added as of today?———–macabrechaos
Not since the last one I added! I believe it detached buttonhole…
There is nil at brick and mortar stores. We end up buying simply because we’re there. Much better to shop online. The only drawback is no test-touching first. Embroidery is becoming an underground hobby.
I love the Target placemat! I better stop by my Target and see what they have…
I try to get and/or order what I can at my small LNS and then venture further out and phone orders to another not-as-local shop, etc. Saves me postage that way too.
I am anxious to know how the Bohn ceramic marking pencil worked.
Hi, Peggy – the Bohn pencil works great on medium-colored to dark fabrics. I like it a lot! On light fabrics, it can still be seen, depending on the angle you hold your work, so I like it when I want a nearly invisible line. In fact, every time I’ve used the pencil, I remember how much I like it!
Best,
Mary