What I Did Instead of Stitching

On Saturday I worked at the store, my local needlework store that is closing.

And one of the store's most wonderful friends and teachers, came in to do what she does so well. Kit up.

She pulled pattern after pattern out of her bag and we found fabric for them. Mostly just fabric, but also some threads. I think this lasted for nearly two hours.

This got me thinking.

Instead of stitching yesterday, I went through that stack of patterns that has slowly been growing over the past year to see what I really wanted to add to the pile of projects ready to stitch.

That was step one.

Step two. Go through the project box of completely and partially kitted projects and make sure I have fabric and fibers for all that is in there.

Step three. Sit on the bed with this pile of patterns, mostly unkitted, some partially kitted, and make a master list of said patterns and what is needed for them.

Step four. Flip to back of notebook where there's a page filled with numbers as I decided to write down fabric cut size, not design size for each pattern. I love doing math in my head, but sometimes it helps to write things down. Continue to flip back and forth between this page and the master list pages.

Step five. Pull out box of assorted silks. Sort said silks into these categories:

1. Silk N Colors
2. Waterlilies
3. Needlepoint Inc.
4. Au Ver Au Soie
5. Belle Soie
6. assorted miscellaneous silks

Step six. Go through master list and match silk threads to projects. Put silk away.

Step seven. Sort boxes of metallics, Watercolours and perle cottons, Wildflowers and Flower Thread.

Step eight. Match these threads to list. Put these boxes away.

Step nine. Sort box of overdyed cottons into the following:

1. Crescent Colours
2. GAST
3. Weeks Dye Works
4. Carrie's Creations
5. assorted other cotton overdyed fiber

Step ten. Make sure you can still get up off the floor and move. Stiff, but okay.

Step eleven. Match these threads to master list. Put cottons away.

Step twelve. My goal all along when I started finally reached - time to go through linen stash.

Step thirteen. Sort fabric into following categories:

1. Ornament cuts - too small to be useful in this endeavor.
   
2. linen banding which I don't need right now
3. fabric to sell at EGA estate sale this summer - in this pile things I don't like to stitch on which includes evenweaves like Lugana and Monaco
4. cheap ass linen from Charles Craft - I think most of this was given to me, but I'll keep it for emergencies
   
5. the good stuff

Step fourteen. Admire the good stuff. Cashel and Belfast. Lakeside Linens and Crossed Wing. Picture This Plus. Oooh, the colors. And don't forget that small collection of 40ct plus linen from Italy, including a piece of 50 ct - oh my what was I thinking?

Step fifteen. Start matching fabric to master list. Put fabric with patterns and fibers. Place completely kitted projects in projects ready to stitch box. Uh oh. Gonna run out of room in that box.

Step sixteen. Place partially kitted and have to get everything patterns in bag to take to store on Tuesday. Along with master list.

Step seventeen. Admire completely decimated fabric stash. Wow. I was more successful at this than I thought I would be. Some of this fabric that has found patterns has been in my stash for 10, 15, even 20 years. It has been purchased in Germany, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, California, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York. Some of it was acquired by mail.

Step eighteen. Completely exhausted as this took several hours, I decide not to count the number of projects I have that are now kitted. Why bother scaring myself?