Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Threads of Life...or MESSY BUILD-UP!

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How good are you at returning your threads to their proper locations? Or do they have permanent addresses? You know what I mean...the threads from the project(s) you just finished, the new threads you just purchased, the threads you pulled and never ended up using...the flossy mess goes on and on!

It's a constant problem in my office and my house...or maybe a blessing, since I am fortunate to have a huge stash of gorgeous, colorful threads, courtesy of the thread companies.  Even though the threads all have permanent homes, they seem to gravitate out of their bags, drawers, baskets and land all over the place!

When our children were young, they loved the Berenstain Bears books!  We read them so much, they were memorized. Except for that one with the troublesome message...The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room. It seems our daughter Alison thought that one was directed at her, and after repeated readings it mysteriously disappeared. We found it many years later cleverly tucked under the cushions of the rocking chair...hmmmmm.  This book coined a phrase we have used many times since....MESSY BUILD-UP!!


Here's a "messy build-up"  of overdyes and DMC waiting to be returned to their proper places.


OOPS! Another "messy buildup" of overdyed threads sorted according to numbers, but not yet organized in their little plastic bags on big metal rings.


Here are my thread cabinets, where the wayward floss is supposed to live. These little drawers are handily located right behind my desk, so I just whirl around and grab whatever I need.  The drawers are organized according to different thread companies. (On top you can see the messy stash pictured above!). 

So one of my projects for the long weekend is to refile those pesky threads and do an all-office cleaning. We'll see if that happens?! If the weather is nice, I'm pretty sure that filing threads won't be at the top of my list!


12 comments:

  1. Ohhhh......love the floss cabinets! (I could sure use one of those.)

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  2. Oh my goodness hun; that would drive me crazy; as soon as I buy new threads I have a file for each brand (wdw, cc, ga etc.) I update my file on my computer and then put each one away; I keep them on big rings now; but am looking for a better way to store them..

    Hug, Shar
    sharlenesstitchingsite@blogspot.com

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  3. Oh my, the green eyed monster is out here :) I would love to come and play..oops I mean tidy your threads for you!

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  4. My threads use to look like that and worse. Every time I needed a thread I could never find it and would end up ordering another one. I tried using the floss bags on a ring but I found them frustrating. So one day I mentioned something to my DH on how annoying the floss bags were etc. I asked him if he could make me a "little" cabinet or something to put them in. If you take a look on my blog you can see what he made for me! I LOVE it!! And now when I am pulling threads for a project or putting them back it is such a breeze!

    What he made me is about 5ft tall and I have tons of room for threads. It took me a full day to sort through what I have and organize them by manufacturer then alphabetize them. It also made me realize I need more threads LOL

    I am going to leave the inside natural wood and I am going to paint the outside of my cabinet and probably do some butterfly stenciling on the front. My craft room is still a work in progress ;)

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  5. Oh my I am the same way. I would never admit that before. I have like 2-3 piles on my desk and at least 3-4 more in my drawers. I dont want to do it because it will take time from my stitching.

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  6. This is a question for Lisa S above. Could you direct me to your blog. Would love to see the cabinet your husband made?

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  7. I must admit that I have that same pile sitting in a bag in my closet. I wind them on bobbins (DMC) or place them in bags when I pull them for use. After I use the thread, I place it in the container I have for each brand. I always wind the unused cuts on the bobbin or in the bag before storing things away. Its a backward system, but it works for me.

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  8. I have plastic cabinets that are supposed to hold nails, bolts, etc. that I use to hold my threads. They are so nice and neat. Too bad I'm so lazy about putting my threads back into them when I finish a project. I have little piles of threads spread throughout my craft room.

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  9. That's alotta floss! I usually put my floss away as soon as I'm done with my project. That keeps me from having lots of multiples of floss.

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  10. Wow, I think I'm the worst when it comes to organizing my floss. I have zip lock bags everywhere. Then rather than look for what I need I just go to my LNS and buy more, seems to be easier. One day I will get it all organized, I hope.

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  11. I really like your floss cabinet!
    I hate organize my floss and infact i've a floss crazy caos!!!
    ele

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  12. I feel your pain, lol. I too have flosses that need to be put away. All my DMC lives in floss bags on big rings, in order. They're wonderful. I love looking through to find an errant floss or two. BUT... I have a bag from Michael's that serves as my floss to be put away bag, and it seems to be always full!! I need to put away floss soon!!!

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