SFS 2014 - August Update

Greetings stitching friends, well, storm season as come again in Florida, and it seems we are due for a busy season (which doesn't end until November). Hope we are all spared a big one, but especially the islands - they always seem to be right smack in the path of most storms.

Here is my SFS (kindly sponsored by Mel from "Epic Stitching") update: This month I spent $20 on Sulky Petites 12wt thread. 

Breakdown so far this year:
Jan $0
February $0
March $4
April $9
May $0
June $17.25
July $ 7

Sulky is a cotton thread that is as thick as 2 strands of cotton floss.  I am using it on 30 ct fabric with good coverage, but on 32 ct it would provide better coverage. I hope to have some pics soon comparing them side by side. I got these on sale at Joann's Fabrics on-line. 

Pros:                                                          

• Work with one strand vs 2 strands floss          
• Less twisting.                                              
• Can work with longer lengths  (yay!)                       
• Easier to thread through needle 
• More yards - 50 yards of Sulky vs 48 yards of floss (8 yards x 6 strands) 
• Tops of the spools pop up for easy storage of the thread ends (like the Kreinik spools)
• Comes in Petites (50 yds) for hand work and regular (300 yds) for machines

Cons

• On spools
• Limited color collection
• Expensive ($ 0.45 for skein of floss vs. $1.65+ for Sulky)
• Limited fabrics you can use, i.e., Sulky is probably best used on 30 to 32 ct fabric, might be too thick for 36. Probably very nice for surface work other than cross stitch. 

 In total, the company offers 66 solid colors and 14 variegated in the Petites - certainly enough colors to work the simple designs that are popular today...but not enough colors for the more complex designs. Lucky for me, I have quite a few simple designs that I had in mind when I decided to purchase these. I found my Prairie Schooler Garden Beasties and am now working on the blue bird.

I like these threads. Knotting is still an issue because of the thread being wrapped around a spool, but a good yank on the thread seems to lessen the knotting.

Here is a pic of Garden Beasties:

I might work on the grasshopper next. I haven't any warm-toned threads ...I don't want to mix regular floss with the Sulky's but I suppose I could...no rules, right?

I took lots of pics with my phone of my current projects but can't seem to find the pics to upload them. I just love technology!

I can't wait for the slightly cooler temps of S.F Autumn but won't see those till late October = ( but I guess I can enjoy the beach and pool longer than those a bit more North!

Keep stitching and discovering new stitchy stuff!

Christina