wallpaper The order of thread I've been expecting is finally here. I had to go with Ed as he left for work so that I could have it today and not have to wait until he got home from work in the wee hours. Like 4am as he did this morning. We ran by the post office and retrieved it and then he dropped me off at the entrance to the trailer park on his way to work. I've been playing with it all afternoon. Finally stopped to get a picture for this post.
Actually the four bookmarks across the top there are made from the thread I bought in town on Monday. I put them in to show contrasts in size the different types and sizes of thread make. On the far left is one made with the cotton sock yarn, Paton's Grace that I picked up at Michael's Monday as an experiment. I think it might make a better key fob than bookmark as it is at least twice the size of the standard size 10 thread seen in the Goldenrod and Cardinal Red in the middle. The two on the far right are made with the size 30 white.
The two below are made from thread out of the box I got today. On the left is a new type of thread. At least new to me. I've had my eye on it in the online catalog for months because of this variegated pastel they call Fairy Tale. It is rayon instead of cotton and more expensive than the cotton threads.
I've discovered that it is difficult to work with. It is slippery and snags easily and doesn't hold its shape well. The the stitches bunch and the bookmark curls up as you see and will need to be blocked. On the plus side, I like the silky texture. I think it would look good in embroidery as well. The thread size is hard to judge. Definitely smaller than the size 10 but I think bigger than the size 20. I was using a size 9 hook which kept snagging or slipping between the strands. Possibly I need to use a bigger hook.
To the right is the black Cebelia Crochet Cotton Size 20. I've been wanting to get a lacier black thread for awhile now. This thread holds its shape better than the Aunt Lydia size 30 just above.
Across the bottom are the four cotton size 10 and the four bamboo size 10. All Aunt Lydia brand. The four cotton are left to right: my Peacock Blue (that ran out in October and the only repeat in the box), Aqua, Monet Multi and Dusty Rose. The four bamboo left to right: yellow, green, lilac, pink. All pastels.
The three balls in the middle are the Lizbeth Cordonnet Egyptian cotton size 20. I loved the one I got last summer and now want to start collecting more colors as I can. It is more expensive than most of the other thread at nearly twice the cost for half the length. But I think it is worth it. The thread holds its shape so well just the time saved in blocking will make it worth it. And the colors are brilliant. I noticed that the Joanne online catalog is now offering the Lizbeth in size 10 but I'm sticking with the size 20 until I have collected a bunch.
I favor the variegated as they look good alone or as borders or other accents on a compatible solid color. But I ordered my first solid in that dark turquoise to go with the Turquoise Swirl seen still in its individually wrapped package. The third Lizbeth cordonnet is called Red Burst and is a variegated combining a dark red with either a burgundy or dark reddish brown.
There they are. As you can imagine I'm itching to get back to them. I gave myself this one day to get it out of my system and then I need to get serious about putting the finishing touches on and getting the Xmas gifts ready to wrap. That means a whole lot of tail tucking and fringe attaching. Meh.
