Susan Ache is our favorite Aurifloss cheerleader! She is a bit of a thread magician… or perhaps we’ll call her Sorceress of the Stitch… or Queen of the Needle! Whatever the case, we know her for the amazing works of cross stitch art she whips up with our floss… transforming the cotton on those sweet little wooden spools into mini stitchy masterpieces.
We’re about to embark on a new cross stitch adventure with Susan and we can’t wait to get started. Today’s post serves as the organizational inspiration we need to get ready for stitchy glory in 2020. Huge thanks to Susan for sharing all of her fabulous knowledge!
It seems like it has been ages since I sat down to talk with y’all. Remember me, I’m Susan Ache, Yardgrl60 if you are on Instagram. It’s about time I checked in with you to talk floss storage because there is some exciting news to go right along with this.
Have you ever seen or watched “those” people at the hardware store just picking up color cards from the paint department, without looking like there was a purpose to it? Well, that person was me. Before color cards of fabric and floss were available to us as a consumer, I would spend hours just randomly pulling those paint swatches of color to come home with me so that I could make my own version of charts.
The color charts I would make up would be for new projects I wanted to sew or stitch or just because I liked those colors together. I would then spend more hours at home cutting and gluing paint color swatches to paper and then putting them in a notebook for future use. Lo and behold, color charts for fabric and thread became available to us and I am here to tell you I did a happy dance, had a mini party, and also collected as many as I could of every one that I loved.
Owning a color card can be daunting. We really do want it all, or is that just me? With my Aurifil color card, I sit and choose colors, make a list of my favorites, set my price limit I want to spend at the time and then order. Put that process on repeat and that’s how my Aurifil color stash has become what it is today.
Let’s talk about how I store and inventory my stash of embroidery floss. It’s a super simple method, it’s not picture perfect, but it does the job of being color visual to me. Since I own the Aurifil color card, I went straight to the copier to make color copies of the same chart. On paper, I can see the colors and where they are, but can also write on my own paper without destroying that gorgeous color card. I do keep these papers in a protective sleeve, and that truly is just so that they are kept together. You can see my writing on the chart, I have E for embroidery floss, and 12 for the 12wt.
Just by chance I happened upon these thread storage boxes, and they are the perfect fit for the floss. I found these at the local fabric store and with a coupon, they are a super awesome deal. When I have a pile of floss that has to be put away, I pull out my boxes, my thread chart and put them in the order they appear on the chart. It couldn’t be any simpler for me to keep track of what I own and what I want to own.
Having my thread in a color order also helped me when it came time to plan for the new Block of the Month stitch along that’s coming up in a blink of an eye. So, this is the main reason I wanted y’all to know how I stored my floss and, this is a great time to get your own system in place because we are about to fill your life with a rainbow of Aurifil colors.
Can’t wait to come back and talk to you about the new Block of the Month stitch along. Yes, it all will be a free download, and yes it will be monthly, and yes, it will be colorful. Let’s talk again soon!!
SUSAN’s FREE PATTERNS
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ABOUT SUSAN
Instagram — Susan’s Book
A love of color makes it easy for Susan to grab inspiration from her native Florida surroundings. With no grand idea other than knowing she wanted embroidery and nine patches in her first quilt, a new world opened up to this mom of now five grown children. Being self taught with many hours of reading about the makings of a quilt and quilt blocks has made this an a lifelong passion. Susan is always searching for new and fun ways to show off as many colors as she can in a quilt. Most of her quilts are a creative impulse from trips to the garden center, a photograph, or browsing through paint chip selections. “I really never see just the quilt, I seem to see the quilt in the room that it belongs in”. Working in a quilt store for years helped Susan to pursue that passion of color and the fabric inspired life she enjoys while constantly striving to make her next favorite quilt.
I have been searching for a box like that but no luck so far. Is there a brand name on the box you could share? I can’t wait for this stitch-a-long!!!! Such a cute chart.
Hi Denice, It looks like the Sulky Slimline Storage Box. I have those for my small spools of Sulky metallic threads. I don’t own any of the Auriful wooden floss spools, but they look like they will fit in that box.
This was great. Thank you
Very excited about the SAL. Thank you.
Can’t wait. I finished the 4th of july chart that Susan gave us and just got it mounted up (I’ll post a pic of it soon so Susan can see: Thank you Susan!!), and I’m working on the Christmas one right now. Hoping to get it done before Christmas so I can put it up and enjoy it! Thanks you all for the fun projects!! Hugs, H
Love hearing that, Helen!! The stitch along next year is going to be fabulous!! Happy Holidays to you:)
I love cross stitch, and the SAL sounds like fun. I haven’t used Aurifil floss before, can you recommend a online source for it. Thanks
After I saw the completed designs at the Jacksonville Quilt show I have been waiting patiently for the designs to be released. Excited about beginning this baby crossstitch quilt