Author: wildboho

Cosmo vs DMC vs Eleganza

| wildboho

As a stitcher who has used, almost exclusively, DMC floss for years now, i’ve been excited to recently add some other floss and thread brands into my stitching arsenal. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you already know how much I love the Sue Spargo Eleganza perle cotton…if you haven’t tried that yet, I definitely recommend it.  It comes in a saturated color palette and adds extra shine and texture to your stitching.

Here you can see pictured from left to right: Cosmo, DMC and Eleganza.

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Cosmo floss is not as easy to find in the US.  In fact, there are not any stores local to me that sell it. It would be nice to actually see the colors in person before deciding what to buy, but, alas…. Fortunately, there are online shops that carry Cosmo floss.  DMC floss is stocked at every craft store, from Joann Fabrics, to Michaels, A.C. Moore and Hobby Lobby.

Pricing is a factor that you may want to consider also.  DMC Floss costs $0.40-0.50 a skein.  Cosmo is around $1.30-1.60 a skein.  And Eleganza is about $5 for a (70-yard) spool.  With DMC and Cosmo, you are able to separate the 6-strands into however many you like to stitch with.  Eleganza Perle cotton does not separate into strands; it is about the thickness of three stands of the other varieties of floss.

As far as stitching difference, I would say the most noticeable difference is the feel of the threads.  Cosmo has a silkier feel when compared with DMC.  It is also slightly easier to separate the strands and there are fewer tangles.  When stitching with all 6 strands, Cosmo provides a slightly thicker line of stitching than DMC.  Eleganza rarely tangles and also has a silky feel.  DMC comes in more colors and is easier to find, but Cosmo and Eleganza are well worth shopping online to find.

If I had to rate them in which order I would choose a thread to stitch with, I would start with Eleganza first, Cosmo second and DMC third.  All are excellent threads, though, and I certainly won’t be giving up DMC when I need a quick floss fix!

Let me know what other differences you’ve noticed between these threads or if you have another favorite that I didn’t mention here!

Secret Tool Stash

| wildboho

I have a secret tool stash. There, my secret is out. Just don’t tell my husband, because he doesn’t know about them. Well, he kind of does, but he doesn’t know where I stash them.

I move things around a lot, hang things and then change my mind and hang them again. I staple fabric to things, then change my mind, pull out staples and re-staple different fabric. I do a lot of this hanging, re-hanging, stapling and re-stapling when he is at work. I can only do this when I have my tools and the aforementioned husband might not be the best at putting tools back where they belong. Hence, my secret tool stash.

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I have a very old chair (and extremely comfortable) chair in my studio that I recovered once when I bought it about 4 years ago. I decided on a whim that it needed freshening and after a quick trip to JoAnn, I had a yard of navy fabric that screamed “new chair cover!”

This was one of the easier chair recovers I’ve done. It was simply undoing staples, removing the old fabric and stapling new fabric onto the seat.

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15 minutes later and I had a new seat! And some re-stashed tools, safe until next time.

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Made In Japan

| wildboho

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I have an affinity for any drawing and/or stitching book that is from Japan…whether it is a book that has been translated to English or it is in Japanese and I cannot read a word. I’ll take them all! The simplicity of the designs appeals to me because most of my work is bursting with color and pattern. Something simple is welcome to contrast to that.  Japanese sewing notions are another love: Tulip embroidery needles, tiny little scissors…it doesn’t matter, I love them. And speaking of “made in japan,” another love of mine is vintage ceramic figurines and stoneware. In a house of boys, these can be a nerve wracking addition to my decor, but I just. can’t. resist. Like these two little Indians in moccasins.  I mean, really, Indians in moccasins? I snatched these up quicker than you could say $3 for the pair!

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And how about this stoneware mug with a house on it?! I like coffee! I live in a house! Win, win on that find!

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Slow Stitching

| wildboho

I have a couch pillow with a tear and rather than mend it with my sewing machine, I’m taking the slooooow route and making a new pillow cover. A long drive on vacation and several day trips in the car and I’m barely closer to having a new pillow cover. In fact, the rip in my current pillow case has gotten bigger. Now it’s a challenge…either finish the Hexie pillow project or watch the hole in the pillow cover continue to unravel and grow larger. Because I’m not fixing it. I will replace it with a Hexie cover that I stitched by hand. I will finish this. Hopefully before next summer takes us out on the road again!


  

Mini Tour of My Studio

| wildboho

My studio is a tiny room in our very old house.  Built in 1904, the house has just two small closets.  One closet is not even the depth of a hanger! That room is where my studio sits in the house.  I am fortunate to have a dedicated studio space…I know some of you may be working with just a desk in the corner of a family room! Over the years, I have condensed and organized and then condensed and organized once again. I am finally left with a room that has some semblance of order and is a good workspace.  Let the mini tour commence!

An entire wall is dedicated to my painted pegboard hoop storage:

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Paints are easily accessible and just plain prettier when stored horizontally in an old sewing machine drawer hung on the wall:

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And finally (for this mini-tour) my favorite stitched collage, featuring girls from fabric by Cori Dantini and Teagan White. This was assembled and free-motion stitched on my machine. One of the few pieces that I haven’t stitched by hand!

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Stay tuned for more mini-tours to come!

Scandinavian Inspired Hoop

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Several weeks ago, I was asked by RJR Fabrics if I would like to participate in the #whatshaderu blog hop for their Cotton Supreme Solids. I was excited but also realized this would be a challenge as I normally choose to work with patterned fabric over solids. A huge fan of Cotton and Steel, which is a division of RJR Fabrics (as you see noted on every keep-worthy bit of selvage!), I decided to choose 12 colors that would stand out on an assortment of grey Cotton and Steel Basics. I also knew that my design would be Scandinavian-inspired, just because. I drew up a pattern for a straight row of brightly colored houses, a funky floral design and, as pictured below, a geometric heart made of 54 diamond and half-diamond pieces. Time consuming? Absolutely! But well worth the effort to have solids like red, coral, pink and purple playing nicely together!

Check out RJR Fabrics Quilt with love blog for my entry and read on to see what others have done with Cotton Supreme Solids!

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Little House on the Prairie Hoop

| wildboho

I am working on several Andover Fabrics hoops for the International Quilt Market in Houston, TX this Fall. The upcoming Little House on the Prairie fabric is inspired by the illustrations found in the “Little House” novels. When you see this fabric, you will feel both the rustic nature of life on the prairie combined with dainty floral prints meant to give women a touch of femininity in their hard-working lives.

This hoop is based on the motif of the running girl and is a favorite piece of mine.  Here she is in her pre-stitched glory:


To see the full line in each of the motifs, check out Andover Fabrics blog.