Thread, thread, and thread

Who would have ever thought one could have so much fun with bins of thread? I certainly didn't think I would ever act like a kid in a candy store over thread! Kind of looks like gumdrops.

I received a ton of thread from a friend of my mom's a couple of years ago. Her mother had passed away and left a myriad of supplies for various needlework hobbies. I was the lucky recipient of thread, lacemaking books, tatting shuttles, and even several tatting needles.

I had taken a beginning tatting class through local community ed about 10+ years ago, and because there really aren't any active tatting groups or classes available near me, I didn't pursue it much further. After receiving all of this thread, I decided to get busy and learn some more about tatting. This is much easier now with the internet! I got started with the T.A.T. program, and then joined InTatters and the Design-Tat group. Gotta use this thread somehow . . .


The thread has been sorted a few times. First by color. I had to put all the white/ecru in a separate bin. Then I dug through it all and re-sorted it by size. There are sizes 5, 8, and 12, mostly perle cotton, and I wasn't exactly sure what each size had been used for but I knew I could make good use of it. (Well, maybe by the time I retire. Did I mention I will probably never retire?) I started by making some crocheted doilies for the kind daughter that gave me these treasures. Didn't even put a DENT in the abundance.

The InTatters group forums have had thread reviews that are informative. When I first looked at the perle cotton and how loose the twist was, I didn't think it would be great to tat with. After reading about all the various types, twists and weights of threads, I see it's pretty much a matter of personal preference.


There's also quite a bit of cotton tatting thread in sizes 70, 80 and 100. Heck, I can't see the larger threads very well - I'm not sure if I'll ever get to use these tiny ones!

When re-sorting my treasures, I thought that the size 12 thread was pretty and didn't look as loose as the sizes 5 & 8, so I decided to try it for a bookmark. Wow! I really like how it worked to tat with. It has a pretty sheen to it, didn't seem to twist or knot up on me, and the stitches look nice and neat. I had to look in the jackpot of thread again to see what colors I have to play with. All these. And to think I want more thread! There are some beautiful HDTs out there I'd love to try, and I like the variegated threads from Handy Hands too. It's kind of like my fabric stash, only it takes up less room.

I did actually finish one bookmark. The pattern is the Spiral Bookmark from the Tatting Goddess.

My darling daughter, the English major, has a bazillion books to read this semester and requested some bookmarks.

She will get more.

It's not like I don't have enough thread!