thread

I don't buy a lot of fabric these days--at least commercially printed fabric. I start with white or black fabric, and go from there. So while I maintain a stash of commercial fabrics acquired before I really got into dyeing and painting--just in case someday I need them--I wouldn't spend a lot of time in fabric or quilt stores. Except, they sell thread.

I could dye thread, but so far it seems like too much trouble. Not when there are threads I can buy that do what I want done. Like this one:

© 2010 BJ Parady

It's one of the blendables by Sulky. I love these threads. They come in two weights, 12w and 30w, and unlike some variegated threads, the color changes are gradual and seem to be uneven--you don't end up with stripes. I use them for thread painting and for building satin stitched edges.

But I was having trouble finding them locally, so I went to a store I knew of in Evansville, IN (where I was anyway), SewTech. They sell thread. A lot of thread. And I knew they had the Blendables because that is where I bought this spool, which was nearly empty.

They had other temptations, too. Also by Sulky are these black and nearly black 12w threads--which I want to use for thread painting like this and this by Terry Grant.

© 2010 BJ Parady

I'm really looking forward to trying the nearly black one--I had a treasured dark brown/black thread by Mettler that disappeared from the market that I hope this replaces.

Then there was the stuff on sale:

© 2010 BJ Parady

Note that these are mostly in the same color palette I've been using lately...

Of course the new additions mean that I need more storage as my little drawers are stuffed to the gills:

© 2010 BJ Parady

The moral to all this? Thread has become one of the staple ingredients in my art. I can't--well won't--make or dye it myself, so I need to have it in stock when the muse hits. That's my story, I'm sticking with it.