The Stash:
Many
artists/craftspeople who do embroidery (cross-stitch, needlepoint,
crewel, blackwork, goldwork, Hardanger, cut work, white work, et al)
have a "Stash"...which is a collection of materials such as threads,
needles, fabric, ribbons, metallic thread, any specialized tools (laying
tool, tacks, stretcher bars, hoops, needle threader) that have been
bought either for a specific project or for the sheer love of the item
in question (this is shockingly common...i have this gorgeous
silk/merino blended thread which I still don't know what I will use it
for...but I will enjoy using it when I find the project I need it for!) For those who do not embroider you may ask "why would you buy something you don't need?" There are several reasons: you like it and can't live without it for an inexplicable reason, you adore that color and always buy it when you see it, you have never worked with it and it is on sale, one can never have too many options, you have never seen it before, you are a sucker for different textures (this is always my excuse), and my favorite reason...you lust after it and you have absolutely NOTHING currently in the works that you could possibly use it for and therefore it must go into your "stash" as a seed...a nucleolus of creativity if you will...to spark new and wonderfully inspiring projects in the future when you have more time! Because if you have in your glorious "stash" possession of even one item that inspires you to find a use for it then you have endless hours of enjoyment as you plot your next project!
Of course, as I am interested in many forms of artistic expression I have developed over the years several "stashes." I call it (to myself) The Mega-Stash...or "Stash-o-Closet"
I have a stash for bookmaking: decorative or plain, different weights and textures, different source material (paper made from banana leaves, Japanese papers, paper with high rag content, recycled paper, slick paper, metallic papers, and the list can go on!), thread (all linen as it doesn't stretch over time as cotton and silk do) decorative ribbons, glue (pvc is my favorite! although i could do without my cat Simon always trying to eat it), glue brushes, exacto knives/blades, straightedge, scissors, needles(curved and straight), hole punch (I got a crop-o-dail...best 20$ I ever spent on book stuff! and it's pink!!), pencils, colored pencils, erasers (multiple types), book board, book cloth, and the ever-useful-bone folder!
I have a stash for embroidery: Thread (obviously) of a variety of shades and materials (bamboo, cotton, silk, wool, synthetic, blends, linen and metallic), ribbons (primarily silk), fabric (counted thread fabric in cotton, linen, wool), solid fabric (for things like crewel work or for "finishing" a project), wool felt, wool batting (for stuffing pincushions/biscornu's), scissors, needles (gold, silver, nickle free...tapestry, beading, crewel, sharps, doll needles, curved, glove), pins (glass headed) emery cushion, needlebooks, pincushions, patterns, projects, thread organizers, project organizers, laying tool, Magnets!, stretcher bars, tacks, hoop, frame (so useful for holding your work steady thereby leaving you two hands to work with), beads, metal scissors, frame weight shaped like a rabbit (filled with ball bearings), good lights, full spectrum bulbs (so you can tell what the colors truly are!), erasable pens, and lotion...one doesn't want to snag their silk thread with rough skin!
*Biscornu: basically this is an Italian pincushion...it roughly translates (or so I have been told...I don't speak Italian so take this with a grain of salt as I can't verify it) to: oddly shaped. it is created when two squares of fabric are offset, sewn through the middle, and then have their edges sewn together (before it is completely closed you stuff it with wool or some other fluffy filling)...weirdly this makes it look like a doughnut with a funny "ww" design around it.
I was rather addicted to making them for a year or so...I still adore them...and plan to make about 50 more in the next few years...never can have too many places to put a pin or a needle when you embroider and that is a fact!
I have a stash for beading: BEADS! (I usually stick with glass, rock, or shell...but i have been known to use metal, bone, clay, seeds, wood, and plastic), wire, string, tendon, leather, silk to string pearls (I don't do that a lot...but there was this one year...spent a fortune, but I do look amazing going out on the town!), findings (clasps and spacers are quite useful), wire cutters, scissors, pliers, needle-nosed pliers, needles, jump rings, ribbons, bells, a shallow plate so I can organize my beads/ideas.
I have a stash for quilting: Fabric (primarily cotton), thread (again cotton), needles (quilting and inbetweens), pins, thimbles (personally I have always hated thimbles and usually refuse to use them...however they are needed in this case...I found this great ones by clover...they have metal tops but silicone sides...so they stick to your fingers but, for those of you that are like me and are allergic to things like latex and plastic, best of all No Allergies!), Scissors (fabric and embroidery for snipping thread), red basting thread, and those office clips that are usually used to grab gobs of paper...those work great at holding fabric together! (better and less painful than pins in my opinion).
I have a stash of random stuff that i like and think one day I might find a use for it: This box contains tiny bows, pieces of pretty rocks or shells, bits of wire, tiny plastic fish, and other strange items
Sajou, a french company, made a pair of scissors with a
rabbit for handles...I fell in love! And snapped them up! But...once in
their sheath they looked much like all my other scissors...and this
would never do as these were the BESTEST, CUTEST, most AMAZING scissors
on the planet! (I still feel this way about these scissors...I can't
help but smile when I pull them out!) So, I just had to make them a
special sheath to differentiate them and...protect them. But what could I
possibly do that was as wonderful as the scissors themselves...whatever
it was it had to be "worthy' of my beautiful scissors. And so i thought
about it obsessively for nearly two weeks. And tthen it came to me...I
had just finished my "needlegarden" and that made me think Garden,
Rabbit, Carrot...sheath... and Poof! My plan was formulated!
And
so, the carrot sheath was created...and it was darling! varigated silk
pearl in a size 12 (for those who care) done in a simple needlepoint
stitch (basketweave...should probably have called it the basic stitch)
with a ruched ribbon for the "top" (also varigated). I LOVE how it
turned out!
But...I
could not be finished with that...Because I was ALSO currently
obsessing over Biscornu's! And I had this amazing spring green wool felt
fabric in my stash I was just aching to use! I am not very skilled at
crewel work however (I dislike the total lack of structure for whatever
reason) and so I discarded nearly immediately the idea of putting a
rabbit on the biscornu (which is also a pretty small one) and
besides...the rabbit on the scissors was too cute to share the
spotlight! But I loved how the carrot turned out...and so...super cute
biscornu was created with tiny carrots in the corners...so when it was
sewed together it looked thus! (You will notice that the tops look
pretty wild...it was a "happy accident" and I have decided that the
carrots know they are very close to a ravenous rabbit and are terrified
so their tops are standing on end! I love it!)
It
is a joy for me to use these tools...And to think...all because I
bought a "stash" item that inspired me...Nearly everyone who sees these
smiles and says how cute they are (and they are!) So, Stash can inspire
some of your favorite projects of all time! (and, since I was taught how
to embroider when I was very young and have continued to improve over
the years I find myself hardly buying set projects anymore and instead
just heading to the Mega-Stash when I need my embroidery fix--though
sometimes it is soothing to just do something from a nice neat pattern)
As wonderful as all this "stash" sounds...it does come with hazards...like the fact that my cat is constantly trying to steal bits of it (shockingly he could care less about the thread and fabric...he wants the shiny stuff...and the book glue). There is also the fact that if you slip up or slack off even a little bit on your organization it tends to become instantly unwieldy! I swear...there are times when I look at my closet and just dread dealing with it as the "mega-stash" has started taking over and is bursting out of the closet in a bid to take over the whole room! And of course, if that wasn't an issue there is the frustration of knowing exactly the right thing to make a project "perfect" and knowing that you own that right thing...but not being able to figure out where you put it...this happens to me frequently despite my adherence to a strict organization policy. (okay, i don't adhere to it and that is the problem...however...sometimes an item can be equally good for embroidery, book making, and beading...and then you have to decide where it will be most useful...and then if you put it in say beading...but then decide it would be perfect for this embroidery piece you are doing...well, you have to find it don't you...and if you forgot that you put it in beading...well, let us just say it can take a while).
Of course, despite the risks associated with a "healthy" (I refuse to think of it as anything else) Stash the rewards are substantial. It provides a mass of items to go to when stuck on a project or when you feel the need to be inspired. And it works your brain (all that remembering). Besides...it is just plain fun. Sometimes I just pull stuff out knowing that I am not going to work on anything, that I do not need inspiration in the least, and all my projects are chugging along nicely...and i just happily go through it like a squirrel counting the nuts she stored for winter. I smile like a cat in the cream and weave dazzling pictures of future projects in my mind. I revisit old plans and approve of them (or disapprove as the case may be). i touch everything and glory in the shiny, bright, happiness tucked away just waiting for me to get back to them. I am far worse than any pirate! It is my treasure--not so much due to the monetary value (though it is true sometimes that stuff can get expensive!) but, rather, due to the rich diversity of creative potential my stash holds for me locked inside each item.
Happy Creating
Seckmea
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