Colorful threads from Artfabrik

Don't you just love to open the mailbox and find something that is not a bill or junk mail?
And if there's a package in there, even better!
This is what I found:

Such beautiful colors!!!

Ooooooo! Perle cotton thread from Artfabrik, hand- dyed by the wonderful Laura Wasilowski!
I purchased several skeins in her booth at the Paducah AQS show last month, and, of course, I had to have more.
Left to right: Degas (blues), Spice Road (gold-red-purple....I used up a whole skein already, which led to this order), Asters (be still my multi-colored heart!), Pumpkin Patch (gold-green-orange), Nasturtium (pink to yellow), Chocolate Squash (brown to gold...such fun names!), and Grass Green.

My real project is embroidering a denim jacket (which I will continue to threaten showing to you) but I have also been admiring the use of hand-stitching embellishments on art quilts.
I took a CRAFTSY class taught by Laura and had fun doing some fused fabric pictures along with the embroidery. If you want to learn a craft or quilting technique, I highly recommend Craftsy for a good online class. They also run lots of sales and specials, making the prices extremely reasonable.

One of the best things I learned in Laura's class, "Hand Stitched Collage Quilts", was a good way to handle all the thread you need to have available.
First you need a big circle/ ring...I used an acrylic bracelet that belonged to my Mom, but I would never wear!
First untwist the skein so it's still wound in a big loop. Cut right through it in one place, keeping the threads together with a bend in the middle.

Place the bend down through the ring and then bring it up around the cut ends (the cut ends go through the bend like a loop). Any scouts or sailors out there? Is that a half-hitch knot?
When you want a thread, pull it from the bend part, and it slides out...the threads may pull up a bit, but they smooth right out again. Best of all, it's a perfect length!
http://www.artfabrik.comHere's how my threads look:

It's like a personal rainbow!

I am amazed that the threads are not all tangled together, since I wrap them around the ring to fit into a bag.
But they really are not tangled!

NOT tangled! Just messy!

Laura's Artfabrik site has a load of good tutorials, especially if you like to fuse fabric. 
Excuse me for now...I am itchin' to be stitchin'!