A DMC resurgence

I finished the Cross-Eyed Kat Snowfight Red [Dragon] last night and absolutely adore the whimsical little piece ... and I definitely will be on the lookout for more charts from this series.

I am back to working on my Crabby All Year SAL today, having finished the January block and having gotten well into the February block. It is a very enjoyable piece and works up relatively quickly. There is a certain pleasure to be had in working in DMC, the colors in this piece are quite lovely. I have been very much in danger of becoming a floss snob: I do love silks of all kinds and the GAST and WDW overdyes, as well as the specialty fibers from Rainbow Gallery and Kreinik. But DMC has such an incredible range of color as well as the advantage of being colorfast that I am rediscovering the joy of working with it. I have enjoyed it so much that I have finally decided to take the plunge and fill in all the gaps in my DMC collection so that I own a complete set, at least, of the basic colors in cotton ... can't say that I am much interested in their variations or neons. And I already know I don't like their linen floss ... much too coarse and a cause of badly blistered fingers. I have restocked the DMC from 2 cases to 3 to make room all of the new flosses. I have made a list of the colors I am still missing in my purse calendar and will be making purchases everytime I am near either Michael's or A.C. Moore's until such time as I have a complete set. I have noticed that my next few projects [specifically, the Sue Hillis Santa series, the Sue Hillis Pair Tree and the Prairie Schooler annual Santa cards] all will be using DMC. And, of course, the Snowfight Draon I just finished was done in DMC primarily with just a bit of Kreinik and Dinky Dye silk for added punch. And the tea towels and baby bibs that I have been doing and will continue to do over the next few months all require the colorfast DMC. I am wondering if this represents a sea change in my own tastes or maybe in designer's habits or maybe it's an industry response to the increased cost of a hobby that depends on high end fibers. I don't think I'll ever lose my affection for the silks and overdyes, but I am glad to have rediscovered the basics, as well.

I'll also be heading off to the post office today to send out my first gift to my Secret Sister in the 123 stitch exchange: two skeins of floss and a few more little extras. I believe I will use air mail since it has to go overseas and I want to make sure it gets to her in a timely fashion. As well as mailing the packages of gifts to the kids that they couldn't take on the plane and the candles I ordered for Angela from Village candle which arrived yesterday. Also have to pick up the tarnish resistant bags for the silver I am sending off to Sean and Christina. Then home to do some laundry before it takes over the bathroom. And it is my hope to stick with the PLAN and get some sewing finishes done today. I think I'll work on the Christmas orders.