Strand Brands

What brand of standed thread do you prefer?
I personally use DMC simply because it is the most easily available in my area, and it was the threads my mother had which I used when I started out. There are debates out there on which brand is the best comparing thread brightness, colour longevity and how well the thread sits down. I do worry a little that my lovely works will fade in colour, especially if they're on the wall. I have noticed thread colour fading with DMC over the years. But I'll stick with the DMC as I've got 70% of the colour range already in my work boxes.

Speaking of work boxes, have a look at this;
I decided to pull out all the colours I needed for a specific project, so I didn't need to carry two work boxes with me if I moved from one room of the house to another. What a mistake.

Just look at the mess I ended up with. It took me much longer to find what I needed. It might have worked if I'd had a smaller sorting box, like the ones below. But this small container really didn't do the job. I haven't been able to find a smaller sorting box deep enough to hold the threads yet. but I'm sure they're out there.

I love my work boxes, all sorted by number. All the colours of the rainbow, so neat, so easy to find what I need.
Do you sort by number? I know of a lady that prefers to have hers in hues. All her reds are in shades, all her greens, etc. She's a designer too and she says it's easier for her to choose the shade she wants. I must admit, I do a lot of pulling out and arranging shades on the table when I'm designing. But I doubt sorting by hue would stop that. I look at how the colours mix, so I'd be pulling them from their hue families anyway.

Well, I'm off to the quilting show this afternoon, and looking forward to it. I started quilting when I saw a fantasic quilt that had cross stiches as feature squares. I haven't done a large one like the one that inspired me, though I've made a few smaller quilted wall hangings from cross stitches.
I'll tell you all abotu it tomorrow.
Jenni