thread

Sew, Mama, Sew has asked to see our thread stashes.

Sha-baam! 

Yep, that's it.  : )
I did just give a few spools of polyester thread to a friend though.
Okay, now for the questions:

How did you select colors for your personal thread collection?

I use neutrals  (beige, white, gray) for piecing, so there's always some of that around.  For quilting, I buy thread on a project-by-project basis, I usually head to the shops knowing exactly what I'm looking for.

Do you always match the color perfectly to your project?

No.  In the spirit of the photographer Henri-Cartier-Bresson, who said, "Focus is a bourgeois concept," I have long believed that matching is a bourgeois concept. It is by no means my default to match my thread to my fabric or my shirt to my skirt.

Do you ever use contrasting thread?

Yes, but usually my thread plays a sort of conversational role somewhere between the "blend in" of matchiness and the "stand way out" of contrast.  For example, The Green Quilt is quilted in a very specific lime green color that I hunted down.  There is no lime green in any part of the patchwork, it was what I wanted to add to the quilt through the quilting and binding.

Do you use the same color in the bobbin as the upper thread?

I match the top and bottom about 75% of the time.

What if a fabric has big areas of very different colors?

This has never bothered me.

Do you have any tips or suggestions about choosing thread?

Learn what kind of thread your machine likes.  My old machine really liked polyester thread.   My new machine prefers certain brands of cotton thread. 

Can you show us a picture(s) of your thread collection?

 

Do you ever buy thread because you fall in love with the color (without a particular project in mind)?

Embroidery thread: yes.  

Quilting thread: no.

Do you “invest” in thread?

No.  I'm not cheap about thread (you get what you pay for!) but I don't keep a stash of it, either.

If I came across a sale on 30wt Sulky solids and blendables, or something else that I knew worked well in my machine, I could see myself stocking up.

What types of thread do you have? (elastic, quilting, all-purpose, wool, etc.)

Cotton embroidery thread.

Cotton machine thread.

Cotton machine quilting thread.