Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week: Colour by Number?

If you have stitched for a while, can you usually pick out the DMC colors you need from memory when you go to your LNS? (For example, you know that 610 is a brown.)

Some colours always seem to stick in your head, like 326 Christmas Red, sky blue 799 and 907 lime green. If I only need one or two threads I can usually remember what colours I need and their numbers. If I need more than a couple I usually take a list to the LNS if I need them in a hurry or order them online more cheaply.

I remember when I lived back in Gillingham, there was a little local needlework and wool store, "Singer's Sewing Centre" it was called. They used to mainly service Singer Sewing Machines and sell wool to little old ladies, but they had a wall section set aside with a full DMC collection. This was my only source of DMC within walking distance so I used to go there a lot. There used to be a little old man who ran the place, despite his age, if you wanted any threads you would give him a list and he'd get up on a chair and fetch them all down for you. He was usually very efficient at doing this and could find the threads a lot faster than you as he knew where they all were on the pegs. Sadly, "Mr Singer" as I used to call him (I never knew his real name) sold the business to some Asian women as his wife was sick.

When the Asians took over the shop, the stitching section was being run into the ground and it was turning into "Saris R US". I remember having an arguement with the women in there one day when she claimed that DMC 3799 a dark grey thread didn't exist and I was making it up!