A Surprise in the Mail

I came home from work today to find a small packet poking out of my front fence, where the postman had left it near my letter box. First I thought it was some missing items I had ordered months ago, then I looked at the sender's details and discovered it was from my dear stitching/blogging friend, Melissa in Canada! Wow, what a surprise. She's remembered that it's my birthday this month and sent me a small gift to mark the occasion.

Inside was a gorgeous card with a cat on the front (she knows I love cats) and a selection of pink and green silk threads (she also knows I like pink and green together). I love them and what a thoughtful gesture from her.

The threads are from a name called Hand Dyed Fibers which I haven't heard of before. The greens are a silk perle #8 and the pinks are a 6 stranded silk.

Thank you so much, Melissa! You're very thoughtful and they're a beautiful gift. So nice to receive something when you're not expecting it. You made my day!

Silk threads

Since I'm not stitching at the moment (still!), I'll tell you about some threads I found while on my leave from work recently. I dropped by a needlework shop in a town nearby to see what they had. Not expecting anything grand because the embroidery shops here don't really stock much and charge the earth. So I was pleasantly surprised to find some silk threads from an Australian company called Cascade House who I haven't heard of before. Some of their threads were varigated and some were full colours. There was quite a range of colours and they were a very reasonable price. So since I don't get the chance to actually see the threads in person when I buy them usually, I thought I would lash out and get some.

Cascade House silk threads

They tend to look like wool in the photos, but believe me, they're silk.

My thread stash is starting to grow. I'm even looking at buying a narrow table with drawers in it to hold them in. I've seen one with six square drawers along the top that would hold my threads and fabrics really well. The bottom is open with a shelf to display quilts or other things on it. And of course I could put items on the top too. I love it and I'll probably end up getting it. I saw it at a shop in Yarragon last weekend, but I've also seen it in a shop where I live. I can get it in antique white, pink or green. I love any of these colours but I think I'll get the white. It's not the best time money wise to get something like this, but it's not too expensive and when you're looking to find a piece of furniture you never can. It's only times when you stumble upon these things that you can get them. I'll be sure to take a picture if I end up buying it.