Has any used a needle orginiser?
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- wendywombat
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Has any used a needle orginiser?
Can anyone advise on the practicality of using a needle organiser with threaded needles? I am currently working on an American railway train, which has 28 colours and so loads of frequent colour changes!! No big blocks of colour either. I have seen the Pako organiser and also a new one by Clover
http://www.stitchdirect.com/shopWebSite ... plu=CL0625
So any advice folks??
http://www.stitchdirect.com/shopWebSite ... plu=CL0625
So any advice folks??
I had one, never used it and sold it on Ebay. I'm a one needle woman, sometimes 2 if I need to park a colour for a little bit but I tend to do that with my tapestry, not cross stitch. I'd just end up losing them or they would get mixed up.
But I've heard that a lot of people find them useful and quicker. I think it might work if you have the project out all the time, like a dedicated chair or room or something. I have to put my projects away to protect them from kids and animals.
Sorry Wendy, I'm not much help here!
But I've heard that a lot of people find them useful and quicker. I think it might work if you have the project out all the time, like a dedicated chair or room or something. I have to put my projects away to protect them from kids and animals.
Sorry Wendy, I'm not much help here!

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Connie
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- coffee_freak
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i have a big magnet and I park my needles in a line according to the chart color list..
i don't have to do it often..as it does take lots of prep time..you have to have a needle for every color and thread them all before you can get started. it does keep all the time you are stitching for stitching..
but it does get tedious threading a ton of needles all at once..and I sometimes do get mixed up and unorgnanized..lol
i don't have to do it often..as it does take lots of prep time..you have to have a needle for every color and thread them all before you can get started. it does keep all the time you are stitching for stitching..
but it does get tedious threading a ton of needles all at once..and I sometimes do get mixed up and unorgnanized..lol

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- wendywombat
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Thanks girls for your input.
ConnieO .... you have made a good point about having to put things away. Although I don't have 'Small Fry' running around I do like to put things away at the end of a session, so that's one consideration. Thanks for that thought.
C_F ... a big magnet is an excellent idea except I don't have one of those either!

ConnieO .... you have made a good point about having to put things away. Although I don't have 'Small Fry' running around I do like to put things away at the end of a session, so that's one consideration. Thanks for that thought.
C_F ... a big magnet is an excellent idea except I don't have one of those either!




- coffee_freak
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i got my magnet strip at the craft store..and then i glued it down to a small clipboard
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i have the pako one and i love it! the kit i'm working on is the first one where i'm trying to do small sections at a time instead of doing all of one color before moving on to the next.... i didn't thread every single color for the whole kit, just the colors that i would be using in the section that i was working on, i'm doing one teddybear at a time.... it does take a little time to draw the symbols and to thread and organize the needles, but once it gets down to the stitching it's so easy and i look forward to doing the next color, makes it a lot more interesting to me... also i bought the travel pack made for the organizer so i can just zip it up with all my needles and put it away when i'm done stitching for the day.... hope this helped a bit....
- wendywombat
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I've got the pako one that I use for projects with lots of colours, especially if they are very similar shades.
I had found that I was making a few silly mistakes from picking up little "left over" threads that were the wrong colour when I was re threading. I quite enjoy the prep now, and it's definately quicker and more rewarding than frogging!!
I just have a clear plastic shoe box with a lid that I keep mine in when I'm on another project, or company drops in and I need to put away safely.
I had found that I was making a few silly mistakes from picking up little "left over" threads that were the wrong colour when I was re threading. I quite enjoy the prep now, and it's definately quicker and more rewarding than frogging!!

I just have a clear plastic shoe box with a lid that I keep mine in when I'm on another project, or company drops in and I need to put away safely.
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Sorry for offtopic, but I need to ask!ConnieO wrote:I had one, never used it and sold it on Ebay. I'm a one needle woman, sometimes 2 if I need to park a colour for a little bit but I tend to do that with my tapestry, not cross stitch. I'd just end up losing them or they would get mixed up.

Hi Oksana, tapestry is pretty much another name for needlepoint as I understand it, although I'd love to be able to do a 'real' medieval tapestry! Such detailed work! There's a picture of my work in progress (WIP) in the gallery under my name if you want to have a look.
A stitch in time is my idea of a perfect day!
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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I have that dome organizer but I could never figure out how it works. So I have never used it. I love both the Pako needle and Pako thread organizers. I just got a new system called "Annies Keepers" and she also has a needle organizer that holds 16 sections but you can really double it. then the threads slide in on one of her project slides. Really cool system.
http://www.annieskeepers.com" target="_blank
http://www.annieskeepers.com" target="_blank
Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
When I could stitch I used my Paco all of the time. Doubt whether you will remember but because I like to keep things looking tidy I bought a wooden box especially for my paco (it is in my gallery).
Rosemary
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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
The last time this came up I showed my system which I find works well and the plastic bobbin containers aren't very expensive. I usually am only working on one project at a time and I HATE THREADING NEEDLES, so each color is threaded as I use it and stays threaded (unless I use it up of course) until the project is over. If I start working on more than one project it might be more difficult. I haven't decided if I would just keep separate bobbins of thread for each project or move them back and forth.

I keep the bobbins in order by thread number. If I am working only on a small section I might seperate out those colors. It looks cumbersome, but I find that it really is pretty simple.
Carole

I keep the bobbins in order by thread number. If I am working only on a small section I might seperate out those colors. It looks cumbersome, but I find that it really is pretty simple.
Carole
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- Mystonique
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Re:
Oksana tapestry, especially creative tapestry is AWESOME 8} sorry to butt in but my first love is creative tapestry. Using a canvas (large open holes) is much quicker and easier on the eyes than aida but the most rewarding this is that a good creative tapestry takes on a real 3D effect, something you could never do with cross stitch.Oksana wrote:Sorry for offtopic, but I need to ask!ConnieO wrote:I had one, never used it and sold it on Ebay. I'm a one needle woman, sometimes 2 if I need to park a colour for a little bit but I tend to do that with my tapestry, not cross stitch. I'd just end up losing them or they would get mixed up.You do tapestry? WOW! Can you tell a little more, is it needlepoint or something looking like real tapestry?
Myst..
- Kute Kitty
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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I had a Pako needle organiser and really didn't get on with it - I felt that it took a long time to thread all the needles (I did them all at once, rather than just the colours I was using at the time) and then the threads all got tangled up together, so eventually I gave it to someone on here who got on with it really well!
- franacropan
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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I find my needle organiser invaluable when stitching large designs with lots of colours. I can just pick up a colour when needed and pop it back again.

Close up here http://www.morecambesands.com/.a/6a00d8 ... 970b-popup
A HAED generally requires uses 2, there are 4 in this picture because the Golden Kite design I was working on then used 200 colours.
Close up here http://www.morecambesands.com/.a/6a00d8 ... 970b-popup
A HAED generally requires uses 2, there are 4 in this picture because the Golden Kite design I was working on then used 200 colours.
- Mrs Milkybar Kid
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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I've just bought a pako from ebay, I thought it might help with the frequent colour changes on Starry Night with Tardis - and might save me time looking for 1 symbol out of the 108 on the chart! Sadly I have committed a lot of the corresponding colours and symbols to memory...... 

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Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I absolutely would not be without my Pako organiser. It makes life soooo much easier with the large project I love to do.
Re: Has any used a needle orginiser?
I have to agree. I usually use my pako organiser on big projects. I started using it for my fairy where there were lots of colour changes and especially lots of confetti. It really was invaluable for them cause I can't get the hang of parking and the colours were all so similar it would have been a nightmare trying to remember the right colour.
I use the top row for threaded needles and leave the bottom row free and I put the symbol and the colour number in the boxes below each needle. It works really well for me
I havent set it up for my big WIP yet but I havent spent much time on stitching it so far. I probably will set it up soon though. it takes me maybe 15 minutes to thread all the needles up and get them written down
I use the top row for threaded needles and leave the bottom row free and I put the symbol and the colour number in the boxes below each needle. It works really well for me
I havent set it up for my big WIP yet but I havent spent much time on stitching it so far. I probably will set it up soon though. it takes me maybe 15 minutes to thread all the needles up and get them written down
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HAED What Lies beneath Dakota Daetwiler
Disney Dreams The little mermaid MCG/Thomas kinkade
Spinning
SFM &silk - Meadowsweet/Rosy Maple Moth
Heather Mulberry Silk in 'Gladys