Sunday 17 May 2015

Stash Sunday - Anchor Pearl Cotton #12


I'm really quite a fan of Pearl Cotton #12.  I like the gauge (similar to two strands of stranded cotton), the texture and plenty more about it.  To be honest, my use of it thus far has been limited, but there have been plenty of ideas: Needlelace things in stumpwork, parts of freestyle designs that needed a little more texture than stranded cotton provides, as can just about be seen in the streambed sections of this Helen M Stevens' design I used it in back in 2008, and also fine filling stitch work for hardanger, for a start.

The only thing I didn't like about it was how few colours it came in.  The first picture above shows the entire of the original Anchor Pearl #12 collection including about a dozen colours that weren't available in the UK and I had to have shipped from Nordic Needle in the States.  No proper yellows or oranges, no browns beyond a few beige shades, no grass greens.  It was a really limited selection.  Even DMC couldn't help much.  They had some other colours available, but still no oranges, yellows etc, and a selection of only the same size.

Imagine my delight one day when browsing the Sew and So thread section I saw that the whole collection had been thoroughly re-vamped and considerably enlarged!

Of course, there were some casualties and the colours shown here in this selection of muted greens, blues, pinks and purples, along with a slightly deeper than vibrant red shade were all retired from the range.  I must remember not to use these in anything I might design for sale later on, although DMC still seem to have some comparable hues.  Shame about that red, though - Anchor shade 47, as I find it more useful than the brighter 46.
These were the first balls of the new set that I invested in.  I chose landscape colours mostly so that I could continue to use them in Helen M Stevens' style pictures, where she represents fields, water and so on in long stitches of twisted silk.  This would work well as a substitute thought I.


Of course, me being me and a complete thread-head floss fanatic, I didn't stop there and, two or three hauls later, I found myself with this as a personal collection:  


Certainly a much better selection of shades than used to be available!  There seem to be about 117 (only 40 in DMC just now) at the moment, and I don't have all of them.  There seem to be about 30 I haven't yet bought, but I'm out of space for now, although I could create it within the system I already own.  I don't want to need to look for new thread storage solutions as, much as I don't mind filling up the drawers and workbox that I have, I'm not interested in buying more.  I have a LOT of thread, and much more could get beyond ridiculous, no?  As you can see in this last shot, what I own just now fills the available space nicely, with room for two, three or four more balls at some point.


I have my Pearl Cotton #8 balls in the other cantilever section on the other side of the workbox and those could be rehoused if need be, i.e. if I ever wanted to expand this collection again.  For now though, it stays as it is.

What about you?  Have you used Pearl Cotton #12?  What for?  What other uses can you think of for it?

BTW, I won't be doing Stash Sunday posts every week!!

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2015

11 comments:

Rachel said...

I don't think I've got any Pearl #12 at all. My thread collection is full of eccentric yarns I've not quite worked out how to use....

Monica said...

Wow, what a wonderful set of new colours! It's about time. I have used size 12 perle for running stitch turned edge cotton applique, (that's a mouthful!), AND for whip stitched wool applique. Presencia has a few bright colours in this size, but not a proper range, as far as I know.

I think everyone who likes some texture in their projects will be happy with this news! :D

Kathy said...

Oh my goodness! I haven't used this thread but I saw it at Kelley's studio on Bristol and now you've tempted me! Thanks for introducing me to a new thread.
Liebe Grüße,
Kathy

Unknown said...

I have never used perle. I think I need to do something about that! Great post

Sparklyjools said...

Scrumptious!How yummy! I use Valdani's Perle 12 a lot and it's my preferred weight.

Pamela said...

I'm a fan of perle #12 also and use it for so many things - blackwork, stumpwork, cross stitch and assisi, crazy quilt, French knots, needlepoint, hardanger.... I don't have the color range that you do, but it's one of the things I have no problem finding here in Japan.

Summer said...

WOW what a great stash, I've never used this yarn. will have to get some.

zenuwpees said...

La broderie et les fils sont très beau bon après-midi Marie-Claire

Cindy Maki said...

Well, by the time we all get through drooling on this yummy threads, you will have to shop for new. LOL.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Absolutely green with envy here!!! I love stitching with pearl cotton threads and the colour selection available where I live is rather dismal. I'm a crazy quilter and love the wonderful definition pearl cotton gives to the stitches. Enjoy your stash!!!

D1-D2 said...

I love stitching with #12, but haven't had any luck in find colors other than white or ecru. I think that might change as I met a lady in my crewel class that sells stitching materials from her home.

 
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