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Thursday, January 10, 2013

TUSAL

I'm trying something new this year. In the past I've come across bloggers' posts for "orts" and "tusals" and never really knew what they were. Now I know, and I'm going to give it a shot! If you're in the dark like I was, here's a little of what I learned-

Orts-are old ratty threads, they are the ends that stitchers cut off. Some people save these castoffs and create a pile, others discard them. I've always thought it was neat to see the different colors build up together-since I usually have several pieces I rotate working on, there's always a variety.

When various stitchers post photos of their piles, showing "progress" of sorts, the Totally Useless Stitch A Long was born (TUSAL). Photos of little jars containing the orts are usually posted around the new moon every month. 

Since I already collect the threads, I might as well join the fun! I have a pretty little candy dish that sits by my stitching chair at home. However, when I left home a week ago, I didn't think to bring my orts along with me. This is one of the rare times I will say, I am thankful for cell phones-I asked my son to take a picture of my jar at home, and send it to me (along with instructions please don't let dad throw away my trash before I get home)

This is what I have to show:



It's not a very large pile of threads, so that means one of two things: either I'm very thrifty with my floss, or I need to stitch more! I'm thinking it's the second choice 

I will probably not empty my dish, just continue to see it grow throughout the year.

If you're interested in joining this stitch a long, you can find more info here:
http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-totally-useless-stitch-long-2013.html


The next post will be February 10th, I hope I have more to show then!

6 comments:

  1. That's very interesting about orts and tusal. I've never heard of that before. It would be cool to have a big pile of orts to see how much work you've done - a progress pile, like you said.
    Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I really appreciate it. Isn't it great being the mother of boys?

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    1. It is fun to see the pile of threads progress, see the variety of colors in it, especially around christmas! I love being the mother of boys, wouldn't know what to do with a girl. Now that one of my boys is newly married, I have to learn how to shop for a girly girl, it's exciting and scary at the same time!

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  2. Hello Cindy! I come here to see your tusal!

    My TUSAL post is here:
    http://anacristinap.blogspot.com.br/2013/01/tusal-12013.html

    kisses

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  3. Hi Cindy, Welcome to the TUSAL! I'm starting again for the third year. I put my ORTs into a clear glass Christmas ornament at the end of the year (copied the idea from another stitcher). Pretty soon your dish will be full and you'll have to get a bigger jar!

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    1. I'm making up for lost time, my ORT's are growing!

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  4. too funny, thank goodness for kids that don't question why they are taking pictures of orts! I keep a plastic container to keep my threads in. It cracked last year but I glued it back together. Unlike the pretty glass jar I had when I first started!

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