Since I started stitching when I was ten, I've learned to do a base stitch one way and the top stitch the other way for the whole project, using hoops make things easier, needles with bigger eyes are better for projects that use more threads, etc.The newest one I've discovered is how to quickly wind skeins onto those little cardboard thingies. Now, I'm sure that people prefer to not use this as a storage method (and I hated it at first, since it kinks up the floss), but if you choose to... here ya go.
When you get a fresh skein, try to pry it open so it's a full circle (you buy it "folded" in half), then place a mug, glass, or something similar and heavy in the loop. Then pull off about 1-2 feet at a time and use that to wind onto the cardboard thing (anyone know what it's called?).
I get so many less knots/screw-ups this way.
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