I think everyone who has stitched more than one or two projects has run into problems with thread dye lots being different, with not being able to find just the color of thread you need, or had a thread you like discontinued (usually within days of finishing a stitch guide for a project that uses a LOT of that particular thread). The life of a thread manufacturer is full of these problems, many of which are out of their control.
I ran across an article on Opus Anglicanum about dyeing one's own threads that I thought you'd enjoy because it illustrates the complexity of dyeing threads. Tanya is creating a large series of panels of reproduction 14th Century Icelandic embroidery and ran out of the red wool that frames each panel. Hence the dye lecture since she hand dyed all the 2 ply wool for the project originally and now has to make more of the red. I found it fascinating, and I think you will, too. I appreciate the commercial thread companies a lot more after reading this, even though their processes are much different than the small batch of hand dyeing Tanya is doing.
http://opusanglicanum.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/dye/
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
