Over the course of the color discussions on the TalkTemari list a question popped up and was handled by one of our resident color experts, Janet P  -
do you and if so how, match threads when using variegated threads to stitch temari?

Janet's answer - That really depends on what you want to do and how you want the end result to look. For temari, I don't cut the yarn at all initially.  I take a skein (of Watercolours for example), straighten it all out and then separate each of the three strands and wrap them on old spools (from Kreinik metallics).  I put a label on the top of each one to say what the color is. For needlepoint, I do one of two things.  If I don't care about exact color sequence, which is most of the time, I cut the skein once and use as is.  If I want the color to flow evenly, I just pick the next thread to match the last color on the thread I'm using. But you can also "color match" so that the sequence of colors on a strand is always the same.  This gives much longer runs of thread and is a bit more complex.

        To color match, open the skein and start to straighten it.  Examine the skein as you are doing so to find where the sequence repeats -- this will be a different length for each skein.  Cut the thread. Repeat this process until the thread is completely cut into lengths. In needlepoint, as in temari, this process should be used when you want and exact sequence of colors to appear everywhere in the design - for example in a geometric needlepoint piece where all four quadrants needed to be the same.