metro embroidery thread is cheap, sews out nicely and has tons of colors...
metroemb.com
just a heads up...i've been ordering from them for 2 years or more, but never ordered their variegated thread because it looks like plain cotton on their web site...I finally ordered a few spools and much to my surprise, it is shiny embroidery thread! Don't know why it looks so dull on their site...but other than that..great company!