Thoughts About Thread

I have to admit that I've always been a bit of a thread snob.  Cheap linty thread has never appeared in my sewing supplies, even with my penchant for thriftiness.  Only silky, lint-free thread will do - an indulgence that I don't feel guilty about.  In my defense, it was one of the first habits my mom instilled in me when I learned how to sew.  She always would say that good thread was a friend to your sewing machine & made your project go together smoothly.  She is so right!

Bad thread makes sewing a chore.  It breaks, shreds, clogs up your machine & if it's not colorfast, can leave a mess of dye on your finished projects.  I am always amazed at the amount of sewers I know who consistently use cheap thread.  I know we all have a budget to consider, but honestly, with the amount of work you put into a sewing project & the price of fabric, your thread should be one area you don't skimp on.

Much of my preference has been with Mettler Silk Finish thread.  I love the sheen & the lack of lint, but the price always made me cringe.  Great results, but definitely took a toll on my sewing budget.  Then I found Superior's King Tut thread for topstitching & the budget went out the window.  I am such a sucker for variegated cottony goodness!  I new something had to give, so I went in search of some new options.

I had been seeing a lot of fellow bloggers reviewing Aurifil thread.  Everyone seemed to be impressed by the quality so I decided to try it out.  I ordered 3 spools from an online dealer & was pleasantly surprised by the $7.50 price tag for 1422 yards.  It was economical, but would it live up to the glowing reviews everyone gave it?

Aurifil spools in shades of ivory, sand & pure white.

The thread arrived in the mail a week later & my first thought was how I liked that the spools were shrink wrapped.  A nice idea for storing if you wanted to keep extra spools in your stash.  After unwrapping I was able to see just how thin & smooth this thread was.  This was especially evident when I went to wind a bobbin, & couldn't believe how much thread I could fit onto it.  Perfect for those larger projects or for free motion quilting where bobbin changes are inconvenient.  In my machine, the thread ran virtually lint-free.  After sewing a dozen blocks or so, my bobbin case was clean & free of any fluffy dust bunnies.

The finished product looked great as well.  The thread is so fine that seams melt together & make piecing a dream.  Without any extra bulk, the seam allowances lie flat which isn't the case with the bulkier threads.  The thread seemed to take a lot of tension - I tried tugging it and it didn't break.  I have yet to do the wash test with this thread, but it does seem quite sturdy despite the fine appearance.

Overall, I have been really impressed by Aurifil.  Oh, & just so you know, this was my own independent review - I am not affiliated or reimbursed by Aurifil at all!  But I do like to share a great product when I find one & would definitely recommend this great thread that's a great value.  I figure with the money I save on this thread I can invest in more fabric for my stash - that's my new strategy :)

I would love to hear if you have tried Aurifil before & any thoughts you may have on thread.  Are there any other thread finds out there (or thread nightmares) that you can share with your fellow sewists?  Leave a comment with your thoughts!

It's A Bit Wonky

I had been hoarding a layer cake of Bonnie & Camille's Bliss for the past year.  My intent was to make a quilt for my hubby & I's bed, but I hadn't decided on what pattern.  I wanted to do something layer cake friendly, but the thought of more pinwheels & stars left me feeling kinda, well, meh.

I thought I would end up picking something with a white background.  Most of the Bliss quilts I had seen fit into this category, as the white looks so fresh against the aquas & blues.  But there was the part of me that just wanted to mix it all up & enjoy a fun mish mash of these super cute prints.  Since I am already drawn to hexagons, the thought immediately came to mind to do a grandmother's flower garden.  Then I thought about all the time & work - nah.  I do want to have this quilt on my bed before winter rolls around :)

Then I came across this wonky style quilt, & immediately was drawn to the busy patchwork.  It was perfect, but I wanted to make it a little more intricate.  So, I put my own twist on the project by doing a 16 patch variation instead of the original 9. The smaller patches mix everything up a bit more & remind me of the type of patchwork my grandmother used in her crazy quilts.  It allows the eye to take in all the details of these cute prints.

The blocks go together really quickly - just 3 slices of the rotary cutter to 4 layer cake pieces, mix them around, sew them together, stack them again & repeat.  Then voila - you have 4 quilt blocks!  That's my type of sewing. The finished quilt looks like it's a ton of work, but it's actually pretty simple.

A finished wonky block!

This is my first quilt using my new stash of Aurifil thread & I am loving it!  More on that in the next post.

Last but not least, be sure to check out my shop for the newest additions! 

Pick Your Own Vintage Sheet Mini Bundles

Just in time for the gift-giving season I have introduced Pick Your Own Vintage Sheet Bundles.  There is a Mini Bundle with 4 fat eighth cuts & a FQ Bundle with a selection of 5 fat quarters.  What a great way to get a selection of vintage sheet prints for that special Christmas gift you plan on making, or to wrap up as a special gift to any fellow quilters on your Christmas gift giving or Secret Santa list!  Maybe you can even convince your significant other to stuff your stocking with a custom bundle, wink, wink!

Have a wonderfully wonky weekend!

Bowled Over

By my new vintage butterprint bowl!

Vintage Butterprint 444 Cinderella Bowl!

I found this one while out thrifting.  It was sitting on the shelf all lonely, it must have been waiting for me :)

It's been paired up with my 442 bowl.

It was so nice to finally come across more of my favorite pattern.  Butterprint has been pretty elusive lately.  Now I just need the two white cinderella bowls to complete my set!

In shop news, there are new fat quarters that have been listed & something new:

Pick Your Own Mini Bundles!

Now you can choose your fabrics to customize your own Vintage Sheet Mini Bundles!  Simply pick 4 prints from the selection of Vintage Sheets in my shop & leave your choices in the comments section at checkout.  Easy peasy!  It's the perfect way to sample a bunch of fun prints!

Happy Friday!