Monday, June 20, 2011

Thread - lots of yummy thread & a Lilac Hill Correction!

For quite awhile I've been looking for thread that I could start carrying to workshops when I teach. It's really pretty important that the thread color match the applique piece in order to hide your stitches and, especially if I'm teaching people who have never appliqued before, they don't have a wide variety of colors. But I didn't need or want one of those megaholders of thread that quilt shops use.
I'm also pretty picky about the thread I use for applique. Even if the colors are awesome, if it knots a lot, I won't use it. Applique is one of the ways I relax and it's not relaxing if you have to be coping with knots in your thread all of the time.


When I was at Salt Lake, we were doing our usual socializing and lo and behold, my good friend Sue Spargo is a distributor for an Italian cotton thread that she uses for applique. It took no time at all before I was back at her booth with my trusty sewing kit. We got our heads together and picked out threads to match the ones I had been using.
Sue swears by this thread for cotton, wool and velvet. I've used it since I got back from Salt Lake and absolutely love it for cotton - sure the same will apply to wool and velvet. I use wool occasionally, velvet very rarely and cotton is my first love. The thread is great! It sews up beautifully and there is very little knotting.
We have a limited selection - 24 colors - but so far they've been enough for me. If you need anything I don't have, go to her website she carries a lot more of the brighter, etc colors. You can buy it from us individually or in color packs for a discount. Just have us throw in a spool or 2 or 4 when you order a pattern or a kit. Or buy it all on it's own - it's worth it.

On a totally different note, we found a left brain error in the instructions & diagram for our Lilac Hill quilt. We're emailing the corrections to our Club people so watch for them if you got a kit. For those of you who bought a pattern or got a kit elsewhere go to the corrections page in our store or email Byron at janpatekquilts@yahoo.com and we'll email or send the correction diagram & instructions.