In this earlier post, I wrote about testing some new-to-me threads from Gilbreath Threads, and said that they were made in the same factory as the Aurifil.  It appears this is incorrect, and I’d like to thank Alex V. from Aurifil for helping me get the information correct.   Aurifil, which makes VERY high quality cotton thread, does not manufacture thread for Gilbreath.

The message I had received from the US representative for Gilbreath wrote:
We are the only US  importers of Cucirini Tre Stelle
cotton thread from Italy.  It is a 2 ply cotton thread w/a long staple.
We carry cones &   spools.  Our thread compares to Aurifil apples for
apples.  We feel ours is even better as it is made in the same factory
for the last 100 years.

I must have misunderstood that to mean that the Gilbreath thread was made in the Aurifil factory (it is not), rather than it was made in *A* factory, the same one for a hundred years.  My apologies to both companies! They both make great thread, and I’m looking forward to picking up some from each company at Quilt Festival in Houston in a month’s time!

Yes, it has been a while.  As usual, that means there has been more than the usual chaos around here.  We happened on to a house for sale ad in August, which started a ball rolling that we hadn’t anticipated.  We found a different house just a couple miles away (same school district, next town over), made an offer on it, and have been maniacally (sp?  that looks weird but not getting a spelling error notice) sprucing up our house.  That means little art and quilting have happened.  Until this week.

In the midst of getting the house onto MLS, I started a new sample piece for my Intro to Machine Quilting Class which I’ll be teaching again on Sunday at Maine-ly Sewing in Nobleboro.  I was prompted by two things:  this post over on Jenny Bowker’s blog and the fact that some students find free-motioning into the vastness of empty space –i.e. the 18 inch square quilt sandwich I have them bring– is intimidating.   I use this sampler as my basic teaching tool (it’s also patterned in my book–click on picture to see it larger):

Some students like to make it just as is, sewing the grid, then filling in the squares, since a small square is less intimidating that a large one!  Others feel too confined in the squares, so I tell them to just go for it on the sandwich without creating a grid framework.  I’ve also long counseled them to use a large print as a guide for learning.  You can put the print on the back of the quilt and use that as your design, or just in the borders but repeat the shapes and motifs in the center of the quilt.

If you haven’t yet visited Jenny Bowker’s blog, DO!  She is one of my all time favorite quilt artists.  Her work is always inspiring and amazing.  While you are there, be sure to click on the link to her website and view her quilts.   Jenny has combined the two methods I use into one piece…take a square of big-print fabric in the center of the sandwich.  Jenny has her students piece the top, I think, but I’ll try fusing instead…faster for a class room setting?  Then use various motifs from the print fabric plus fill patterns for the rest.  In looking at hers again, I think I need to make MORE of these little pieces; I also am thinking a bed quilt of assorted big print squares with wide, solid-fabric sashings quilted all over like this would be GORGEOUS!

So, I decided to adapt her idea by fusing an 8 inch square into the center of an 18 inch square of white.  I also received some spools of thread from Gilbreath Threads, fairly new to the quilt thread market I think–their stuff is available here.  They found my website, asked if I’d like to try their threads (the cottons are made at the same factory in Italy as the Aurifil cotton that is so luscious Correction!!!!  Gilbreath claims the cottons are as good as Aurifil…see my clarification posting dated October 11, 2010).  I said sure, and they sent me a variety.  In the next post, I’ll share more about them, but I think I am in LOVE with the 12-wt wool and the 12-wt silk.  I am re-thinking my aversion to bobbin work…these are too wonderful NOT to use!

I began by quilting on the print square, then spilling over onto the white.  Next, I continued with the variegated green (a Rainbows thread from Superior Threads), with relatively easy quilting (requires less precision than many designs) for the four different “waves” coming in from the sides.  I then decided to repeat the yellow color of the heavy wool used to outline the flowers, but using Gilbreath’s 40-wt. Poly.  The latter handles and looks much like Superior’s 40-wt poly threads, which are my favorites.

Once the colorful stitching was done, I decided to try the two cotton threads Gilbreath send:  a 40-wt ecru and a 50-wt white 2-ply.  I used the ecru to stitch a small leaf design in the center of the remaining open areas:

Finally, I used the fine white thread, which appears to be similar to Superior’s MasterPiece thread, for some background quilting.  I like to contrast curvy with linear in quilting, so I chose a checkerboard fill patter.  I got out my ruler (who me?) and drew a grid with wash-out blue pen (see above).  Then, because I am easily confused, I colored in the alternate squares so I wouldn’t go off-track, and stitched on top of the blue (yes, this is the picture from the top, repeated….):

Here’s the back:

You’ll notice some thread blobs…I left those on purpose since this is educational.  The point on this one is read the thread description FIRST.  I tried using the 12-wt silk and the 12-wt wool through a topstitch needle (both size 14,90 and 16/100), with limited success.  I then read that it is intended for use in the bobbin or by hand.  I simply cannot describe how heavenly that heavy silk is….. I can see doing handwork just so I can use it.  The sheen, the thickness….GLORIOUS.  I think I will take a very close up of that spool for the next post….drool!   Anyway, that’s for next time.  And you’ll see it with the blue washed out…mo bettah!

A.W.O.L, for my non-US readers, is an acronym that comes to us from the military meaning Absent WithOut Leave (i.e. going off without permission).  So, I have been AWOL a bit.  What have I been doing?  Alas, I can’t tell you, well not much anyway.  I was invited to submit a quilt for a juried invitational exhibit.  That means you make a quilt to theme and size, and it may or may not get in.  Anyway, the past 2 1/2 weeks I’ve been quilting like a madwoman!   I’m thinking my entry will get in, but if it doesn’t, I’m OK with that because honestly I think this piece may be one of the best things I’ve ever done (so it is KILLING ME not to share it!).

What I can share, is the thread.  On a quilt that measures 12 square feet, I used 46 threads on the top (in the green bin) and 16 threads on the bottom (in the bag on the right…also one thread was used both top and bottom), for a total of 61 threads.  Here they are all laid out nicely, with the 16 bobbin threads in the top row (including four cones), and 45 of the 46 top threads below; the repeat was the lime green bobbin thread–aren’t they pretty????

and as always, I like the line drawing on the back side of the quilt almost as much as the front.  I will have word in about a month about the exhibit, and can share (either way, whether I get in or not) then…..
In the meantime, I hope to be a bit more regular at blogging.  You can always tell when either I’m slamming on a project OR too much life is happening…blogposts become scarce! Will try to do better,

Cheers, Sarah

Despite being a relatively unknown teacher, I was thrilled that my Wednesday class was FULL!  It is called Tame Fussy Fiddly Threads for Machine Quilting, which is really my “More Machine Quilting” class but with a better name.  It is for folks who are comfortable with free-motion quilting.  You don’t have to think you are good at it, just willing to try it!

The photo above shows the four 15″ square samples I made for the class.  (Click on the photo for a larger view.) The one on the top left is on the cover of my book.  Since I kit up the threads, and the ones I used in that sample didn’t match the kits, I decided I needed to make up three new samples to match what was in the kits because many students want to “make it just like that.”  I always encourage students to make it their way, but many will follow the class sample for practice.

When I teach this class locally and for guilds where students have their own machines, we work on a thread tension sampler (the pattern/instructions are in my book) so folks can learn how to achieve a balanced tension no matter which combination of thread, needles, fabric and batting (well, there may be impossible combinations, but we talk about that, too).  However, I learned the hard way in Paducah in Spring 2008, that doing a tension sampler on a borrowed classroom machine isn’t the best idea.  SO, I developed the leaf sampler so students can actually make a small item in class while testing different threads and tension settings.  I also hand out the instructions for the tension sampler so they can start on it when they get home to have their own personalized ready-reference quilting tension guide.

Anyway, the morning was spent making the freezer paper stencil template and painting:

The colors the students combined were GREAT!  I loved the pink and green tinges to the copper and gold:

Here are three happy students….the lady (my classroom helper…thank you!) on the left used a gray/black print that looked great in the real… it didn’t photograph as well, but is really cool:

The one in the middle used the Brytes thread, a heavy poly from Superior Threads, for the stems very effectively:

Lynn was one of the few who totally wanted to go her own way…yippee!  Instead of using my leaf, she drew and stencilled an oak leaf:

And here is Lynn  in the middle of quilting—thanks to Janome America for sponsoring several classrooms of machines!

And of course, a whole bunch more of fun quilting and stencilling and quilting.  Some students preferred to mark guidelines for their stems and vines:

and even more pictures:

I really like Barbara’s composition, colors and that swirly vine:

and here’s a detail:

Next post about classes, I’ll share the Fun Fabric Postcards class!

At LONG Long last, the cases of books have arrived and I will begin shipping pre-orders, with the first orders being shipped first.  All items will be sent via US Postal Service (USPS) Priority Rate Flat Mail envelopes, both domestic and International–the equivalent first class mail.  Since this service is eminently reliable in the US, I won’t contact each of you individually; please DO let me know if there is a problem!   For international orders, the USPS tracking ends when the package leaves the US, so I will send each person living outside the US an e-mail to let them know the package is en route.  I hear that these envelopes take 1-2 weeks to be delivered to Canada, but not sure about Australia.  Someone let me know?  THANKS!