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Playing with “fussy” thread in Arizona

My last class in Arizona, in friendly Flagstaff, was small but good.  We cut freezer paper stencils, then used the Lumiere paints I supplied to paint leaves onto a dark (black) background.  Next, while the paint dried (fairly quickly), I talked about special tips and tricks for sewing with threads that have a reputation for being fussy:  metallic, holographic (the shiny stuff…think Mylar balloon stuff cut into long strips), shiny polyester, and more.  This project is also on the cover of my book and is included as one of the activities in the back (book available here).

First, you paint the cloth:

Then baste:

One thing many of us don’t do enough is to make sample stitch-outs before diving in to the quilting.  I can’t say enough how important and helpful this can be!   Best of all, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to rip it out…just move to another part of the practice sandwich.  Here, one student is checking out how the decorative threads look in various free-motion designs and what she needs to do to get a good stitch on her machine:

Then start stitching:

Stop a bit and muse over what next, then continue:

Then of course there are those miserable thread tails to knot and bury!

I loved the look of the copper leaves:

And then trying out different threads and stitches and stitch-lengths to outline the leaves:

Here’s a cool, silvery, feathery outline:

Thanks for being in my class!

4 Responses to “Playing with “fussy” thread in Arizona”

  1. Linda Moran Says:

    Looks like a great class – I would love to do those kind of leaves! Your book is on my Christmas list!

  2. Dorothy Karman Says:

    That looks like a fun class. When you do a class in Canberra, I’ll be there! Dorothy.

  3. Maggie Szafranski Says:

    I have been admiring those leaves for ever! I need to just “do it”!

  4. Judy Warner Says:

    Great demonstration! I love the copper leaves also.