Tag Archives: Aurifil thread

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When I heard that this week's Project QUILTING challenge was Vibrant and Vivacious I immediately thought rainbow.

Before I forget, this is your official reminder that we're nearing the end of Show Me Something Rainbow! Be sure to link up your finished rainbow projects by the end of March. There's still time to finish something up in the next nine days. :-)

I chose a rainbow of fabric in lighter and more vibrant tones. I realized as I started piecing that my wonky, irregular log cabin wasn't really very wonky, but I went with it. My strips were cut without a ruler, approximately 1.5" wide.

Once my quilt top was complete, I started to consider my options for quilting. I couldn't resist pulling a rainbow of thread for the quilting. Including white for attaching the binding, I used 14 colors of thread on this project.

From left to right, the thread I used: Aurifil 50wt Light Lilac (#2510), Light Robin's Egg (#2710), Light Avocado (#2886), Champagne (#2105), Fleshy Pink (#2420), Baby Pink (#2423), Dove (#2600), Red (#2250), Burnt Orange (#1133), Yellow (#2135), Green (#2870), Medium Delft Blue (#2783), Dark Violet (#2582).

I considered wishbone quilting but opted for this variation with loops on one end and points on the other. In the end, I like that my quilting looked like a series of Vs for the Vibrant and Vivacious challenge. I wish I could say I planned it. ;-)

My quilt finished at 16" x 16". The great part about making a mini this size is that you can back it with a fat quarter. I chose this black and white silhouette fabric for my backing. I wanted black and white so my many colors of thread would be visible on the back.

Thanks for visiting. Be sure to hop over to Kim's blog to see the 100+ quilts made this week for the Vibrant and Vivacious challenge.

And on to my next rainbow project! I'm participating in the Mini Series SAL on Instagram and I've chosen a rainbow to feature in my blocks.

I've linked up to Free Motion Mavericks.

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First, a reminder to link up to my first monthly Show Me Something linkup... Show Me Something Purple! You can find all the details in that post, but in short, I'm inviting you to share 1-3 new or old finished projects that fit the monthly theme. While I'm writing this we already have 38 pleasing purple projects linked up so far this month. One week left to linkup your project. That's even plenty of time to start and finish something new. :-)

Now onto my latest purple finish...

The last holiday gift I made was this little Open Wide Zippered Pouch. No secret that this is one of my go to patterns, especially for gifts. This one I made for my 12-year-old niece. I optimized to use as much of my remnant of this fabric as possible, so this pouch landed halfway between a small and a medium.

I decided to quilt the outer panels. I'm excited about Aurifil's new Color Builders boxes. I've used these palettes as inspiration to find the gaps in my thread collection (mostly the lighter colors). Of course, I already have the purples. :-) I pulled the three Amalfi Purple colors in 50 wt. for consideration: Lilac (#2562), Violet (#2520), and Medium Purple (#2545). I chose the Violet for my quilting. I considered a crosshatch quilting motif, but opted for diagonal lines in just one direction. I marked my first line with blue tape on each panel so I'd be sewing at the same angle on both pieces and then I used the edge of my foot as a guide to sew parallel to these lines to fit the panel. I opted for irregular spacing. So forgiving!

Once I was done with the quilting I was super underwhelmed. I had chosen the purple that blended in perfectly with my fabric. So I decided to add more lines of quilting in Lilac and Medium Purple. I think that while subtle, the three different thread colors added a dynamic quality to the quilting.

I lined the bag in a white on white print. I like a light lining to be able to easily find things in a pouch or bag.

My niece loved it and immediately moved some of her art supplies into the pouch. :-)

 

Thank you for visiting. Be sure to hop over to Show Me Something Purple to linkup your projects and to check out the dozens of purple projects shared by others.

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I'm writing today as part of the Aurifil Artisan Sew Organized challenge. (My pictures include thread that has been given to me by Aurifil.)

My thread (and all my other stuff) is stored in Ikea PAX wardrobes. These units are super flexible, both in design and in function. I opted for plain white doors on my cabinets and, with the help of my shopping buddy Mel Beach, chose Komplement pull-out shelves for thread and a few other tools. I added Komplement clear dividers on my thread shelf to help organize.

While I love the aesthetics of a thread rack on the wall, I wanted to protect my investment from exposure to light. (I also keep spools in their factory sealed packaging until I'm ready to use them.) At any given time, there are a handful of spools at my machine or on my table, but the bulk of my collection stays tucked inside my cabinet. It's easily accessible and the pull-out feature of the shelf means I can easily see my whole collection.

The majority of my thread is 50wt since it is my first choice for both piecing and quilting. I've arranged my 50wt thread mostly by color family: pink/red, yellow/orange, green, blue, purple, dark neutrals, light neutrals. The remaining five sections in the front two rows have my other thread by weight. My Aurifloss is kept in a separate container with other embroidery tools. The back row of my thread shelf is where I keep Aurifil brochures and thread which I distribute when I teach.

 

I prefer to match my bobbin color to my top thread color. (In a pinch I'm willing to use something that's close.) Long ago, I decided it was worth the investment in additional bobbins to save myself the time, expense, and confusion of unwinding partially full bobbins when I need a new color. I have two tips for keeping those bobbins organized.

First, I label the bobbin with the Aurifil thread number using a sharpie. It could be erased with a little rubbing alcohol if need be.

Second, I use Bobbin Buddies (affiliate link) to connect my bobbin with my spool of thread. I find they work a little better with a large Aurifil spool compared to the small spool. The smaller size of the opening on the large spools create more tension to hold the Bobbin Buddies in place. That said, both work. On a large spool I loosen the bottom of the spool (it's removable) to tuck in the loose thread to stop it from unraveling.

What are your best organizational tips for thread? Or for other tools in your studio?