Sunday, 9 May 2004

I've been dilligently quilting away on the quilt I'm making for my brother and his fiance. I plan to finish the quilting today.

I've been using 8 different threads, all cotton, for the quilting: 5 shades of blue, 1 gold, 1 yellow and 1 white.

I really need more -- especially yellows -- but I don't want to have even more thread leftover from this project. The most useful of all the above is the Gutermann thread, color 7330. It's a medium blue that blends nicely with a lot of the fabrics I've used in this project.

Hey, congratulations!

Are you swapping the bobbin thread every time, too, or are you using all the same color for the back of the quilt?

      Quilty comment by Lyn/Uncorked on 10 May 2004

I used the same bobbin thread throughout. I thought it might be interesting to swap it as well, but since my bobin is loaded under the machine, it's a hassle.

I didn't quite finish all the quilting. I totally forgot that I have to quilt the border as well as all the stars. I was all set to do my happy dance when I finished the last star, then realized I *still* wasn't done. :( I was disappointed.

I'm close though.

      Quilty comment by Katxena on 10 May 2004

Ooooh, thread. I love excuses to buy thread. I can never have enough thread. People have even given me thread, much to my delight.

It's interesting because someone gave me this bright red thread a couple years ago and I thought I would never in a million years use it. Guess what? I had to go and buy more of it. It was the perfect color to match some fabric that someone else gave me that I used on the back of my latest quilt.

More thread is good:)

      Quilty comment by Joni on 12 May 2004

I think leftover thread can be an excellent thing-it has saved the day for me when I needed more late at night-mostly I use three shades of thread for all my quilt piecing-the colored thread I save for quilting/binding. Leftover thread can save you money later too.

      Quilty comment by Cher on 24 May 2004

I am a craft dilettante. I learn new things, new techniques, and new crafts all the time. Sewing, knitting and crocheting are the three constants in my crafty universe, but from time to time I've also dabbled with painting, decoupage, mosaics, bead/button making, scrapbooking and various everyday sorts of crafts involving glue and glitter.

Right now, I'm learning how to spin wool into yarn. I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival last week, where I bought a spindle and some roving (a wool/mohair blend that would make excellent socks) and have been practicing.

It's going ok so far. It's very easy to spin, but very hard to spin well. I'm focusing on creating yarn of a consistently even diameter, which requires pulling out the same amount of roving with every tug. It's hard. So far I am enjoying it, but I think it is unlikely to join the big three.