An important factor to consider when learning how to embroider is your choice of embroidery thread.

If you are new to hand embroidery I would recommend that you choose a stranded embroidery cotton, such as DMC. There are lots of different threads on the market and the choice can be overwhelming. Stranded embroidery cotton is easy to work with and comes in a huge range of colors. It is purchased in hanks.

DMC stranded cotton is made up of 6 finer strands. Your embroidery pattern will normally tell you how many starnds to use, two being the most common. It is important to match the number of strands with the right size needle. If you are having difficulty pulling the needle through your fabric, chances are you are using too many threads for the size of your needle.

Keeping your threads clean and tidy is important. Getting into good habits from the start will help to reduce tangles. It is good idea to purchase a thread box. A thread box is made up of small compartments and bobbins which are normally plastic or cardboard. Wind the embroidery thread onto a bobbin and label the bobbin with the brand of thread and the number.

This is a must. There is nothing more annoying than running out of a thread and then trying to match it.

My other tip for embroidery thread is to resist the temptation of cutting the length too long. Whilst this reduces the number of times you need to thread your needle it will increase tangles when you are working. A good rule of thumb is to measure from the tip of your fingers to your elbow.

Warmly,
Lenna
www.stitchingcow.com

Canada wins gold, silver and ties for bronze in last week’s themed quilt contest Sports/Olympics. Congratulations to Rhonda Duncan of Alberta, Canada for winning with her great NHL SuperStar quilt. Rhonda wins a $30 gift certificate donated by Fabric.com.

This week’s theme is Little Boys. I’m really looking forward to seeing the quilts you’ve made for your sons, grandsons, nephews and other special little boys in your life. (Yes, next week will be dedicated to Little Girls.) To enter, read the rules and guidelines, then submit your quilt photo. Voting will start on Friday and last until Sunday night.

This week’s contest is sponsored by Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe. They are donating a $30 gift certificate that the winner can use as they wish. Here are a couple of the fabrics they have available in various pre-cuts sizes:

Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe is dedicated to providing top-quality quilt shoppe fabric to quilters worldwide. We are an online quilt fabric shop offering quality 100% cotton quilting fabric, quilting and sewing patterns, heirloom batting, books and magazines. Most of our fabrics are from Moda Fabrics which include quilt designers such as 3 Sisters (Three Sisters Fabrics), Sandy Gervais, April Cornell, Fig Tree Quilts, Brannock & Patek, Blackbird Designs, Minnick and Simpson, Kansas Troubles, Mary Engelbreit, Tula Pink, Tanya Whelan and much more.

Be sure to look at our quilt fabrics on sale when you need a Fat Quarter Bundle, Jelly Roll, Layer Cake, Charm Packs, Turnover or any other pre-cut fabric at a low price. We offer Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls for $17.50 and $19.99 as well as low priced quilt kits in our Moda Fabric Sale section. We have many free quilting and sewing pattern links on our web site.

Remember to visit us first for the best selection of Online Quilt Fabric from an affordable Online Quilt Shoppe. 20% off all New Arrivals daily.

Don’t Miss Out on the opportunity to Win a $25 or $50 Shopping Spree! Click here for details.

We Strive to Make Your Favorite Pastime "Affordable"

Blog It

You may use the code below to add the logo to your own blog. Thanks for helping to spread the word. The more contestants, the more exciting the contests.

Thanks to everyone that entered their fabulous quilts for this week’s Weekly Themed Quilt Contest. This week’s theme is All Sports and/or Olympics.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourite!! The lucky winner with the most votes will receive a $30.00 gift certificated donated by fabric.com.

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11 p.m.
• One vote per IP address (NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for your favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

 Loading ...

P.S. Next week’s theme is Little Boys. Get your cameras out!

Facebook readers: You need to visit the Quilting Gallery blog to vote: CLICK HERE.

Thanks for including me as a guest blogger. My name is Saffron Craig I have been quilting now for about 5 years. Most of my time is spent designing fabrics. I run a small business from my home in Sydney Australia.

After my daughter was born my Dutch mother in law Daphny came to Australia and had me instantly hooked into quilting. She taught me most of the techniques to patchwork and make quilts.

In a magazine she bought I saw that Prints Charming were printing their own fabrics, which inspired me to do the same. Having been a fashion designer for 10 years previously, I just loved printing my own designs onto fabrics and sewing them into quilts and snuggling under them or giving them away for presents.

Initially I hand-cut paper screens and printed them onto white fabrics. I then thought I might be able to make a business with the fabrics. So I took my 9 best designs and had them hand-printed in yardage in different colour ways; red, blue and pink with some designs in green as well. I took them to the Sydney Craft & Quilt show where I had a lot of happy customers. Selling out in one day of some fabric.

Now I have just released my 5th range and work with retailers around the world. My designs are more colourful now though still screen-printed. The handle is soft and of a really high quality.

I try to make a quilt design out of each of my fabric ranges to show people what they can do with the fabrics. My fabrics have a dreamy, whimsical feel and are inspired by my natural surroundings. I suppose they have a modern feel and it is my wish to encourage younger people to join in the love of quilting or even to sew, or make things. I get a lot of lovely emails from people encouraging me to continue.

This is a quilt I finished this week using al the fabrics I have designed.

Owl nesting quilt kit.

Follow me on Facebook. Read my tweets on Twitter. I write a blog adding a new post once or twice a week.

Yesterday, I dropped off two more charity quilts for Victoria’s Quilts Canada. Last week, their headoffice, located here in Ottawa, received requests for 80 quilts… in one week! They definitely need more quilters. It’s a fabulous organization, if you can help out, I’m sure they would appreciate it.

These two quilts were made with the charms donated from quilter’s around the world in the Charms for Charity contest I did at the end of 2008/early 2009. With those charms, I also donated 6 NICU blankets last year, and another full-sized quilt for Victoria’s Quilts Canada.

My little quilting for charity group has a couple more quilts just about done too. These ladies have done an amazing job, never having quilted before we started our group last year. I’m so proud of them. I’ll be sure to post photos next month.

The first quilt I dropped off yesterday is called Flowers in the Wind. I used the Tri Recs Tool for this quilt. It was perfect for the charms, and the side bits cut off the ends I was able to use for a top and bottom border. No wasted fabrics!

I met a friend for lunch yesterday and she remarked, “I recognize that fabric”. Yes, you do. The border, binding and sashing fabrics were from my first bed quilt. I’m happy to say that the fabric is all gone! Finally.

For the quilting, I did a large meander/stipple over the entire surface. It went pretty quick, and was a perfect free motion practice experience on a large quilt.

The second quilt is Sidebars 1. This is a pretty easy quilt to do, and I’ll be trimming up some more charms and writing out the instructions for the ladies in my group to make one too.

For the quilting, I stitched in the ditch around the sashing, then did free motion X’s in the centre. I’ve decided I HATE stitching in the ditch, it just takes way too long. I also echoed several straight lines in the outer border.

And a close-up:

Join us in the brand new Quilter’s Daily Blog Along. The idea is that each day a new prompt will be posted, to give you inspiration for your next blog post. On your blog, write a post using the daily prompt as a guide. Then head over to the blog along site and add a link to your post in the comments for the specific day.

Today’s prompt, from me, is Charity Quilts. I’d love to hear and see the charity quilts you’ve made.