What thread............

Maybe it was a beeswax candle? I've used beeswax, but not regular paraffin. Also thread conditioner. Then I got to be a real thread snob and would only use Mettlers, which was already waxed. To tell you the truth, at the risk of sounding weird, I didn't like waxing my own thread. It causes the thread to make a funny sound when you pull it through that would just give me chills.

Sherry

I don't know if the candle was beeswax. It may well have been. Waxing the thread seemed to be a big deal here years ago.

Yes, and I know that Ricky and Alex both have a line of thread each that are "theirs" at Superior threads.

Yes, it was "the thing to do" here in the 70s and 80s. I don't know any quilters now. I'm so out of the loop.

Ugh! :þ

I have one made by a genuine mountain & hollow women born in 1903. Crude but I love it! She gave it to us as a wedding present many years ago. I still have vague memories of my grandmother, born in 1890, making a feather quilt. That had top be in the late 1940s. The feathers came from a local chicken market and came from chickens, ducks and geese.

What does "...the value of your pieces" mean. Color value ??????

Nice colors. I remember my mother only using mercerized cotton from the Singer store in NY. BTW, I have that spool rack on the left hand side and love it!

The Aurifil 50 wt. spool has 1422 yards, according to the Red Rock Threads website; their price is $8.95. Essential Thread has 1200 yards on a spool for $1.99, less if you buy the collections. I think a bobbin filled with Aurifil lasts longer because the thread does seem finer and you get more on the bobbin. However, both Essential Thread and Aurifil are 50 wt. threads; according to the information at

that means that 50 kilometers of thread weighs

1 kilogram. I am not willing to pay the price difference when I am happy with the Essential Thread and how it performs for me. YMMV.

Julia in MN

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Anne Rogers wrote:

Usually a neutral -- tan or gray. Lighter if my fabrics are mostly light, darker if the fabrics are mostly dark. If I am using a lot of white fabric, I use white thread. And if most of the fabric is black or really dark, I use black thread.

Julia in MN

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Julia Altshuler wrote:

They don't let you check thread in the stores here. You can't remove the cellophane and pull out a thread to look for fuzz.

I suspect you're right. That's what this says (way at the bottom of the page):

It looks like there is lots of thread info at

Julia in MN

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Laurie G. > You have to remember this very important point:

One problem I found with poly is pressing, it melts or discolours and marks the fabric if you have the iron set at the temp for cotton, cooler pressing is less crisp pressing.

The same problem occurs if you run your machine fast, it can really smell!

It's also more likely to stretch unevenly when winding a bobbin and cause tension problems later.

Anne

Dark medium and light, basically. So, it can be judged for any colour. There are also the 'in-betweens' like medium light and medium dark. Sometimes trying to gauge the value of a fabric is tricky. In order not to be swayed by the colour, it is a good idea to photocopy a piece so that you can see it in black and white. . In message , Marie Dodge writes

I cannot direct link to the article at artlex because the site uses hard frames, but if you go to:

scroll down the left menu and click on the letter V, and then scroll down the main window slightly, you will find Value as the second entry, click on it and it takes you to a most excellent explanation with pictures.

If anyone is inerested in a basic tutorial on color theory here is one:

I had that in my artstuff folder in favorites with no lable on it, so I forgot it was there.

NightMist has to sort through her computer stuff sometime soon

In a perfect world I would have a wide range of neutrals for piecing. As is I use a midtone most of the time. Though I will sometimes match the "background" fabric closely with the bobbin and then swap in and out with the top thread, either matching or neutral value variations, if that will suit the pattern.

NightMist

I feel that way too Ann!

Thanks, Julia, for backing up my statement with en explanation from the expert! I trust what Bob says.....

Laurie G. in CA

As a professional long arm quilter, I do get the quilting part of it! And the paragraphs that back up what I said from the Superior Threads website:

"Is it OK to use polyester thread in a quilt? We have all heard the stories about polyester cutting the fabric. The stories we hear are mostly myths handed down from earlier generations. Back in Grandma's time, most of the available thread was cotton and the quilting was usually done along the pieced seams, or "stitch in the ditch." Times have changed and machine quilting has opened up a new world. No longer is quilting done only along the seams. Machine stitching can enhance the beauty of the quilt by adding intricate and complementary designs throughout the entire quilt. Machine quilting does not add stress to the quilt. The stress points remain in the piecing. Some say that polyester thread is too strong and will tear the fabric. If the fabric ever tears as a result of heavy use, most likely it will tear at the seams. The seams are the true stress points of a quilt, not the machine quilted areas.

The solution is to piece with cotton thread, thereby matching the nature of the fabric fibers with the thread fibers. This equalizes the stress points of the quilt. Piecing with cotton also makes it safer to use irons on high heat. Then, use other threads such as metallics, polyester, and cotton to decorate and enhance the quilt by creative quilting. If a polyester thread is used in decorative quilting, it will not tear the fabric under normal or even heavy use because there is minimal stress away from the seams. Here's the rule: Piece with cotton and quilt with any (as long as it's Superior Threads)."

Still sticking to my story and paddling with both oars! (Okay, maybe one! )

Laurie G. in CA (who also firmly believes there are no quilt police!)

I guess I am a heretic. Even though I have a thread cabinet full of lots of different kind of thread, Gutterman, and other expensive stuff, I tend to grab the 1200 yard Coats & Clark mercerized cotton, large spools when I am piecing. I use some of the fancy stuff for clothing construction. I don't have any of the problems that other people complain about. I do clean my machine bobbin area and oil it every time after I use it for a long session though. I use a vacuum to get all the dust bunnies out. There really isn't a lot of difference in the amount of dust bunnies with the various cotton threads I have. There are probably a number I have not tried yet that may differ in that regard, though. I think each machine is partial to a particular thread and chokes on one kind or another, as some people attest. I must have the C & C type machine, or I just am not that demanding.

John

OK. Gotcha! Thanks. :^)

Great site. I'll be on this one for awhile.

I'll be checking this one out as well. They're so much to learn. So much information out there.