Who Else Wants to Pick the Brain of a Superior Thread Expert?This Could be a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Talk IN PERSON to the Guy who is Writing the Book on Thread for Quilters...And Making the Thread to BootFrom: Penny Halgren Dear Friend, Have you ever said: “My machine won’t do that” If you are anything like I am, when the thread breaks, you check to see if there is a knot somewhere. Then you check to see if the thread is hung up on some part of your sewing machine. Then you check to see if the needle is bent. You can't see the problem, so you just thread your needle again and continue sewing. Then one day, a quilter tells you that there is a difference in the quality of threads, and that might be your problem. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, Coats and Clark was about the best thread you could buy. Maybe even the only thread you could buy. Or so it seemed. Maybe Woolworth's had their own brand of thread, but I doubt it. So, when I began making quilts, I was happy to find the familiar Coats and Clark thread on the rack. Several years into my quilting, a teacher suggested that we should be using only 100% cotton thread for our piecing. That was because the cotton thread would move at the same rate as the cotton fabric in our quilt, and it was less likely to wear through the fabric. So I switched. In those early years, it was difficult to find 100% cotton thread. And when I did, it was usually only white or off white - an occasional black spool popped up, but never purple, orange or turquoise. Later I was introduced to 100% cotton Gutermann thread. It seemed that the Germans had us quilters figured out and were offering tons of colors - well, at least 10 different colors. It felt like a lot at the time, anyway. Seems so few now. Then they introduced 100% cotton white quilting thread. And our hearts sang. Then, 100% cotton quilting thread - in colors. Wow! What next? Now when I go into a quilt shop, I see so many threads, I am completely confused. Oh, the colors are wonderful. I'm not too confused about that. Although, I admit that for piecing, I still use white thread. (Although my friend Cindy just introduced me to gray thread. I may try that when I run out of white.) The confusion is all about the weight of the various threads, cotton vs. polyester, metallic, 2-ply or 3-ply, and what can and should be used on what kind of fabric. Sometimes I wonder whether the thread makers know the difference, or whether it is just some kind of marketing ploy to get us quilters to buy a bunch of different spools of thread. Have You Ever Wondered Whether the Problem with Your Finished Quilt is Really the Thread? Early into my quilting journey, I decided to hand piece and hand quilt a queen size quilt. It took two years to complete, and I still use it today. But over time, there are a couple of places where the fabric came apart at the seams. It couldn't have been the fabric!? I bought it at our local quilt shop that carried only high quality cotton fabric for quilting.
Probably the cats, dogs and kids didn't do the quilt any favors. But I recognize a cat claw hole from a ripped seam, and I wonder whether the fabric exactly in the seam came apart because I used cotton covered polyester thread to piece the quilt? Then there is the metallic thread I am using to quilt Stephanie's quilt. Some of it is solid metallic, and some of it is wound. When I bought it, all I looked at was the color. I saw that there was a difference, but I didn't know how different it would be to sew with - I just wanted certain colors. You've done that, haven't you? Yet, as I sew with it, there is a huge difference, and, as I coddle it along, sometimes I wish I had stuck with the solid metallic. But, really, is that the difference, or is there something else? If you have experienced frustrations with thread in your quilting, next week is your chance to ask the expert – LIVE and for FREE! If you are wondering about the quality of thread and whether it makes a difference, what the difference between Long Staple and Extra Long Staple thread is, or whether Egyptian thread really comes from Egypt, your question will be answered next Tuesday evening, June 26. Bob Purcell, President of Superior Threads will be our guest in our monthly Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation series. Bob will be interviewed by me for about 1/2 hour while everybody Eavesdrops, and then he will answer your specific question for the remaining of the time on the call – about 1 hour! Wow! Imagine - an hour to ask anything your Enquiring Mind wants to know about Thread! Bob will be talking about a wide range of topics that include:
This promises to be a great call, especially when you consider that you will have the opportunity to ask your question directly. Our last Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation in May, featured Expert Machine Quilter, Pam Bauer. She revealed her best kept secrets. Secrets that made the difference between success and frustration in my machine quilting. And What Did the Eavesdroppers Have to Say About the Tips from Pam?
The quilters who were on the call were thrilled with the great information Pam provided:
And this call should be equally as valuable. Get your very own CD copy of the call. Just as with our Eavesdrop Conversation with Expert Machine Quilter, Pam Bauer, the call with Superior Threads, Bob Purcell, will be recorded, and you can reserve your copy at the Early Bird Discount investment of $24.97 plus a tiny charge for shipping and handling. It's not often that quilters around the country get to speak directly with the President of a thread company, let alone the President of a Superior Thread company. And get to ask him their burning question - for FREE. Earlier this year, I paid $197.00 to be in the same room with Bob and hear him speak about thread. His information was so fantastic that I wanted to share it with you. Oh, I took good notes, even came out of there with a Diploma - a Ph.D. in Threadology. But, it was $197.00, and no recording of his talk. I would have given almost anything to have a recording of his talk. But they wouldn't let us record anythingl. And, if I hadn't been in the room, I wouldn't have had even a teeny-weenie chance of hearing all of the great information about thread he had to share. So, here you are hearing Bob for free, having an opportunity to ask your question, and able to get a recording of his talk..for a small investment of $24.97 plus shipping and handling to be able to listen to him whenever you want. You could be the hero in your quilting neighborhood. With a copy of the CD of this call, you can share this valuable information with your quilting friends and quilt guild by simply playing the CD for them at a meeting or over tea. They will love you forever, and because you are bringing the entertainment, you probably won't need to make the biscuits. Or, this could be a great holiday gift. After all, it's not too soon to start gathering. Or, if you are in Bulgaria, Australia or Iceland, maybe you would rather sleep, and rely on other quilters to answer your question. Because we are getting this CD professionally edited and copied, the quality should be excellent. And, this time we will do more to eliminate the crying babies in the background.
Happy Quilting!
www.How-to-Quilt.com Facts from the Superior Threads website. Q. Is black thread weaker than other colors? If you want to subscribe to the Superior Threads newsletter, please click here: http://www.superiorthreads.com/ and go to Newsletter If you change your e-mail address, please click on the above link to add your new address and then delete your old address by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the end of the newsletter. |
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Wow! I'm excited. Please 
