The Tool Snob

I admit it, I am a tool snob.  I find whatever I'm doing (sewing, knitting, embroidery, quilting, whatever) more enjoyable and less frustrating with the proper equipment.  And sometimes I go beyond "proper" all the way to "best that can be had."  You don't need these goodies, but they do make things go more smoothly.  It's a bit of a conundrum that when you first start a specific hobby, you don't want to invest a lot, so you tend to buy the cheapest tools you can find - or at least I do.  And we tend to direct newbies to these cheaper options.  But it actually makes learning more difficult.  Let's face it - learning to knit with Red Heart and aluminum needles is not EASY.  It frustrates me, and I'm fairly proficient.  So let's go through some of my favorite embroidery and quilting doo-dads.  I'll tell you what I like about them, what might be an acceptable substitute.  And what to not use, unless you like to be frustrated.

Needles -

A couple of things about needles.  They vary widely in quality.  And they are a renewable resource.  So, get the best you can afford, and plan to throw them out and get a new one after every 8-12 hours of sewing/embroidery.  My current favorite are these, from Tulip.  They're a Japanese steel needle.  They come in lots of sizes and styles.  Sharper, and smoother, with smoother eyes than most other needles, they help your stitches slide through the fabric.  If you have trouble getting into just the right whole on your stem stitch or back stitch - better needles might help.  I use the 10's for a single strand of floss, 8's for 2-3, and the millinery needles for smocking.  They're pricey - about $8.00 a package which is usually around 8 needles.  There is a "variety pack" of embroidery needles with multiple sizes, if you want to try them out.  My local quilt shop carries them.  If you don't have a local source, Etsy is a great place for finding the widest variety of styles and size.

For somewhat less pricey, but still excellent needles, I really like Wendy Schoen's.  She's closed her shop, but the needles are still available from certain Heirloom Sewing supply stores.  Elegant Stitches has both some collections, and individual packs.  The packs run about $2.50 each, for 9-12 needles.   Also worthwhile are John James and Richard Hemmings brands of English steel needles.  These are pretty widely available at many sewing stores.  If you need to order, I recommend Farmhouse Fabrics.  Their website is a little clunky, but they're quite possibly the nicest people on the planet, and I recommend them highly.

If at all possible, avoid "Darice" or "Dritz" needles.  They're both about as sharp as a bowling ball and often have a lot of burrs around the eye.  You'll drive yourself crazy, and better brands are easily found.  (Hint - if you're doing all your supply shopping at Wal-Mart, you're already making things harder than they need to be).

Pins -

For piecing quilts and sewing, straight pins are a must.  Think of pins as something of an investment.  And the right pins can make or break you.  My current favorites are Little House glass head pins.  They're nice and sharp, just the right size, and the glass heads don't melt if ironed over.  This is an issue for me.  I've ruined more than one pin and piece of fabric with a hot iron.  Again, Etsy is your best source for these.

I do also have a couple boxes of Dritz fine, sharp, glass head pins.  I do think they're adequate, and I tend to buy them at Jo Ann's when I have a coupon or notions are on sale.  Not quite as nice as little house but they do the job.

What do I not buy?  Plastic head pins (see above comment about them melting), silk pins (because I can't FIND them), and Hobby Lobby Sew-ology pins.  Which are NOT sharp at all.

Hoops -

Yes, you see me use cheap wooden hoops.  It's because my daughter routinely unwinds the nut from my nicer hoops and they get lost.  But, I far prefer the Susan Bates hoops.  They hold more securely, so that I don't have to retighten my fabric every 10 minutes.  This is one supply that you can reasonably buy at Wal-Mart and for much less money than you'll find them elsewhere.

Wooden hoops will work if that's what you have,  And they're super cheap.  I usually avoid the Q-snap frames as well as hoops with a "stretchy" outer band.  I've had trouble with both snagging stitches.

On VERY large pieces, I've been known to use a stitching frame or slate frame.  Both will usually require you to baste your fabric to the frame.  But they offer excellent stability and many are beautiful as well as functional.

Floss -

Most of the time I use 6-stranded cotton floss.  Of them all, my current favorite brand is Cosmo, by Lecien.  This brand is harder to find, and commands a premium price.   It is, however, noticeably higher in quality - less prone to split, shred, fuzz, or otherwise be troublesome and has higher sheen.  On a purely personal level, I also prefer the color palette to DMC's.  There are "conversion" charts, but the fact is the two companies just make different colors.

My second choice is probably Presencia.  Again, a specialty thread with limited availability.  I had a bit more trouble with some fuzzing and knotting than the Cosmo, but still better than DMC.  The color palette is less to my liking than Cosmo's.

DMC and Anchor are on the list as "acceptable."  Both are widely available, have a huge color palette, and do perform reasonably well.

In fact, I'll have a review of the above four flosses, head-to-head at some point.

Sullivan's or other bargain flosses are just simply not worth my time.

I do also use a host of other specialty threads - overdyed, silks, floche, single strand cottons, etc.  I'll do a separate post on them at some point.

Thread -

Here's another place where false economy will both make you crazy and cost you more in the long run.  Remember that different threads have different purposes, and no one thread is really for all uses, no matter what the label says.  Choice of thread will depend, in part, on your machine.  I have a Viking.  She really, really hates the way that Coats and Clark thread is wound on the spool.  So, if I try to use it, I'll have a thread break every 60 seconds or so.  I usually use Guitterman for every day sewing.  It comes in lots of colors, at least on the small spools.  My one gripe would be that the small spool is often not enough to finish a single project (like a dress, or some such), especially if you finish the seams with a zig zag or otherwise to lots of finish work.  I used to be very partial to their 100% cotton thread for handsewing, especially quilts.  And then I found Aurifil.

Aurifil is a super high quality cotton thread for quilting.  It comes in a number of weights.  The 50wt is the piecing workhorse, though using 60wt in the bobbin can help seams lay flatter.  40 wt. has a bit more substance, if you want your stitches to really stand up.  It gives me a bit of trouble in how it comes off the large spools, but I'm willing to monkey around a bit, given the quality of the thread.  It's exceptionally smooth, looks beautiful, and doesn't tend to snag, pill, or otherwise catch either when sewing or in the finished piece.  Seriously nice stuff.

And, as much as I love vintage sewing and supplies, I do have one word of warning:  It's typical for fibers to loose strength over time, especially if kept in the sun.  If you want to try using some, cut a length, wrap it around your hands and give it a good yank.  If it snaps easily - don't use it.

More later - on thread conditioners, cutting matts, rotary cutters, and other goodies.

The Patchwork Blocks

More on the baby quilt today.  On those rare occasions where I get a day off and the girls are actually IN school (given our weather this winter, that's been an issue), I like to be able to clear off the table and get some actual work done.  So, while I'm not done with all the embroidered blocks, I took some time to cut out everything else for the top:

The top squares are actually the embroidery squares.  There are 10 of those.  The rest of the cutting is as follows:

2-1/2" squares of print fabric - 50
3-1/4" squares of print fabric - 20

2-1/2" squares of Kona "snow" - 40
3-1/4" squares of Kona "snow" - 40
3-1/4" x 6" rectangles of Kona "snow" - 20

I've saved the rest of the Kona for the borders.  I started with 2 yards of Kona, and will use most of it.  Thus far, I've used about 1/4 of each of the fat quarters in my bundle.

Next, I made 10 nine patch blocks with the 2-1/2" squares.

I cut each nine patch into quarters, then rearranged the pieces with 4 white and one print 3-1/4" squares into a new nine patch.  Once I was done with each block, I had a stack of 10 patchwork blocks.

Eventually, the embroidered blocks will be trimmed to 6", then assembled with two of the snow rectangles and one 3-1/4" square into a block the same finished size as the big nine patches.  The layout will look something like this:

Now it's off to finish all the embroidery blocks, so I can lay out the whole thing and assemble.

A Vintage Modern Baby Quilt

After seeing all the projects making the rounds lately made with Lecien's Flower Sugar line of fabrics, I bought a small fat quarter bundle myself on Etsy.  And I can heartily recommend Strawberry Blossom Mercantile - though at the risk of the rest of you grabbing up what's left of the fabrics.

 I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them, until I happened across a set of vintage embroidery patterns for a baby quilt.  I saved the files, resized them to fit my intended blocks, and printed them all out.

So I went out and got some Kona cotton in "snow" - which matches the cream in the Flower Sugar very nicely.  Then I sat down with pen and paper and worked out my blocks, and block sizes.  (Don't get too caught up in the math on the sheet.  Some of it ended up needing correcting.  I'll give you all the numbers later, I promise)

This quilt will have 10 embroidered blocks, and 10 patchwork blocks, plus some borders.  It's a variant on a Disappearing Nine Patch - with lots of white space.  All the empty space gives it a more modern look, contrasting nicely with the vintage embroidery.

The embroidery needs to be completed before the quilt is pieced.  I cut my embroidery blocks larger than the final block will be, so that I've got room to work and hoop the piece.  Each of my blocks was cut as a 7" square.  Then I taped the pattern to my light box, followed by the fabric square (with centers marked on both) and traced.

My weapon of choice for tracing embroidery patterns is a Frixion pen.  Yes, I know, there are all sorts of mixed reviews on them.  I like them a lot.  I get a nice, sharp line to work with.  And I've never had the lines NOT disappear.  Now, I do not starch my fabric before I work, which might have something to do with lines not disappearing.  And I've only tried the black pens.  YMMV.

Next, I cut squares of cotton batiste the same size as my embroidery blocks and used basting spray to stick them together.  This both stabilizes my work AND gives some coverage so I can be a bit more cavalier about carrying the thread on the back of the work without it showing through.

I'm using Cosmo embroidery floss, by Lecien.  I love it, because it's got a lovely sheen and great working properties.  I DO use Thread Heaven while I work - especially with this piece, which is worked with one strand.  The floss color is 240.  It's not a Turkey Red, or even a "red" red - but it matches the ground of the red fabric pretty closely, with a slightly pinkish cast.  (Later, I'll have a trial/review of different brands of floss for you.  Promise.)

For the most part, I'm using stem stitch for the critters and letters, back stitch for fine details, and the occasional lazy daisy or peking knot as appropriate.  I find peking knots a little more stable than French knots.  That makes them a bit easier for me to work, and probably less likely to pop through with use.

The puppy does have some satin stitch for his spots.  I didn't want long floats, so it's "feathered" in the middle of the larger areas - the long float tacked in place by a shorter stitch.  I'm setting aside each block as I go and moving on to the next.  The set actually only has nine blocks, so I'm trying to decide what to put on the last block.  Maybe just another critter, without any text.  What do you think?

Next up, the patchwork blocks!