The Quilters Thread

[Deleted User]

I use mostly light, meduim and dark grey for piecing. Buy my threads from Empress and have done for years, 100% cotton thread, just the ticket.

For quilting I use various different threads. I have special hand quilting thread I bought back from the US, the same company makes general purpose thread of which I also have a stack. Never use poly thread on a quilt, it can cut the thread in the cotton and the quilt disintegrates.

The wadding I use came on a 60m roll from Germany, I think it worked out at about £1 a metre. Have not bought wadding for a number of years apart from the king size cotton I bought for the friendship quilt I made in 2009.

I have swapped now from chickens and Christmas trees to stockings using strips for the back, foundation pieced, give me 2 stockings from one panel and I get to use up some of my vast collection of strips and bits.

I also plan to make some pouches with foundation pieced bits, thought I might try a bag for an Ipad and one for a kindle.

Need to get on, washer is almost finished and the sewing room is calling.

miffy257

Shame you ran out of thread rosy a it's a pain when you have to wait and want to get on with it. Deleted_User sounds like you have been very busy quilting. Hoping to get to my machine later.
Happy Quilting all

anakat

rosyq wrote: »

Got DS quilt basted last night :T
Used pins and the basting gun - I'll try the spray out on something small first before I commit to it on a large project
Now I can get on with quilting - diagonal straight lines - off to look for a tutorial :rotfl:
Rx

Can I ask a couple of questions please?
Which basting gun do you use? and would you recomend it?

[Deleted User]

There is a special gun, if you loo on any of the quilt shop sites you will see one. I have used one on the past, I hand quilted a quilt some 9 years ago, decided to wash it recently and found a couple of the tacks still in it!!

I have had a frustrating afternoon doing the stockings, cannot remember hoe I did the binding, I need to find one of the ones I made a couple of years ago and see hoe I did it then.

I am slow roasting a piece of silverside for supper, the smell is driving me nuts, I am starving!!

miffy257

Hi anakat welcome to the thread. I have one of the tacking guns but don't find it that easy to use and you have to be very careful when you remove them as I learnt the hard way and tore a quilt. I now use the curved safety pins and might invest in some basting spray when I go to The Quilt Show at Malvern. Have pressed all the blocks and now have to decide on the layout. I will lay them out on my bed and move around as needed. Then I just have to sash it all together. Hope you find how to do your binding Deleted_User it's annoying when things don't go right.
Happy Quilting all

System

anakat wrote: »

Can I ask a couple of questions please?
Which basting gun do you use? and would you recomend it?

I use the microstitch gun, the top one on this page:
http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/acatalog/Quilting_Notions.html

It's OK, the tacks are very small but the needle does leave quite a hole so I've learnt to just tack in the seam lines. I use both hands, one each side of the quilt, to make sure the needle has gone through all the layers - which of course means I can't use it when the quilt is taped down to a table so I used the curved safety pins first, removed the quilt from the table, did the tacks close to the pins then removed those. There's probably a much easier way to do it but I'm making it up as I go along :rotfl:
I wouldn't use it on a special quilt because of the size of the holes it leaves.
HTH

Ps you have to be careful not to get blood on the quilt too - I keep hurting my underneath hand on the needle

anakat

rosyq wrote: »

I use the microstitch gun, the top one on this page:
http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/acatalog/Quilting_Notions.html

It's OK, the tacks are very small but the needle does leave quite a hole so I've learnt to just tack in the seam lines. I use both hands, one each side of the quilt, to make sure the needle has gone through all the layers - which of course means I can't use it when the quilt is taped down to a table so I used the curved safety pins first, removed the quilt from the table, did the tacks close to the pins then removed those. There's probably a much easier way to do it but I'm making it up as I go along :rotfl:
I wouldn't use it on a special quilt because of the size of the holes it leaves.
HTH

Ps you have to be careful not to get blood on the quilt too - I keep hurting my underneath hand on the needle

Thanks I had thought it might be easier, but they had very mixed reviews.
So I think I will stick to safety pins.

MMCG_2

Oh, just discovered this thread! And have rediscovered my love of quilting... Can't wait to keep up to date with all the new posts here.

*zippy*

miffy257 wrote: »

Off to Llantrisant today to our favourite fabric shop. Note to self.......... You do not need any more fabric ! Lunch out with friends too, so no sewing until later. Hope everyone has a good day.
Happy Quilting all :j

Miffy thank you I had no idea there was a quilting shop in Llantrisant Just googled is it The Patchwork House and is it up in the old town square?

So glad you mentioned it, you can guess where I'll be going soon I'm itching to get back to quilting now the nights are drawing in. I've been lurking enjoying reading all your posts so hopefully I can get going and join in soon x

alec_eiffel

Thanks for your opinions on the basting guns everyone.

We went to Kendal on Friday and I found myself in a fabric shop. I was very good and only bought some buttons (I'd seen a rather expensive button garland in another shop and liked the idea enough to borrow it). I was very good and only bought 2 FQ, one of which is Downton Abbey fabric, I didn't know that until the lady in the shop pointed it out! You can buy everything these days can't you!

I also picked up some thread from Boyes and we're going over to East Lancs today so DH is going to drop me off at Empress Mills for me to have a look around while he goes to his meeting *yay*.

Yesterday I did a lot of pressing!