Good Morning, Quilters!
Remember when you were a kid and you got a new box of Crayolas?
Maybe you were lucky enough to get the 64-pack?!
NOTHING was better to me than a new box of Crayolas…
But I’ve grown up…
In some ways…
As part of my collaboration with Aurifil Designer, Annie Smith, I received her full collection of 28wt cotton thread to use as I quilted her two quilts. (28 weight thread is very nice for machine quilting–it’s heavier and show up well. Â Note-The 28wt comes on a gray spool!)
First, I just played with them…lining them up in different combinations on the insert from my thread box.
Then I started to stitch.
Annie’s quilts are appliqué on black–a new challenge for me.
Once I got started-there was no stopping me….
And there was NO laundry
and
No dinner
and
No dusting (does anyone really dust?)
What about YOU?
Did YOUR love of coloring morph into a love of quilting?
Did you outline your coloring pages before you colored them in?
Do you still color?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Â Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. Â For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Â Thanks!
49 comments
mickie
The work you have done on that quilt is stunning. Love the different colors of the flowers/designs. Can’t wait to see the finished quilt. mm
Christine
Oh! I forgot to say NO DUSTING….although the vacuum is sitting on the edge of the kitchen & I just sat to stretch on a run covered with dog hair.
Christine
This makes me want to RUN to my studio. But first yoga stretches and a walk (remember: you want us to MOVE!). A visit to the garden for some lingering tomatoes!!! And then QUILT!
Paula Hedges
I had one of those “ah ha” moments when I realized I treat my fabric and my thread like I use to treat my crayons. There was a certain order they went in the box – thread is lined up like little crayons marching to the color wheel. And even my fabric! I’ve been doing it unconsciously all these years! And, I, too, was an outliner. I still color, but graduated to color pencils. A relaxing activity just before bed.
Denise Mohler
I used to love to color and I also outlined first. I do have a box of 64 crayons. I don’t color anymore because most of my spare time I am usually working on a quilt. I have purchased 2 Craftsy classes of yours which is divide and conquer and creative free motion techniques. I would love for my quilts to look as beautiful as the ones you quilt. Practice makes perfect!!!! Thanks for the inspiration….
janette
Colouring,painting a favourate pass time. Out lined before i filled in. Still colour, the only painting i do is on the walls. Thread and material, just too much or maybe not Lol. It seems every week its more thread , then the next week more material. Totally losing control. Lol Really like the look of the 28wt. Here we go again Lol Lol
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It could be worse!
Maureen B. In B.C.
Hmmmmm, dusting … Before our kitties went to “kitty heaven” we had to vacuum at least twice a week, motivated by the cat-fur tumbleweeds that would roll down the hall. Now that they’re gone, my husband and I play rock, paper, scissors to see who vacuums when the dust bunnies start to stick to our socks. Or we invite someone for dinner, which forces us to vacuum.
When we were kids, and it was time to dust, one of our mother’s best lines she used on my sisters and myself was “there’s a man either coming or going under your bed”, a reference to the Bible … “From dust thou cometh and unto dust thou shalt return”. Still makes me giggle when I hear one of my sisters repeat the line. ?
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What a great story!
Pamela North
As a child I longed for a boxed set of 72 Derwent coloured pencils which were very expensive. For my 18th birthday and in my first year of teacher training my parents gave me a set. I used them throughout my teaching career for school and in planning my knitting designs. Now they get used for patchwork as well. Some of the favourite colours have had to be replaced but 54 years later and still in the original box they are still being loved and used regularly. Colourful threads have now joined them because colour is a must.
Christine B.
Those thread colours look fabulous Lori, as does your quilting on Anne’s quilt! I have just finished watching your Divide and Conquer Class through again from start to finish and I am working my way through the 6 mini quilts you challenged participants to make…. I have one quilted…. just need to bind it! I can’t tell you how excited I am with it…. all I want to do is FMQ now! Needless to say, I didn’t get much dusting done today either!!
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Music to my ears!
Diane Obernesser
I love crayons or colored pencils, but then I love all the different color fabrics & threads. I have a whole collection of Sulky & Floriani–good think my husband has no idea how much I have invested in them. Now I have to take a look at the 28 wt. Aurifil.
Lori
I love the look of the heavier weight thread. It really helps to give more character and a hand crafted, intentional feel. I will definitely have to try that. What stitch length did you use with that?
auntiepatch69
I love all the beautiful colors! My husband says it’s a “woman” thing but he’s color blind! He doesn’t know what he’s missing!
Susan J.
Yes I still enjoy coloring. I find it releases stress, but I don’t get to do it as often as I would like. I have a wonder devotional color book, that I’m coloring now. I’m a speech-language pathologist and I print out picture cards with target sounds and try to color as many as I can. I also find practicing your doodle lessons fun and relaxing. The quilting is gorgeous! Keep up the good work!
gladquilts
Lori, you are one of the reasons that quilting is thriving all across the country and the world. My thread boxes are so full that I have shelves with the extra cones of thread on them. I usually buy cones of thread to be sure I have enough to finish my current project. I have a pretty good stash of fabric, but I bet I have almost the same amount of boxes of thread ready to use. And, I am always looking for something new to try. I love to play with design and color. Dusting only happens when I can’t think what to do with a project and I need to work out the issues. Always try new combinations of fabric and thread and blending threads in the quilting process. Thanks for your cheerful encouragement. I always outlined my coloring designs before filling them in. I inherited my mother’s box of 64 crayons (she was born in 1907). I guess you never get too old to enjoy color!
Diana McDonough
I had surgery on my thumb 2 years ago, and coloring was the therapy that got me the furthest. I can now hand-quilt again, which I couldn’t do before my surgery!
Elinor Burwash Designs
Hi Lori, thanks for the inspiration and the information. I remember getting in trouble in grade 2 because I had time to spare and created a tint of pink with my crayons on my fully printed workbook page. It would be helpful for me to know what you use for bobbin thread for this 28wt Aurifil thread. Thanks Elinor
Marti Morgan
I too use to “die” for a new box of crayons – so as an adult I DO NOT COLOR. I cannot start that for a know I will not do anything else, and i have so much to sew!!! I love looking at boxes of threads, and dream.
Nola Flynn
I have been following your tutorials. Re: the 28 wt. Aurfil thread, what machine needle to you use. I have trouble with the bobbin thread on my machine when using the 27 wt thread
Shar
Color is my number one love, and right after that is texture. I, too, have been buying thread and it’s in lieu of fabric. I’ve moved over to art quilting mostly and don;t end up using all those pretty fabrics that just hang out on my shelf. (They are good for petting and caressing!) But thread is just too cool these days and I find I use all kinds. I’ll look for the 28 wt Aurifil as it’s my favorite thread.
Maureen B, in B.C.
Ooooooooooo, those colours are so juicy. Especially the greens and purples. Oops, I’m drooling. Gotta go get a Kleenex.
Marta
We ask you questions , Miss Lori, I suppose because we want ours to turn out as exquisite as yours. If we use the same thread, tools, colors, tensions, needles etc. then we have fighting chance to go in that direction.. My habit is to first do exactly what the teacher does and teaches and then branch out into my own creativity with that experience in my repertoire. I tried something new this weekend and now it is in bottom drawer labeled: ” Don’t try this again!” Someday (whenever that is) I will pull it out and say, “OH, another UFO. Take a new look!” But in meantime, I haven’t learned how to prevent the “someday” from my life.I think I need a barn instead of a bottom drawer!
I love that little flower in top right quadrant in 3rd photo..next to the blue stitches, I think it is yellow or maybe pale celery?
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Lolol!!!
carol Nelson
What color bobbin did you use with all these color changes
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I used black most of the time. Sometimes I created matching color bobbins.
Rosemarie
I have to admit that I purchase more thread at this point in my life than I do fabrics! I love to experiment!
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Me too!
Marilyn Heffelfinger
Color is what keeps me going as a quilter, don’t you love to see all that delicious fabric and thread? It is a candy store for quilters!
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Even better than Crayolas–who knew?!
dandelionfair
What a wonderful post to wake up to this morning. I am just starting my free motion journey after recently discovering and watching your two Craftsy classes. I never had an interest in FM before probably because that task of quiltmaking seemed so, well, tedious and impersonal. I love the look of this 28 weight thread – thank you so much for the inspiration!
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Im thrilled to hear you’re a convert!! Welcome!
Terry Pevehouse
What size and type needle do you use with 28wt thread?
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Size 90 Topstitch.
Michele
I LOVE color: flowers, rainbows, the sky… I think many quilters also love nature. I didn’t outline but I think I sometimes used two colors for a new effect. And back in the day there was a kind of construction paper with 2 colors mixed (I called it sky blue pink). My color confidence grows with each quilt I make. And it helps me notice details in everyday things. Fun!
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Fun! Have you ever tried two threads at the same time? It can be done!
Michele
I have used a double needle a bit. In fact I was just thinking that it is about time to dust it off.
Linda Carlson
LOVE the various colors on the dark background! What thread weight did you use in the bobbin with the 28 weight on top? Can you also tell us what type of batting was used and the top and bottom tensions for this sample? Thanks!
Suzy Webster
I love color. I keep buying more thread because I might not have that color, or that weight, or that thread type. It’s an addiction really. I just came back from Houston with over 100 spools….yup I have a thread problem. Lining them up by color always makes me smile!
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OMG! 100 spools–so jealous!!
June Neigum
crockpots are wonderful inventions
Maureen B. In B.C.
My crockpot comes out of the cupboard every few months and I make a huge batch of beef stew, then it goes back into the cupboard. I need some new recipes.
auntiepatch69
I do the same thing but with chili!
Vivian bringslimark
Yes! So are leftovers. Monday nights are left overs in my house so I can get organized in my craft room and sew/ quilt or take a craftsy video lesson!
ADK Kate
Never seem to have the exact shade that I need so another order or trip to quilt shop 🙂 Try to cook ahead so that the days that I do get so involved sewing we can still eat.
Brenda Alburl
I DO still love to color – and yes I DID outline all my coloring pages as a child!!! I also love the Zentangle type coloring pages and color along with my grands!
I bet you had a blast playing with those new threads! I am going to have to try the 28 weight for quilting. Aurifil threads are wonderful!
Because of my fear of showing all my mistakes, I haven’t yet tried contrasting threads, but I LOVE the color on the black background! So one day soon I’m going to have to give that a try!
Thank you, Lori, for sharing your wonderful tutorials and knowledge with us!
Jacqui VMS
oh, so that’s what happened!! My thread collections are morphing and multiplying under my treadle sewing machine in nice plastic storage boxes (I have a couple of spare boxes ready!!). I loved colouring as a kid and outlined my edges before filling in LOL. I just had a colouring date with 5 of my granddaughters (age 6 – 12) and we had a blast colouring together!
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