Meet Ricci Lindley

Ricci is a member of our Superior office staff and in addition to all regular office responsibilities, she is helping to get our School of Theadology organized and running in our newly added educational center.
There are a lot of decisions that need to be made in preparation for the opening of the school in the next few weeks. Ricci has been organizing class schedules, contacting guest teachers, helping participants register, updating the School web site, and preparing the physical facilities.
"I have been working closely with Bob to make the School of Threadology the leading school in the sewing world. This is the only school of it's kind and it's going to be fantastic!" she said.

Bernina USA has very generously supplied the School of Threadology with Bernina 730 machines. The School will also have a longarm machine classroom and will have most brands of longarm machines for student use during longarm School sessions.
The first session in our new facilities will be Nov. 11-13. John Flynn will be a guest teacher one day during that session. Future sessions have been scheduled in February and April and beyond. One session will be held in Hawaii from July 1-4 , 2009 as part of the Quilt Hawaii 2010 event on the Big Island. Bob's bags are already packed. To sign up for our School of Theadology, or to view the upcoming schedule, see our web site.

Originally raised in California, Ricci has been a quilter for 2o years. She worked for over 25 years in accounting and various office positions. She and her husband Sam moved to St. George in 2004.
"Through my background in quilting, I was asked to help Superior Threads last year at the Houston show. I then attended a session of The School of Threadology before I worked here. Because of those experiences, Bob hired me to help in the office and to help with the School of Theadology," she said.
Ricci continued "I wanted to work here because of the quality of the products and my respect for Bob and Heather. The atmosphere of the work place the Purcells provide is unparalleled."
p.s. from Bob: Thank you Ricci for your kind words. Thank you for helping us launch the School of Threadology. We have so many ideas and plans, this is going to be a fun adventure. We will educate the sewing world.

Meet Amber Every

Meet Amber Every, one member of our Superior Staff. When you call in, it might be Amber's pleasant voice you hear on the other end, answering your questions and taking your order.

Amber began working at Superior when she was 17, right out of high school. She worked for two years, married Josh (who is now our warehouse manager), and then went away to Brigham Young University to further her education.

We are so happy to have both Amber and Josh back working with us. Amber's responsibilities with Superior Threads include phone orders, customer service, updating the Store Locator, and whatever else is needed in a busy day at the office.

Amber says she loves working at Superior Threads because she feels the environment is uplifting and fun. "I find my work very educational. We not only learn about the products, but I've learned more about Customer Service and basic business principles than I've ever learned in my business classes," she said.

Amber continues to pursue her education and is currently working on a degree in Elementary Education. She is very happy to be back in St. George, Utah. "We love this area, and the people here. This is where Josh and I met," Amber continued.

In her spare time, Amber loves to read, bake, ride her road bike together with her husband Josh, and run. Last year she trained and ran in the St. George Marathon.

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Cafe Vienna Quilt

Many have asked if Texture Magic works well in large quilts, and the answer is yes! Annie Unrein and I worked together to design and create Cafe Vienna, showing how Texture Magic can easily be incorporated into the half square triangles.

We used the Vienna line of fabric from Timeless Treasures. I normally like bright happy colors but these rich colors and the prints really attracted me. I think it was the combination of silver and gray with the rusts and browns. The circular print used in the inner border and the center square was my favorite.

The pattern includes complete instructions for making this quilt in 2 different sizes.
The 75" X 90" Twin/ Full size uses 1 yard of Texture Magic.
The 93" X 108" Queen Quilt uses 1 1/2 yards of Texture Magic.
Custom cut yardage of Texture Magic can be ordered on our web site.

The pattern includes complete instructions for piecing and assembling the quilt, with an easy method for making half square triangles and flying geese to speed the process.

We texturized the nutmeg fabric in the background of the star blocks to add an eye-catching accent to these rich, bold prints. We tried to texturize several of these prints and it is the lighter, more plain fabrics that show the texturization. It gets lost in busy dark prints.
Cafe Vienna was ditched quilted with our MonoPoly invisible thread and quilted with King Tut #992 in the blocks and sashing, King Tut # 981 in the border and So Fine! #402 in the light background.
Our thanks to Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts for expertly machine quilting Cafe Vienna.

Things Can Be Scary In Houston

Things can be scary in Houston.

You never know what you might experience with a quick trip into the grocery store.Especially around Halloween.

Never fear. All must obey Mother Superior.

Silk Coat Part 3/ Finished

The Apple Green Silk Coat is now finished, ready in time to wear to Houston for the International Quilt Market and Festival. I was surprised at how many quilters were eager to see it finished! Maybe because we all start things and never do finish. Oh, our great intentions!

It was so nice to meet those of you who came to our booth.

The quilting showed up so well and it was great to be able to show shoppers a sample of what our metallic thread can do on a longarm quilting machine ( with a great quilter!)

The back view is pretty stunning. Luckily (or unluckily) there was a fashion fabric booth close by that was selling Silk Dupioni in some luscious colors that I couldn't resist. So who knows what will be made next.

You can read more about the making of this coat on Silk Coat Part 1

and Silk Coat Part 2/ The Fitting.

Sue Nickels Recommendation

"Superior Threads work beautifully for machine applique."

I love machine quilting using cotton threads. My style is an updated traditional approach to machine quilting. The new King Tut Quilting Thread tone-on-tone variegated thread line is the perfect choice to achieve a traditional look, with a touch of subtle shading to give more interest and texture to the finished project.

I have always loved the quality of Superior Threads. I have incorporated them into my quilts whenever possible. After mentioning how much I love using cotton threads, I was very excited to hear from them and help design wonderful tone-on-tone colors within the new King Tut Quilting Thread line. My favorite things about this new line are:

1. It is the very finest quality. King Tut Quilting Thread is an extra-long staple Egyptian cotton. This quality results in much less lint buildup. Lint is usually a problem with cotton threads, but not with this one.
2. King Tut's subtle variegations are about one inch apart, which creates a beautiful look, especially when used for background quilting. The subtle shading also works well for re-stitched areas on traditional designs such as feathers.
3. It is a very soft thread and lies very nicely on the fabric surface.
4. It threads easily and is amazingly strong. I also love to machine applique and this thread works beautifully to stitch along the edge of many applique projects. The subtle shadings look gorgeous in accent applique. When teaching machine quilting, I tell my students the most important decision they will make is what thread to use.. King Tut Quilting Thread will give quilters who are looking for cotton thread a perfect product to achieve that traditional look with a unique touch! This is a wonderful combination -- a good quality product and a great company to work with.

Sincerely,
Sue Nickels

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Christmas Stocking

Caron Carlson of Valley Quilt Studio has designed a fun Christmas stocking using Texture Magic.
"Many of the shops in our area do a Christmas Open House and I wanted to give them ideas on what to do with Texture Magic in the Holiday vein." she said.

Caron created her own pattern, working with coordinating fabrics, and ric rac. The entire construction process took less than 2 hours.

Caron is a Texture Magic Sales Rep in the Chicago, Illinois area and is also a professional longarm quilter.
http://caronsquiltingblog.blogspot.com/

Marilyn Badger Recommendation

"Superior Threads has an extensive selection of high quality thread"

Professional longarm quilting machines have considerably more power than a home sewing machine. Therefore the thread we use must be of high quality to avoid problems with breakage and shredding. Strength is one of the reasons why I love Superior Threads. With the one-inch variegation's and dazzling selection of colors, the colors in the Rainbows line have always been my favorite.

I was delighted when asked to design 10 new color combinations within the Rainbows line for my Color Concepts by Marilyn Badger collection. Because these particular colors have no high and low contrasts, they blend well with any fabric. Superior Threads also has a solid line of thread, Highlights, all color-coordinated with colors in the Rainbows collection. These solid colors are made of the same high quality trilobal polyester and have a beautiful sheen to them. I use a coordinating color of Highlights or The Bottom Line in the bobbin.

When making a sparkling reversible thread garment, I recommend using Superior's decorative Halo thread in the bobbin with the Rainbows Color Concepts in the top. The result is stunning! Superior's Dissolve 4x heavy duty water soluble stabilizer is a fabulous product for such projects.
The extensive selection of high quality thread offered by Superior Threads has made a very positive contribution to my endeavors as a professional longarm machine quilter and educator.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Badger

School of Threadology Update

We have been working hard in anticipation of the opening of the School of Threadology this fall.
Ricci, who we have dubbed our "School Marm" has been busy registering participants, putting up design walls, ordering tables and chairs, stocking supplies and coordinating upcoming sessions.
We offer the most comprehensive School of this type in the world, with the purpose of education in all areas related to sewing, embroidery and quilting.

We have had many positive comments from our prior sessions:
"Love this seminar! Had a great time. The best courses involve working with the different threads and products - actual 'hands on' experience. Also enjoyed Heather's lecture showing the different fabrics with different threads and the effect that is created. Cindy Needham is a true gem - what a wealth of knowledge and very pleasant and helpful. Enjoyed the purse project with Annie. The new classrooms will be great!!! " ~ c.u.

"I was completely impressed with this seminar. I didn't know there was so much knowledge out there regarding threads and my machine. A whole new world of not only piecing and quilting threads has emerged, but now I'm confident in using your various decorative threads. I thank you and my customers thank you as well." ~ a.f.

The next session will be Nov. 11-13, 2009. Three days of fun and learning. John Flynn will be a guest teacher for one day and the other two days will be taught by Bob and Heather. Please check our website for more information on this seminar and future seminars.
For a more detailed description of this and other upcoming sessions, please check our calendar under the School of Threadology portion on our website.


Cost for this session: $295 per person. Includes three days of classes, printed materials, over $100 worth of thread, teacher fees, three lunches and two dinners. We have contracted with the Wingate Hotel for $79.00 a night which includes breakfast. They are located two minutes away and offer a free shuttle to our classroom.

Registration: Space is limited. You can register online or you can contact Ricci at: ricci@superiorthreads.com

Hollis Chatelain Recommendation

Our congratulations to Hollis for being honored at last night's award ceremony at the 2009 IQA, Houston. She is the winner of the $5,000 Master Award for Thread Artistry for her quilt "Protection." Hollis also won first place in the Art-Painted Surface Category for her quilt "Exodus."

From Hollis:

"Superior Threads keeps up with the trends in the quilting world."
Why do I like Superior Threads? They are very clean and smooth threads that don't mess up my machine. They don't break. They blend wonderfully with the fabric. Also, I don't have tension problems with them and they feed well off of the spools.

I was pleased with the products Superior Threads sent me. Soon after, they asked if I would be interested in designing a new line of threads with colors that I had not been able to find on the market. Within five months, the new line of thread called Living Colors, was on the market. That was totally impressive. I have just completed designing my next line of thread, called Nature Colors, with Superior Threads. This set contains 50 beautiful colors found in nature and are designed for art quilting and embroidery.

Superior Threads has been easy to work with and has been patient with me asking for new types and colors of threads. They were very clear in stating that Superior will not put a new product on the market until it has been thoroughly tested and is of "superior" quality.

Something else I like about Superior Threads is that if anyone has a problem with the way the thread feeds through the machine, breaking, or whatever else can go wrong while sewing, they can call the company and immediately talk with someone who can and will help with the problem.
Thread companies, in my experience, have not been easy to work with, so it is wonderful to find a company that not only makes a great product, but knows about threads, listens to customers, is open and willing to develop new products in a timely manner, and keeps up with the trends in the quilting world.

Sincerely,
Hollis Chatelain

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Bev Fullmer's Bag

Bev Fullmer, a member of our office staff has created a purse, incorporating several Superior Threads products.

First she treated the black fabric with Texture Magic.

Before Bev steamed the Texture Magic, she invited her husband, daughter, and 4 grandchildren into to room. They were so impressed, they immediately said "That was fun! Let's do that again! What else can we make with Texture Magic?"

Now her 10 year old granddaughter is brainstorming and coming up with Texture Magic projects in her mind.

"Decorative threads show up well when stitched together with Texture Magic," she said.

Bev also wanted to showcase Superior Silk Ribbon on the front of her purse.

Bev added, "When you work with Texture Magic, new ideas start bubbling in your brain and you want to do more and more. I'm already thinking of other patterns I want to use this with."

Silk Coat Part 2/ The Fitting

I have been looking for a long time to find someone locally who would be able to tailor clothing. The other day as I was driving with my daughter "J" through a round-about, I saw a van in front of me with a window banner that advertised custom made wedding dresses. Frantically I began to search in the car for a piece of paper and pen so I could write down the phone number listed on the car.
We stayed in the round-about maneuvering closely behind the van as I attempted to follow, steer and write the number all at the same time. It made for a good laugh between but I was successful in getting Vickie's number.

I gave Vickie the green silk fabric that was previously quilted by Judi of Green Fairy Quilts.
Because the quilting in the fabric makes for a lightly stiffer piece, and doesn't allow much drape, we used the pieces selectively in this coat. I still have to be able to move and bend down without popping seams.

Vickie came to our office for the final fitting.

I will have this in time to wear to our Houston show.

Judi used Superior Metallic #24 Green Apple for the stitching. Vickie used So Fine #450 Spring Green to sew it all together. We discovered also that using the 550 yd. spools on the serger worked great. I had always thought of cones when sewing with a serger but this thread unwinds beautifully over the top as it is a really smooth polyester. That way I can match my fabric color exactly without too much cost. I still had a lot of thread left on the spool.

Coming Soon: Part 3/The Finished Coat.

Silk Coat Part 1

In preparation for the Houston show I have been in the process of designing a coat to wear that would not only highlight our Superior Metallic threads, but also demonstrate how various stitching techniques can be applied to clothing.

I wanted to create a section of quilted yardage that would be used as a piece of fabric for the coat.

First I took a piece of green silk, #24 Green Apple Superior Metallic, and a polyester lining for the backing to Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts. We used a wool bat for the middle that is light weight and gives the silk more loft.

Next I marked the length of the coat on the silk and requested she stitch a design that would not be too large. I wanted something simple that would remain soft for a long vest or coat.

You can see what the silk looked like before the stitching was complete.

Didn't Judi do a beautiful job? All of the work is created in free hand motion on Judi's A-1 longarm machine, and she used all but one yard of the 1,090 yards of metallic thread.
Next blog: Part 2/ The fitting.

Getting Ready For The Houston Show

We have been working hard, packing and getting ready for the Houston Show.

This is our busiest time of year with many events scheduled in September and October.

There is a science, with years of planning, in trying to anticipate how much product to pack.

We realize that many of you have waited a long time to attend a particular show, and desire to stock up on Superior Threads. Service is our number one goal, and we want to offer you as complete a selection as possible throughout the event.

Ryan and Yeimy, our Show Management Team, have spent the last two months in preparation. They work hard trying to make sure that everything is perfect for each booth. There are many incoming pallets from previous shows that need to be unloaded, and then repacked for the next event.

Some will be sent to Houston, others to Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California, and others will go to Ohio.

Ryan and Yeimy have put together a detailed file list that they have organized and check carefully to make sure every item that is needed goes on the pallet.

They love working together and enjoy the support from each other. What one doesn't think of, the other does.

Ryan wants to especially make sure that his wife Yeimy pulls her weight.

She can carry 5 to Ryan's 1.

(OK- in reality, those boxes were empty. Ryan just likes to tease a lot.)

Texture Magic Tuesday/ with Quilt-n-Sew

With the introduction of Texture Magic, quilt shops have been swarming with ideas of how to use this product in their classes and kits.

Marilyn Olson, owner of Quilt-n-Sew in St. George, Utah made this zippered case with Texture Magic on the back.

She put a section of Texture Magic on the back of a piece of fabric, hooped it together and then applied stitching with an embroidery machine.

Once the fabric was steamed it left the middle section beautifully textured, and ready to be made into the case.

Marilyn has several Texture Magic bags in her store.

The Texture Magic Totes pattern designed by Annie Unrein is available on our website.

Marilyn has also used Texture Magic on the bottom of this purse.

Quilt-n-Sew is located at 900 S. Bluff, St. George, Utah 84770 (435) 673-1993

John Flynn's Recommendation

Imagine a thread with the look and feel of cotton, but without the lint. That is exactly what So Fine! is -- an extra soft #50/3-ply polyester thread that is etched in order to give it the look and feel of cotton thread.

With the look of cotton and the strength of poly, this thread allows us to quilt without all the lint and thread breaks we would get with a similar size cotton thread. The range of colors blend beautifully into the fabric, showing off your stitching. It was important to me to learn that Superior's spools are designed to spin freely on the machine so there is no friction or drag to interfere with the top thread tension. This is a great thread that comes on 3,280 yard cones and on 550 yd. machine-friendly spools.

For machine basting, nothing works as well as Vanish-Extra by Superior.

Vanish-Extra has enough strength to use in top and bobbin of your machine and it still disappears like magic when moistened. I use Vanish-Extra basting thread whenever I have a difficult machine quilting design that requires scrolling on my frame or when I want to make my hand quilting projects totally portable and need a basting job that will eliminate the need for a frame of any kind.

The folks at Superior are always willing to listen to suggestions and make every effort to satisfy quilters' needs at every level, from individual artist to professional quilter.

Sincerely,
John Flynn