Texture Magic Tuesday/ All Occasion Baskets

With Easter around the corner, now is a good time to think of decorating with baskets.
We have a wonderful idea, made especially with Texture Magic.
Spring-time fabrics make a basket perfect for Easter egg hunts or a spring table centerpiece.

The All Occasion Baskets by Annie Unrein are offered in two versions.

Version 1 has a texturized inset strip bordered with optional rick rack trim.
Version 2 has a texturized body and optional rick rack trim spanning the plain inset strip.

Pick a fabric appropriate for the recipient and make baskets to use as gift baskets for any occasion through the year.
I can think of a few sewing friends who would love a basket full of Superior Threads.
All Occasion Baskets can be ordered on our web site.

Bali Hai

Congratulations to Marilyn Badger of St. George, Utah for winning Best Large Quilt at Road To California 2010.
"Bali Hai" (94" X 94") was made and quilted by Marilyn.

In her artist statement, Marilyn shared the back ground for Bali Hai:
"Blocks were paper pieced using silks and cottons, then the entire center and all four corners were pieced together, piped and appliquéd to the background fabric. I then quilted 10,000 yards of metallic thread in a style I call overlay quilting. That is, the stitching provides another separate dimension to the quilt so that the quilting stands on its own."

Marilyn used all Superior Threads in the construction of her quilt.

• 10,000 yards of Superior Metallics (copper and gold)
• Bottom Line in the bobbin
• Green variegated Rainbows in the background

"I made the quilt to showcase working with guides and tools on the longarm and recently featured this quilt and Filigree on my taping of Love of Quilting with Fons & Porter which is airing now. It is a Claudia Myers design." Marilyn said.

Bali Hai has currently been honored with 5 awards:

1st Place Innovative Template and Viewer's Choice at MQX
1st Place Tools of the Trade at MQS
Best Artistry in Longarm Workmanship at Quilt Odyssey
Best Longarm Workmanship at AQS Des Moines
Best Large Quilt at Road to California

Birds and Roses

Hand quilting is almost a forgotten art. Today we honor Pat Peters of St. George, Utah for winning 2nd place for Traditional, Large, Applique at Road To California 2010.
"Birds and Roses" (85" X 85")
All the applique and quilting have been done by hand.

Birds and Roses is from a book by Margaret Docherty of London, England.
There are 21 pieces in each rose.
"It took me 2 years to finish it, and I worked on it every day for about 4 or 5 hours. I enjoy the whole aspect of making a quilt, no matter how long it takes!!! By the time I am finished with it, I am ready to be finished!! It is done completely in batiks, and the shading of the roses was easier using the batiks. I wanted it to look like an English garden." Pat shared.

Pat used all Superior threads: Bottom Line for applique, and Treasure for hand quilting. "I loved the Bottom Line, because it completely, well almost completely disappears in the fabric." Pat said.
Congratulations Pat!

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Journal Cover

Bridget Wideman has been using her creativity, and shared with us a few things she has learned as she works with Texture Magic.
1. The next time you make a purse or tote bag, try texturizing your main fabric. I made a small purse and the just the flap is textured and it adds a bit of pizazz.
2. Before any project using Texture Magic, make a few samples first. A 1" straight stitch grid gives you a puffy appearance, whereas small free-motion stippling give a very crinkled appearance. I have samples of my four favorite "looks", depending on what I plan on doing.
3. Instead of using fusible web to attach your Texture Magic fabric pieces, try good old Elmer's Glue. First I tried using a variety of specialty glues make for attaching embellishments, but Elmer's holds better, is quick to dry and dries clear.

Bridget recently made a journal cover using Texture Magic and Superior Threads.
"I took a few 8x8 squares of Fairy Frost with the Texture Magic on the back and I did some really dense free-motion stitching on a few of them (the blue and yellow). I also used a serpentine stitch to make a grid pattern with the squares being about 1/2" or so on the bright pink fabric. It's neat how you can have a really puffy piece or a really crinkly piece depending on your stitching.
On the quilted fabric cover I used Superior Thread, of course! Brytes #1132"

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us Bridget!
We would love to see how you are using Texture Magic in your projects. Please send pictures and a short description to nedra@superiorthreads.com

Avilyn Helps Pull Orders

Our grand daughter Avilyn may only be a year old, but she already loves our training program with Bob.
We figure it's time she learns the business. Pulling orders was her first assignment.

We hope her first word is "thread".
No, it should be Grandma.

Or maybe "grandpa". That would be OK, too.

Working With Metallic Thread

Do you know that Superior Metallics was our first product line?

By using these few simple rules, you can enjoy working with Metallics:

1. Needle: Topstitch or Metallic #90/14 (home machines)
2. Top tension: loosen to a "1" on home machines
3. If a spool, position the spool on the vertical pin holder in such a way that the thread unwinds directly from the side of the spool with the spool rotating. The thread should not unwind over the end or top of a spool.
4. If a cone, thread must unwind straight up over the top of the cone.
5. Bottom thread (bobbin): any smooth polyester. The Bottom Line is best.

•A strong, durable, beautiful 40 wt. thread. Available in 25 colors.
•Ideal for embroidery, quilting, applique, and decorative serging
•The only metallic thread that is guaranteed to work.

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Fat Quarter Bags

Our thanks today goes to Bridget Wideman, for sharing with us her purse made with Texture Magic. Bridget's inspiration came from M'Liss Rae Hawley's book titled "101 Fabulous Fat Quarter Bags".

Bridget altered the pattern slightly and used Texture Magic on the flap. She shared with us her experience in using Texture Magic:
"Thanks for coming up with such a neat product! I make quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative and I can't wait to use it in one of my quilts!"
Bridget Wideman (QuilterBridget)
*We love seeing your projects made with Texture Magic. Please send photo's and a short description to nedra@superiorthreads.com