New threads in the stu-stu-studio!

That’s making me think of the song Sussudio by Phil Collins – “Just say the word, oh Su-Sussudio”.  

Giddy feelings always abound when new quilty notions arrive. Surely, I’m not alone in this feeling 😉

If you’re not excited by spools of fiber prettiness, then you must be buying the wrong kind of thread – ha!

But I get it. I didn’t really give much thought to thread either when I first started quilting.

I mean, thread is thread, right?

But if you’re not getting fired up by your thread options, then you’re missing out.

You can read all about why I love Aurifil Thread, but suffice to say, I found the quilty details I could create with the various thread weights and gorgeous array of colours to be hard to resist! Plus, my tension issues became a thing of the past. The latter was huge for the enjoyment of my quilting practice. Ongoing tension issues are a sure-fire way to kill my sewjo.

Which is why I love being a part of the Aurifil family.  This is my third year in a row as an Aurifil Artisan and I still love seeing “from Italy” on the parcel when my delivery guy drops it off. It’s instant happiness and that feeling of opening a fun gift as a kid. Remember that feeling? Giddy would be a good way to describe it 😉

My happy mail arrived, and I wanted to give you a front row view of all the yummy contents.

Let’s dive in!

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. 

AURIFIL ARTISAN COLLECTION 2021

Here’s a no holds barred look at the Aurifil Thread goodies in the 2021 Aurifil Artisan collection. Just a quick note that each Artisan gets their own unique blend of threads sent over. So, seeing mine won’t take away from the fun of peeking inside the other Artisans’ kits 😉

 

I love that the large spools come packed in an *Aurifil Thread storage box. These are great for storing your large spools. I've also got my cut-up Kona Color cards stored in my 2019 one!

And of course, a new *colour card! These are the best to have on hand. I’ve raved about them since I first discovered them early in my stitching journey and couldn’t live without them. This is a must have!

Which is why I'm so excited to be giving one away!! (more on that below)

Click the below links for or a peek inside my previous Artisan Thread collections:

 

THREAD SPOOL SIZES AND WHAT I USE EACH FOR

Since I know you love taking a sneak peek inside makers sewing kits through the What’s in Your Sewing Bag? series, I thought it could be fun to break down what size thread spools I stock and what I use the different sizes for. Hopefully this helps you assess your own thread needs based on your quilty practice.

CONES

To kick things off, I thought we’d start with the big guys – the cones!

I never thought I’d end up buying cones. They just seemed so big. Would I ever be able to get through an entire one?

Turns out, I can!

Now, whether you stitch on the daily or stitch with lesser frequency, it doesn’t matter, *Aurifil Thread cones are always a great investment.

I stock cones in both the colour *2000 and *2021. The latter is what I’ve traditionally pieced all my quilts with. It’s called Natural White and, in my quilty books, it’s the perfect shade of white.

But back in 2019, I received a cone of Light Sand as part of my Aurifil Artisan collection and had heard so many quilters say how much they love stitching with a light beige coloured thread, especially as it relates to piecing darker fabrics. The thought is that the beige is a less harsh contrast compared to the white.

I’ve really enjoyed stitching with colour 2000. But I still love using my white too. So, I just use based on whichever is already set-up on my sewing machine 😉

I also stock a couple of shades that I just love quilting with. Namely, Dove in 28wt. I love, love, love this colour. I know many quilters who use this for all their piecing (again, because it’s supposed to blend seamlessly with all colours). I haven’t tried that out, but I have featured her in many quilts.

See quilts stitched with 28wt in Dove:

 

If I know I’ll use the colour often when I’m stitching, then I’m all for keeping it on hand in cone format. From a cost perspective it’s the wiser move, but I also love the peace of mind having a full stock of my favourite thread on hand gives me. I don’t need to question whether I have the right colour thread to quilt with. I know I do!

LARGE SPOOLS

This is my main thread size sweet spot. This is also where my quilty journey with Aurifil Threads started, so maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for them 😉

But here’s what I love – the large size means I have quite a bit of quilty peace of mind. There is quite a bit of thread on there and, if memory serves, one spool lasted me forever. I was really surprised. And it encouraged me to stock my quilting thread in this size.

From one large spool I can easily quilt several quilts. I mainly make large lap and throw size quilts and I’ve never used up a whole spool just on one quilt. Normally I eek out several. I love this, because over the years I’ve started to amass a nice collection. My ‘leftover’ thread on large spools have come in handy for ‘shopping my thread stash’ when a new quilty project rolls around. Rather than have to buy a new spool each time, I first check what I already have on hand. If I have a close enough match, I make it work!

As an Aurifil Artisan, I’m lucky to be sent a fun new selection each year, but even before that, I had already started a nice collection.

Thread is such a fun way to add detail and texture and it’s really nice to have them on hand to look at and be inspired by.

You certainly don’t need to stock as much I do, but I do encourage you to pick-up a few spools in different colours to start exploring. A great way to do that is through the *Color Builder series. I had the pleasure of shooting a campaign for them and I am constantly inspired by the colours they come in.

SMALL SPOOLS

Small spools are not a main staple in my thread stash.

Most of the small spools have been given to me. It’s not a size I typically buy, but then maybe I’m a strange bird who likes knowing I won’t run out of thread – ha!

I see them as practical for colours that you might not like, but are perfect for a specific project you have in mind (and don’t want to be stuck with a bunch leftover). I can also see them being useful for testing out a new thread weight to see if it’s something you want to stock in a larger size going forward. There’s also a case to be made in their favour for being more travel friendly.

I’ve used them to stitch up my Marble Reverberance quilt and they fit the bill perfectly.

But other than the *Aurifloss which solely comes on the wooden small pools, this isn’t my go-to size. 

 

GIVEAWAY

Since an Aurifil Thread Color Card is a MUST in my sewing studio I couldn't think of a better gift to give you than your very own!

To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below telling me which thread weight and spool size is your fave!

That's it!

Giveaway closes on Monday June 7, 2021 at 11:59 pm EST. I'll pick a winner at random.

Good luck! 

For more thread inspiration, check out the following posts:

Size doesn’t normally matter to me, but when it comes to thread spool sizes, my motto is definitely larger is better – ha!

What’s your favourite thread spool sizes to work with and why? It’s always so fun to get to know you and your quilty preferences better 😊

Happy stitching!

xo

Shannon

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