Aurifil 12 weight - Clinical Trials

I finally got a chance to play with the Aurifil 12 weight thread I ordered in.  I am excited by the possibilities wound in each spool.  I've sewn with 12 weight thread before, but never successfully through the needle - it always ended up having to go in the bobbin, and my work stitched upside-down. This Aurifil thread is different.  I gingerly started stitching some samples to test it out.  I didn't even have to adjust the tension on the machine.

The thread has a silky finish which goes easily through a size 100/16 Topstitch needle.

Free motion embroidery with this thread holds lots of promise.  I traced a simple design onto white cotton and layered it with tear-away stabilizer.

Not bad for a first attempt! Honestly, it's way better than I could have stitched by hand...and literally done in minutes.  I can see some cute Red Work Christmas ornaments in my future.

Blue Work is fun too.

This time instead of doing it with stabilizer, I added batting and backing and quilted through the layers. You can see where I checked the thread tension on the side - again, no adjustment needed.

I had this basket block on hand, so I added a bit of embroidery to jazz it up.

This gorgeous straw-gold colour reminded me of grape tendrils, so I dug out some grapes leftover from a liturgical project. (nothing gets thrown out :))

What an easy way to add quilting and embellishment at the same time.

 The thicker thread has much more impact than a 50 weight.

So far, I have the 12 weight thread available for sale in red, black, gold, blue, white, and leaf green.  I used the latter on a quilt which will appear in the winter issue of Quilter's Connection. Obviously, I can't show that quilt online as yet, but I will have it with me at the Zonta Bazaar on October 17.  Next post I will show more Red Work. (I am going to have free-motion embroidery on everything in the house!!)