Thread Painting and Star Thread

Inspire your creativity. Don't let the prospect of using your sewing machine to create quilt art scare you. The truth of the matter is, the key to beautiful colorful thread painting is all in the thread. Here , in a video featured on allpeoplequilt.com, Terry White, thread lover and author of Thread Painting Made Easy, shows Jennifer Keltner, executive editor of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, how Star thread from Coats & Clark makes creating easy. As Terry points out, Star thread offers all the qualities you want for your quilting, free motion and decorative sewing including a smooth finish, low lint and superior stitch quality. In the Star Multi-Color threads, Terry finds the depth and mix of colors she needs in one spool thanks to the long random color changes which add a liveliness and natural look to any of your sewing. Watch and see how thread painting is the most fun you can have with your sewing machine and thread. Afterall, according to Terry, the thread is the Star of the show!

Seen at Quilt Market

This was the 30th anniversary of Quilt Market in Houston, TX. The market is a trade event where shop owners come to purchase fabric, thread, patterns, books and more (lots more!) for their stores. It is also a chance for them to see the newest products and latest trends. Quilt Market is one trade show I enjoy, even though the days are long and my feet get tired! I enjoy it because most of the shop owners are quilters themselves and are passionate about it and then there's all of those beautiful quilts!

Here is a shot of our Coats booth. We featured our cotton machine and hand quilting threads and our Dual Duty XP threads.

Another fun part of market is seeing the fantastic quilts in the booths and in the Special Exhibits. I was partial to this one of old spools in the Lavender Rabbit booth. I love the spools threaded on the dowel for a hanging rod.

The designer booth's are another favorite at market. Fabric designer's go all out to create a booth that reflects their creativity. Here is Amy Butler's booth featuring her new collection "LOVE" for Rowan fabrics.

Love fun notions & tools? There is no shortage of them at market. I thought these bright purple gloves were great! Color makes everything fun. These are called GrabAroos and they protect your hands and give an extra grip for free motion quilting, sewing and embroidery.

Speaking of color-- with all of the quilts, fabrics and threads, market is great place to see color trends. It's a little overwhelming because you literally see everything, but still, themes do emerge.

One of the trends this year was softer colors. Not pastels exactly, but strong feminine hues like those in Amy Butler's collection above and in the photos below.

Heather Bailey's new collection, Nicey Jane for Free Spirit fabrics, combines green, aqua and pink.

Pink was prominent at Quilt Soup pattern company:

This quilt, Dancing Flowers by Sue Harvey combines all shades in the same intensity:

Wish you could go? Market is a trade show but it is followed by the largest quilting show in the US--Quilt Festival. 50,000 plus quilters descend on Houston to see the quilts, attend classes and shop. If you have never been and love quilting, put it on your calendar for 2010--and take an empty suitcase!

Re-contruction Zone

I've just returned from the American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan. Do you get motivated to sew when you go to quilt shows or sewing shows? I do! I see so many ideas I want to try when I get home.

Coats & Clark joined with Janome sewing machines and Threadbangers to man the re-construction zone. We had a big wheelbarrow full of old jeans people could use to make bags, backpacks, totes and more. They could embellish their creations with machine embroidery or they could felt yarn into the denim with felting machines.

Machine Embroidery

Felting:

More Embroidery


It was great to see young sewing enthusiasts sew their bags. Our youngest designer was 8 years old. She and her sister, age 11 both made bags, with a little help from their grandmother (below).

Here are a few projects on our website created from jeans:

Denim Organizer Denim Cuff Zippity Purse

You can see video from the Expo on Threadbangers.com.

Choose the Right Thread

When it comes to sewing and quilting, choosing the right thread for your fabric, project and technique is an essential ingredient to success. Our friends at Better Homes & Gardens American Patchwork & Quilting help take the mystery out selecting thread in a new video featured on allpeoplequilt.com. Watch and let us know what you think.

Win 50 spools of thread!

Do you love thread? Which do you have more of --thread or shoes? Our friends at C & T Publishing want to add to your collection (of thread that is!). They are giving away 12 of our gift boxed 50 spool collections of new Dual Duty XP on their blog, CTpubblog, during the month of September.

C & T Publishing produces quilting and crafting books. Their blog is filled with tips and project ideas. Take a look and join in the conversation, you may just win!

Kids Just Want to have Fun!

"Dear Wendy, I had a great time sewing my jean bag. I loved the dangly trims. I want a sewing machine too. Love Sammy." Now that is what we like to hear. One child at a time, learning the lifeskill of sewing, building self-confidence and having fun, too.

Such is what happens at a small studio here in Matthews, NC. Sew Fun is run by entrepreneur and passionate sewer Wendy Orenstein Berglass who looked at the typical birthday party and saw an opportunity to share her love of the craft. This mom of three just knew that with the right fabric, trim and kewlness (yes, today it is kewl), she could reach out and create future sewing enthusiasts, plus earn a living, all while having fun. "The kids get to create and take home something they have made instead of a goodie bag. It is a productive and creative alternative to a 'princess party' or a character of the moment party," says Wendy.

The studio offers birthday parties for girls and boys and events for groups like the Girl Scouts, Y-Guides as well as classes and camps. Step inside the front door, and the brightly painted walls display the creations of her students including a wall of photos proudly displaying smiling, successful kids showing off their creations. Set up, ready to sew, are 16 new sewing machines, giving kids a taste of today's technology in sewing. "Kids today are so tech savvy with ipods, computers, IMing that it was important they see machines from today, technologically designed to make sewing fun and easy."

Once the birthday child selects the project of choice, the kids are free to choose their fabrics, trims and embellishments. Because the majority of kids who attend a Sew Fun party have never sewn, Wendy spends time introducing them to the sewing machine, teaching about seaming and allowing them to test drive the machine before they create. She says the kids are so excited to get to the Embellishment Station they easily whip through the seaming, all for the chance to add their own personal touch to their creation. That's what sewing is all about!

"I have such passion for sewing and creating that I love to see the kid's discover this art," says Wendy who is a school teacher by trade and learned to sew because she was frustrated by the cost of drapes. The best part, according to Wendy, is the parents don't just drop the kids off for the party, they usually stay. Not only is she nuturing the next generation of sewing enthusiasts, but she is influencing their parents as well!

Learning has never been Sew Fun!

The Invisible Zipper Foot

I sometimes get a call from someone who is trying to put an invisible zipper foot on their sewing machine and for the life of them, can't figure it out. A picture is worth a thousand words so...... Let's take it one step at a time!

When you purchase Coats Invisible Zipper Foot, it has a red, yellow and blue shank and a white presser foot. One of the three shanks will fit your machine. It will most likely be the red or yellow. The blue fits very old machines that thread left to right, instead of front to back. We will look at the red and yellow. First you must determine which fits your machine.

Begin by removing EVERYTHING from the presser bar. If your presser foot snaps on, you will remove it and the shank (the metal piece connecting the presser foot to the presser bar). Your presser bar should be "naked"! You are now ready to determine if you have a low or high shank machine.

Measure from the set screw to the throat plate. If your machine measures 1/2 inch, use the red shank. If your machine measures 1", use the yellow shank with the 'X' down. If your machine has a slant-needle, use the end of the yellow shank without the 'X'.

Slide the white presser foot onto the rectangle on the front of the shank.

Attach the shank to the presser bar, using the set screw. It may be necessary to take the screw off of the presser bar to position the shank.

Lower presser foot. The bottom of the presser foot should rest on the feed dogs. If it is too high, some adjustment can be made by loosening the set screw and shifting the shank down slightly. This is why the opening for the screw is 'U' shaped.

Shift the white presser foot so that the needle is centered over the hole. Test to make sure the needle goes through the hole when you turn the hand wheel and that the needle clamp clears the presser foot. In the picture below, the needle clamp is hitting the presser foot. You would not be able to use the invisible zipper foot on this machine.

The Coats Invisible zipper foot is a generic foot that fits most machines but not all. Many sewing machine manufacturers offer an invisible zipper foot in their presser foot options. These work nicely with the smaller coil of the Coats Invisible Zipper.

An invisible zipper can be installed with a regular zipper foot. The blog, Sew Serendipity, has an excellent tutorial.

Invisible zippers are quite easy to install and many sewing enthusiasts agree with me, they are actually easier than regular zippers. I like that there is no topstitching! Instructions for installing Coats Invisible Zippers are included in the zipper package. Instructions can also be found on Sewing.org.