I already have a light box from Art-O-Graph for tracing off embroidery lines quilting lines, etc., But oh boy when I saw this sweet new toy from them, I was in lust. Is this just too cool or what?  The down side to this is that I want it BIGGER.  I have the boxy one below at 12″x18″ and it does give me much more working area compared to the slick looking LightPad. So how can I justify buying this beyond the emotional, “it looks so cool”?

I don’t use a light box to trace applique lines to my background fabrics, but I do use it for the embroidery lines when I am done with the applique bit.  Both of these have really good features.  The LightPad has a much brighter light but smaller surface area.  The box has a fluorescent light which tends to fade out at the edges, but has that all important large surface area for bigger projects.  I already own the latter and don’t really need a new one.

But, but, but..my heart is absolutely palpitating at the thought of having that cool LightPad.  Could I justify it by saying the size would travel well???  Am I stretching it a bit here?   Who travels with a light box?  Would my husband buy that argument?  Probably not.

I need to get busy on an applique project so my mind is better occupied than finding cool new things to lust after as I work on the computer stuff.

Little by little, I keep adding new colors of Cosmo cotton embroidery threads to my thread stash.  The more I work with these threads, the more I really like them.  As my color selection grows, I know I will grab these first now and then fill in any colors I don’t have from the DMC threads. 

They really are wonderful threads to work with.  Since they are colorfast, I don’t have to worry about any bleeding issues either.  I really haven’t found any negatives for these Cosmo threads yet!  They also have lovely variegated colors now too.  Yummy. 

I recently ordered them from Crabapple Hill Studios.  I love, love, love, her hand embroidery patterns and since we are re-decorating Jenna’s room, her new pattern of the Postcard Pillow  turned on a light bulb idea in my head.  Meg, your pattern is lovely of course, but I had to customize it just a smidgen for Jenna.   

I revised the stamp with my drawing of the Eiffel Tower image etc. in the upper left corner

Her room is decorated with a French feel so I created an Eiffel Tower stamp and made the message in French and to Jenna into postcard pillow design.  Other than that, I left much of the original design alone which is saying a lot for me!  I mess with everything.   When the pillow is finished I will post a picture for you.

I know you all think I eat, drink and sleep quilts, but no, I do other things too!  Sometimes I want to do something that is not quilting.  Right now, quietly hand stitching a cute Crabapple Hill embroidered pillow project for my daughter is a welcome side project and helps recharge my brain for when I return to my quilting and designing. 

I also was able to get in some serious gardening last weekend.  I am on a roll!

You know how I looooooooove gadgets.  I am so excited about this one that arrived today and I just can’t type fast enough to tell you about it.

A Scissor Block!  This is no ordinary block, oh no.  This one is made special for 3 1/2″-4″ embroidery scissors and it is like a miniature knife block.  I adore it!

My scissors are flung willy nilly all over when I am working.  I am constantly looking under my work, on the floor and all over for where I placed those darn scissors while working.  I know you can relate to scissor hide and seek. 

Well, no more!  This little baby keeps all of my scissors together and the points cared for all at the same time.  There is even a magnet on the side for a third pair of scissors.  Perfect.  So my small paper cutting Dovos, fabric cutting Dovos and trimming (lace) Dovos are all nice and neat and at the ready.  No more hunting all over.

Personally, I thought the price for this was REALLY good since it is 100% wood and not plastic at $17.95 US.  You can only get them from the Silver Needle in Oklahoma here: SCISSOR BLOCK  (scroll down a little bit to find the Scissor Block).

I am in love with this and thought maybe you might want one too!

I have always loved the vintage and soft look of Yo-Yo’s on all kinds of projects.  They add such a touch of whimsy and always bring a smile.  I especially like them combined with Ric Rack as embellishments.  I am always comforted by the vintage look so I tend to design in this style for my own personal quilts.  I am drawn to the softness and reminiscent nature of them.  

Usually I don’t add special borders etc. to my samples, but I couldn’t stop my imagination from switching into hyper-drive at some possibilities for this one.  Yo-Yo’s might work well with this little quilt.

I bought the Clover Yo-Yo makers awhile back and pulled one out to make some small Yo-Yo’s.  I used the smallest one and it made a 1″ wide Yo-Yo really fast.

Last night I cranked out a lot of these to play with and I will add  a small cute border that will allow for some pretty quilting too. 

Off Topic: 

I keep a small bag of candy in my side drawer of my desk.  There are also some sewing tools stored there too.  While I was reading something on my computer, I reached down to my left to grab a small handful of the candy and didn’t realize I had stuck my hand in the bag of cotton swabs (for cleaning my bobbin) and stuck the cotton swabs in my mouth.  I won’t be doing that again.  I think it is fair to say I have a really good level of concentration when I fail to clue in to the feel of cotton swabs vs. Hot Tamales candy in my hand.

Hand applique requires few tools, but those tools matter.  These simple things can make such a huge difference in the success, or not, of the applique experience and final outcome.

Of course, personal preference does play a role too, but a small one.  Tool success also is dependent on the type of applique you are doing as well.    Thread is no exception.  Yes, Virginia, some threads are better than others.  I do not have any commercial relationships to promote anything and I like to keep it that way.  I am free of any commercial interest to tell you what works and what doesn’t.  I can change my mind or move on if I find something new that works better.  When it comes to thread, I have moved on to “better” several times.

My latest thread love affair may last though and I would find it very difficult to top this thread.  To my students in my Seattle workshop three(?) years ago……THANK YOU!  They turned me on to the Aurifil thread that had started coming out in small spools just for appliquers. 

Folks, the industry ignores (understatement) hand applique-rs because we don’t sell or buy bucket loads of product, so this attention was monumental.  My Seattle ladies told me where to get this thread as it was hard to find any retailer carrying it at the time.  I fell in love and so far no other thread comes close to matching all of its qualities and ease to work with.

I have a technique for inward “V”‘s that requires a firm tug on the thread and it is always touch and go with the others to see if it will break at the most inopportune time. You know what I am talking about right?  exactly at the point of the inward “V”?  The Aurifil is STRONG (picture rippled muscles here).  It rarely knots up on me when I am stitching and it will take a tug over and over again.

The only down side is the number of colors compared to the Mettler 60 wt.  I use my other ‘next’ favorites which is the DMC 50 wt 2 ply cotton (also limited palette) and the Mettler 60 wt cotton to fill in the color gaps.  I always check my Aurifil for the right color first.  They did introduce 36(?) new colors at Fall Market and I hope they keep adding more.

I haven’t used silk since I first experimented with it.  I know some people will cough up their coffee in protest and my comment switchboard will light up, but I really have yet to see it work well for hand applique and I can even tell if someone used silk or cotton.  Mismatched thread weight and fiber with cotton fabrics creates irregular edges–automatically.  You can’t help it, I can’t help it, it just happens without any interference on our part.  

Keep the silk for machine quilting where it works beautifully (see Diane Gaudynski’s work for the ultimate example).   If you want to keep using it, then by all means do, but your stitch and applique could probably be better.  Just sayin’.

Using the right thread will do a lot of the work for you like any tool and in hand applique, thread is a tool.  Hand applique takes devotion, time and effort, our tools are minimal, so use the best you can to make your investment of yourself  in your applique pay off.

 This is where I buy my Aurifil thread from (Nancy Chong and her sister) and they ship quickly and I have never had a problem–ever.  Pacific Rim Quilting Co.

I have been asked many times to share what thread I use and why and I wanted to expand on that for those who are interested.  I hope this answered those questions and was helpful for those who wish to know.