Saturday, August 16, 2014

3littlethimbles Aurifil Thread Review!

Thread...who cares right? Its the quality of the fabric and the adorableness of the print that counts. Right???

WRONG!!!!

The first 3 quilt I made were for my kids, I used what was available to me locally (Lethbridge Alberta, Canada) and used Dual Duty-machine Quilting thread. I experienced continual issues with tension problems to the point when I thought I couldn't quilt with my machine. I even took it in for maintenance and cleaning to see if that would help. 
I was crush when my machine came back...clean, but still not quilting to my satisfaction.

And then one day I saw a pretty picture on a fabric site of a spool of Aurifil thread. It looked so pretty I ordered a spool.......

Which is the back story of how I found Aurifil.

Sew(tee hee), after using the 50wt white to quilt my next quilt project I was amazed...but at $10 a spool I wasnt sure if it was worth the investment.

Thats when the lovely people at Aurifil sent me this to review!!!!

Yes, I cried! 6 spools of thread and the Aurifil Colour Chart(which has actual thread strands on it so you can perfectly match the thread to your project). I tested them out on a few quilts over the past few months but wanted to use bolder colours for this review so I jumped online and bought some spools for pictures in the review.

The Trial Project
This is the quilted project. A crib quilt(which is available on my etsy shop) https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/200165575/modernbirdtealorangetriangleunique

And this is the thread I used! I used 50wt(Orange coloured Spool) , 40wt(Green coloured Spool) and 15wt (Red coloured spool)
I pieced the entire quilt top with the white 50wt aurifil. Then It was time to quilt

It even looks amazing on the bobbin!!!










I quilted straight lines with the green 50 wt Aurifil and hand quilted with the green 15 wt thread.



So here's my thought's on Aurifil. It truly made me realize the importance of using a high quality thread!!! After using the thread for my past few projects I'm officially hooked.
Here's what I love about it:
1) It stitched like a dream! This quilt I didn't even use a walking foot and the stitches are smooth and perfect and I didnt have to play with the tension AT ALL.
2) Its beautiful! Getting a new spool is JUST as fun as getting new fabric
3) HUGE variety of colour options
4) COST-yes it is expensive, but you get so much on a spool that it makes it totally worth it
5) It doesn't break on your machine. You know what I mean....when your sewing along and your top thread breaks 6 times in a row and you have to walk away and count to 10. I have never had Aurifil break on my sewing machine.
6) Hand-stitching is way easier with this thread and your thread will not knot as you go. The few times I had it knot it fixed itself without me having to untangle it
7) The variety of weights available in each colour make your possibilities ENDLESS


What I didn't love:
1) A few time while hand stitching my binding the thread did break. I used several different needles to make sure it wasnt my needle. But the 40 wt broke a few times during binding.
2) One of the spools I received the inner tube was pushed out at the bottom so it wont stay standing flat but rolls(not sure if this is common and doesn't effect how it performance on my machine)
3) That now I am going to go broke buying every colour and every weight ;)

So my final thoughts, incase you didnt guess...
I give it two HUGE THUMBS UP
I am 'sew' impressed with it, made making my quilt way easier by using this thread and.......I threw out all the rest of that cheap garbage thread ;) 

*Aurifil did send me free samples to do this review but my opinions are un-bia. I did several project using their thread samples to ensure I was giving a proper and accurate review

Friday, July 25, 2014

Vintage Printemp Crib Quilt---Just listed on Etsy



Remember these adorable Printemp by 3sisters fabric squares?? Well I finally got around actually making them into a quilt!

I used a disappearing nine patch pattern and I love how it turned out with all the pinks, yellows, blues and creams.

It is currently available on my etsy shop here






















Oh and lastly can I just gush over this pink birdy binding!!! Heavenly


Quilt hunting at Fort Steele

Hexagon Quilt....amazing
 We went on vacation last month to Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C Canada last month. On the way home we got the pleasure of stopping at the funnest place on earth! Well to me anyways...

Fort Steele

Yeah, you read that right. This Road to Avonlea, addicted to vintage, crazy lady LOVES Fort Steele.
But this year when we went I was on a mission... Quilt hunting.
And I struck gold.
So much inspiration!! It was beautiful


Shop Display
Sewing Machine....reminds me of the one I learned to sew on



Vintage Fabric---so cute



Quilt wall hanging


This one I actually got to touch(it wasnt behind glass) and study. So pretty
Well...those were some of the awesome Quilts and Sewing Items I found :) Along with tons of inspiration for my own fabric designs and quilt designs. Its so neat to see how far quilting has come.

      
Thread display
















Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Tumbler Quilt!

We dont have many people in our family having babies, so when my husbands cousin in Germany was having a baby girl I jumped at a chance to try a crib sized Tumbler Quilt. I wanted it to be scrappy and bright coloured, so I pulled out my bin of scraps along with an adorable fairytale green fabric.
(Now im clearly busted for not ironing before cutting--but in my defence I have a crappy iron, but I will iron first once I get my new Iron Saturday) 
After using my handy-dandy tumbler die(from accuquilt), in no time at all I was swimming in tumblers :)
I was amazed at how quickly it came together and how easy it was to sew!


Plus this was my first opportunity to use my black/white stripped fabric for binding! I love how it turned out. 
I cant wait to ship this off to Katherina in Germany :) 
Now off to work on my downton abbey tumbler lap quilt!!! 

Discovering my style-out with the old, in with the new

So this weekend I am having a garage sale and get rid of all the fabrics that Im not totally in love with!! Which only means one thing....... I need to re-build my stash :)


This is the first mini batch of my re-building stash shopping spree! With the money I made from selling a quilt on my etsy shop and the garage sale $$ I am going to go to our local quilt store and buy fabrics that melt my heart. I am shifting from wanting a big fabric stash to having the perfect fabric stash that screams my name!! Finding ones style in quilting is a challenge, but step 1 is finding the right fabric. Im 'sew' excited to show you what I get soon!! And even more excited to have my sewing studio done in the near future ❤️
Stay tuned for part 2.... ;) 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Coral and teal Bird Quilt.....heaven!

My newest 3littlethimbles creation is finished!! 


I have a resent love of coral and teals.....this may be very apparent in this quilt
I used the co-ordinating fabrics from the line 'Flos Garden' by the Henley Studio. I have to say, I LOVE these fabrics. I couldn't even bring myself to throw out a 1 inch scrap!





To quilt it I used straight, and wavy lines with leaf imprints throughout! 
Which is a bit easier to see on the teal side. 

It is currently up on my etsy shop 


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

3littlethimbles 1000 Facebook page 'Like' Giveaway

It's hard to believe that my facebook page is at 921 page likes! I am so excited to be coming up to 1000 page 'likes' that I decided to do a BIG GIVEAWAY!
You can enter the contest starting now, once my facebook page hits 1000 page likes, then 48 after I will be closing the giveaway and announce the winner :)
Wanna see what you will win?????????



The winner will receive this beautiful, modern crib sized quilt(38x44 inches) and 3 Mini Owls-with soft White Minky Cuddle Rose backs. Valued at over $100 :)

4 Possible ways to enter:
Once you have completed a one of the ways to enter, write a separate comment on this blog post (indicating you 'shared my facebook giveaway pic, reposted on instagram, followed my etsy shop, etc.) Make one comment per entry(total of 4 available)
You must Like my facebook page in order to be eligible to win the giveaway
http://www.facebook.com/3littlethimbles
1)Comment on this blog post and tell me what you love about 3littlethimbles(a product, idea, etc)
2)Share my facebook page giveaway pic on your profile
3)Re-post my instagram pic (be sure to include #3littlethimbles, @chelsierosner so I can see it)
4)Like and Follow my etsy shop 
http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/3littlethimbles

Giveaway is open to anyone everyone(including internationally) :)
I will announce when I reach 1000 facebook page 'likes' and when the entries will end(48 hours after I reach 1000)
Good Luck everyone!!!!