aurifil giveaway winner...

fantastic response to the aurifil giveaway although i am not surprised...i'd want to win it too!

but again only one winner i'm afraid...

 Katy said...

I've not been sewing long enough to have a huge thread stash, but I bought a variegated spool (code 4666) of 28 weight to hand-quilt one I made as a pre-birth present for my niece, and I really liked the feel of it. I keep meaning to try it for piecing too. Thanks for the chance to win some.

thank you for entering and well done, Katy.

 Please email me your mailing address and i 

will send off your aurifil goodies. 

x

wonderful wonderful aurifil...

 i am a big fan of Aurifil are you?

if so read on as there may be a little giveaway at the end of this post...

Aurifil 50wt (the orange one) has been my go to thread of choice ever since i was first introduced to it...particularly number 2600...the perfect shade of grey that goes with everything. 

i hadn't tried the other wts but was lucky enough to be sent a few recently to try.

now it would be fair to say that i am a little swayed by how things look. i like to be surrounded by pretty things...what's wrong with that? but they do need to have something to back up the looks and aurifil ticks all those boxes.

first of all not only are the coloured bobbins so bright and fun but they are indeed practical too...easy to grab what you are after without having small print to contend with and believe me at my age, being visually challenged, that is a huge plus.

on testing, 40wt - the green one - proved to be equally delightful and i particularly like the effect of how the slightly heavier thread shows up in quilting stitches.

the grey 28wt is a lovely thread to use for hand piecing. i am a bit heavy handed with hand piecing but no worries about snapping the thread with this one. it also works beautifully for machine quilting, a lovely bold finish.

then there are the threads for sashiko and hand embroidery...

12 wt - the red one - has a lovely feel and pretty sheen (you can see the stitches i did at the top).

and then of course the aurifloss, a 6 strand embroidery floss. 

this is one of those times that you can't ignore the prettiness...have you seen the wooden bobbins they are wound on??

but they do stitch like a dream too...

5 different types of thread, over 250 colours, they are the kona of the thread world. you really need to give them a try if you haven't already.

and to help one of you on your way i am giving away this set below of the 4 main threads and i will throw in one of the aurifloss too because they are way too pretty not to share and i am nice like that.

just leave a comment to be with a chance of winning. if you use aurifil already just tell me what your favourite colour is, which weight you prefer or something about it that you like. if you have never tried it just tell me that!

please leave an email where i can contact you if you are a no reply commmenter, should you win.

Good Luck!

stocking up...

 It's all very well at this time of year focussing on gift buying and making that we all need to do, but are you remembering to look after Number 1 and making sure you have plenty of supplies to keep you occupied over the festive break??

First up, very exciting news, you can pop along to the imminently opening bricks and mortar The Village Haberdashery this weekend. How exciting is that?! From these sneak peak photos it looks delicious! I used to live at number 15...my hubs is quite relieved we are now over 200 miles away!

If you can't get down there Annie's online shop is still open for ordering all her usual scrummy stock including the fabulous new line Splendour. I quite fancy a bit of that.

Also out and about with new things to entice you for Christmas crafting is Aurifil threads at M is for Make. I am dying to try these wonder threads out that everyone is raving on about. Also newly in at HQ M is for Make is the new line from Birch Fabrics, Camp Modern. I just love the colourways of this collection and the designs. It shouts winter wonderland to me and if you haven't used these organic fabrics before, believe me you will love them. They are so crisp and a pleasure to sew with.

 Fancy a little dress making this holidays? Alice at Backstitch has a wonderful array of patterns newly in, including the fabulous Washi Dress which is at the top of my list. I'm also very keen to make the Briar Sweater and T Shirt. I think it will be one of those "have to have for every day of the week" tops. Alice has also just got in a couple of the new By Hand London patterns. The Elizalex dress looks perfect if you need to quickly rustle up a special little something. 

The latest collection in at Seamstar is Aneela Hoey's cuter than cute Sew Stitchy. Absolutely perfect for sewing up a few last minute forgotten gifts. Don't forget to check out  Courtney's Christmas Shop for other wonderful Christmassy fabrics and trimmings to dress your gifts.