Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Big Thread Love


The number one question I have been asked since first posting about my Work Quilt Series is "What type of thread are you using for the hand quilting?". I get asked this almost daily, and have lost count of the emails received. Suffice to say the thread has made an impression!


I put a lot of thought into what type of thread I wanted to use for these quilts. I knew I wanted certain elements... high quality and durability, 100% cotton, matte finish, beautiful and wide color range, and thick enough that it showed well on the surface of the quilt, but thin enough that it could easily pass through the eye of a hand quilting "between" needle and go through the various layers with ease.


I decided to use Sulky® Premium 100% Egyptian Cotton Threads, as it had all the elements I wanted. I have not been disappointed. In fact I have been so happy with the product and viewer response, that last week I decided to write a Thank You letter to the Sulky folks. I wanted them to know how much I loved their product and also showed them some pictures of my quilts so they could see how I incorporated their lovely threads into my work.

Later that same day, I was delighted to hear back from Patti Lee, Vice President of Consumer Relations for Sulky of America. Her prompt and personal reply to my letter only made my admiration for this company better. (How wonderful to know that the personal touch still exists in at least one large company.)

But here is the best part... Just look at what came in the mail today...


A Sulky Slimline Storage Box...


Chock full of 42 gorgeous Sulky Premium Cotton Threads!


Patti was beyond kind... Generously gifting me these delectable Sulky Cotton Blendables in 12 wt. to try out in my quilts!!! I feel like I won the lottery, and am beyond excited!


Previously I have only tried the solid thread colors, and Patti thought that I might also enjoy trying these beautiful Blendables...

I can barely wait to get started and I know they are going to look fabulous against the shot cotton fabrics in my Work Quilts! I am truly blown away by this gift, and deeply appreciative.


If you would like to try some of these Sulky Premium Cotton Threads in your own work, and are unable to find them where you live, you can purchase them here on-line at Speed Stitch and/or Uncommon Thread

P.S. Thank you for all the well wishes in regards to my daughter. Happy to say that after several rough days, M. is feeling much better and went back to school today. xo

50 comments:

Cheryl Arkison said...

Wow, that is quite the thank-you!
I've used the Sulky threads a lot for machine quilting. It requires a bigger needles, but quilts nicely.

RosaMarĂ­a said...

you are such lucky women! (i'm a little jelaus!) i LOVE that threads and i used some of those blenders in my quilts before, and it REALLY looks beautiful!
btw, great and colorful photos!

Abby and Stephanie said...

Way to go Sulky! Terrific for you! I love a good story from a BIG company.

dutchcomfort said...

You lucky duck! That thread looks beautiful.

I thought the word sulky had a negative meaning.... not in this case!

Jennifer said...

Those are gorgeous colors! And so generous of the company to send your way too!

Audrie said...

That's amazingly generous! The blendable colours look so lush... I'm going to have to hunt some down!

Anonymous said...

Wow, lucky you. I have tried those threads just in some fun stitching and I love the blended colors...

innBrooklyn said...

Oh those threads are really amazing - I could look at your photos of them for hours! I am going to check if they carry them at my local quilting store!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh - those are SOOOOOOO beautiful. Even BSP said "She's a LUCKY girl!" and you are. Also, a deserving one. :)

Congrats on the lovely gift!

mandbrid said...

Wow. How much fun are you going to have?!?! Thanks for letting me know what thread you use...I can't wait to try it out! Have a great try with the blended threads - I used one recently (different brand though) while machine quilting and I LOVED it.

9patchnurse said...

Wowee! You must write quite the thank you note, lol. So nice of Sulky, and I'm going to buy some of their thread to reward their generosity. Guess you will have to make another work quilt, huh? I'm glad your daughter is feeling better.

Kirsten said...

That's wonderful!

Unknown said...

Victoria, Oh my gosh, I missed your post about your daughter, so I just went back and read it. What a scary, scary thing! I am so glad she is better now and I bet you are feeling better too. I can totally empathize with you on this one. My heart goes out to you. But on the bright side, now that she is better, you have some absolutely, wonderfully, gorgeous new threads to play with. You will love them I know it!! I have a thread thing too. You will love working with variegated thread not only are they fun, but they really can kick up the look of a quilt a notch or two.

Darlene said...

Lucky you! All those beautiful spools of thread in all those lovely colors. You're going to have so much fun.

I've never used Sulky thread, as I didn't even know they made cotton thread. But after seeing those pictures, I'm definitely going to try it.

Brenda said...

lovely lovely lovely colours. lucky you!

Penny Nickels said...

Holy Cats! I'm totally jealous! Do you just want to roll around with them? I do. Lucky Lady! I can't wait to see what you do with them!

Verte Adélie said...

Wow! It's a wonderful gift, I'm sure you'll turn it into even more beauty. Glad to know that your daughter is better...

Ann Champion said...

Congratulations! Your work is certainly a good advertisement for Sulky's thread. I hope you'll point out the variegated thread when you use it? I'd love to see how it looks.
It's so nice to hear of a company that appreciates it's customers. :)

So happy to know M is feeling better. What a scary event!

LJ said...

How generous and kind! I love variegated thread myself!

Lisa said...

Wow! That is like winning the lottery! How nice :)

karen said...

I have only been following your blog for six months and only "lurk". So I'm here today to tell you that I really enjoy your work. I always read your blog on google reader, so am not certain that the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote has always been there. It's worth rereading today. I feel certain that you not only are deserving of these fantastic threads but will also make wonderful use of them! k

Anonymous said...

Ok, first off, I'm glad to hear that your daughter is doing so much better!

Second, those photos of the thread are GOREGEOUS!!! And third, how great is it that a large company has such great customer service?! Your quilt is divine so I'm not surprised that they were impressed.

I was working on hand quilting a baby quilt for my little boy a few months ago, but got so fed up with the thread breaking that I haven't finished it yet. I bought it at a quilting shop and they recommended it. I don't know what went wrong. Sorry, got off the topic there! Congrats on your unexpected "treat"!

http://minivanlife.wordpress.com

pklaw said...

The sight of all that wonderful, colorful thread made my heart go pitty pat and then I thought of all YOU can do with it and I got a little light headed! Love your work and can't wait to see what wonderful pieces you will create!

Jude said...

Gosh, that is some thank you...
What a lucky lady you are!
Take care

Allie said...

Wow, how generous!!!! Those are so beautiful. I'm going to have to find them!

zarina said...

The thread is quite expensive but late 2008, one of the shop had a sale on them. Bought enough for a queen size of every stock they had. Used it to FMQ on my second quilt. Had a bit of trouble but was remedied by adjusting the tension and the needle size. Now am experiencing with Valdini overdyed thread.

Nina Lise@Mrs Moen said...

Wow, Victoria, congratulations with all those glorious threads!

Dee / Cloth Company said...

your post comes at a moment when I am wanting to know more about threads, so just great...

and, yes, a wonderful gift, gift, gift, but one that was earned/inspired by your amazing body of work...

patty a. said...

What a wonderful gift! I can't wait to see what you do with them. So nice that sulky can really see how talented you are with the way you use their thread.

Tonya Ricucci said...

gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. you *did* win the lottery.

Caterina Giglio said...

appreciation is everything and now of course we all must have that thread! way to go!

rosie/the fabric shopper said...

Woo Hoo That is a fantastic way for them to say thank you, great job, your work is beautiful, can't wait to see what you do with these!!! :-)

And, I can't wait to see, too!

Suzanne Kistler said...

What a fantastic gift!!! And what a great investment! I have a few spools of 12 wt Sulky, but haven't known what to do with them. Now I do!! Thank you so much for the inspiration and sharing your information!!

picciolo said...

wow they are beautiful! Epecially the blended ones. They look gorgeous all stacked together like that. What an amazing gift. And I'm glad your daughter is on the mend too
: )

Elaine Kiziah said...

Gorgeous colors! I'd want to just frame the spools of thread and hang them on my wall. :) I think you'll put them to better use than I would, though...

Fleur de Boheme said...

My goodness these threads are fantastic! And such pretty pictures - eye candy!!

Fer said...

WOW!!! That's so impressive, it must have felt like Christmas!

Glad to hear M. is feeling better too.

Kristin L said...

Awesome on all counts!

wishes, true and kind said...

Those threads are absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely give Sulky a try.

Anonymous said...

Those gorgeous colors make even a non-sewer want to pick up a needle. Beautiful photos, Victoria, enjoy your goodies, can't wait to see what you make.

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

How generous! I can't think of a more deserving quilter- I am sure your sincere thank you warmed their heart.

Amy C said...

oh my goodness, those pictures are just stunning love those rich fantastic colors, makes me want to sew even though I am not very good at it.

High Desert Diva said...

Wow!

How cool. Love the thread.

XUE said...

I have been using blendables & rainbow hues for awhile.....because I am lazy to change spools or re-thread. It is very mesmerizing to watch these threads spinning & the colours changing when making the bobbins. So glad that you have something cheery & colourful to brighten up your days after that scary time!

Anonymous said...

I want you to know that I have a Beautiful Blogger Award at my blog "spot" for you if you want to come and pick it up.

http://dosfishes.blogspot.com/2010/03/lovely-gift.html

stephie @ narrative self said...

This story made me smile so much. I needed that today, thank you :)

Jacky said...

Thread heaven!!! I use the sulky variegated threads too and just love them!
It's so nice to hear a positive story too...well done Sulky!

Jacky xox

Craft-aholic said...

I had serious thread envy after seeing these spools and finding out that you could in fact use it to machine quilt. I picked up 8 spools, mostly the blendable kind you showed here at my recent trip to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. My first efforts at using for machine quilting have been a little frustrating, even though I also bought the recommended needles. I love the colors so much I am not going to give up! Thanks for sharing your wonderful work.

Val Miller said...

so pretty .. now I am going to have to get me some!

Karen said...

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you!!!