I work with a lot of people in the embroidery community.  I work with names you will recognize and some you won't know.  Lindee Goodall is one of my favorite people.  Lindee (I love that name) is a no nonsense person who does multiple things in embroidery.  She teaches, she writes blogs and books, she digitizes and in her spare time, she enjoys meeting her fellow embroidery enthusiasts at events all around the USA and beyond! 

There is one thing that I know about 'enthusiasts,' they are enthusiastic!  There are many right here at AnnTheGran.  There is Diane Brown (you can check on this link to see how not to lose small items.) who is a caring wife, mother and grandmother.  She does a great deal for her family - - - does that sound familiar to any of YOU?

My personal favorite it Debbie SewBlest.  Click to see her ideas for holiday giving to a child's teacher.  She has only been blogging for a little over a year but she is truly a great idea person.

Then there is Eileen Roche, Click on that link if you miss her blog on 12 house hold items that make great tools for embroidery.  She runs the Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine, Stitchin Sisters Events and still makes time for AnnTheGran.  Super Woman!!!

Here are my observations, in no particular order, from my own projects and my SWF, 15 needle machine.  Remember, we are seeking some information regarding Rayon v. Polyester:

• Everyone can and/or will have a little different experience with their project -
• Thread is one of the culprits that will make things go well or badly -
• Every machine has its own personality which is very human-like, sometimes kind and sometimes a little unkind -
• Some of us buy thread that is 'on sale.'  The 'sale' can mean many things (not limited to just these):
  • The company wants to sell a new variety of its products -
  • The company (my personal favorite) has taxes due and needs funds -
  • The company knows the thread is a bit on the old side, making it on the dry side -
  • Or a lot of other reasons.
• Many of us have both rayon and polyester in our stashes of thread.

Here is where the serious question of rayon v. polyester comes in.  Let's say you are doing a design that has multiple colors which you can match.  However, some are rayon and some are polyester. 

Here are two roses with similar colors but the left is done with Rayon and the right was done in Polyester.  It was done with the recommended tension and the appropriate stabilizers.  The polyester may have looked just fine in the hoop but upon removal, the stretch of the thread and fabric just might result in some puckering. 

Frankly, many people don't notice puckering unless it is pointed out to them.  Many people are not 'schooled' in what good embroidery should look like.  After all, some of their grandmother's hand embroidery may have puckered as well.  She actually may have not been perfect either!

Imagine how a project might look if you were mixing thread types!  I do recommend that you stick with the best threads you can get.  The Internet has many places to get excellent thread.  I totally recommend getting 'thread sets' for a very important reason - they are color coordinated (saturation, hue, lightness, brightness and contrast) and blend beautifully together.  Take my word for it, not having good colors together can be just terrible.

This is a great set.  It is excellent for your holiday projects and beyond!!!

Just a last word, when was the last time you backed up your designs?????  Get to it!