Quilters and Machine Embroiderers - Their Common Threads

I've been invited to Blog about quilting for ATG. I’ve used LaRueSews as a nickname because I do all kinds of sewing. But maybe sometime it will change or morph into something more "quilty."* My name is LaRue Jones. (LaRue is spelled with a big "R"). I was born in ... [More]

Time flies, whether you're having fun or not.

Time flies, doesn't it? First I had a house full of kids. Then I had a car full of kids. Then my nephew in Tallahassee had a boat full of kids. Then I had a car full of kids again. Then I had no kids. Then I got on an airplane and spent 4 days in Kentucky with my youngest grandson, 3 1/2, who sa... [More]

Recent Changes and New Features - The Magic Bookshelf Under Construction

Expanding Bookshelf Hard to believe, but it's only been four months since my inaugural post here on the Magic Bookshelf. I've covered blogs, wikis, digital scrapbooks, tags, product ratings, and lots of other topics, and some great ideas have come back from you. The idea of this blog was to... [More]

Of course I like green but what’s this KIWI craze really all about?

Now, what is all this about green paper?  This was my initial thought when I first heard the term KIWI paper.  Oh, its paper and you can supposedly embroider on it.  We've all done that before but it is so hard to find really fun designs that don’t ruin the pa... [More]

Grandchildren, gotta love 'em!

Here it is July already. Where in the world has the year gone? One place it went was lickedy split right by me and until today I hadn't seen any of my grandchildren since Christmas, two of them since before Christmas. But today was delicious. DD's 3 oldest are in Florida for the month with t... [More]

Hand Cross Stitch leads to Machine Embroidery Cross Stitch

With so many gorgeous designs available in machine embroidery, why choose Cross Stitch?  Don’t Cross Stitch designs take forever to stitch? What about all those thread changes and jump stitches that need to be clipped? These are all legitimate questions for machine embroiderers. My name is Don... [More]

Time to Get Comfortable - Making the Magic Bookshelf Your Own

Digital Hugs  People are really starting to have some fun in our community. Many of you are taking advantage of some of the great features that make it possible to really share yourselves and the results of your creativity. A number of you have commented on the blogs and fo... [More]

Does size matter? Well, that all depends.

Size matters if you have a design that’s 5 inches wide and your largest hoop is 4 inches wide. Size matters if you want to make a border along the edge of a tablecloth. Size matters if you want to combine two or three designs, each the size of your largest hoop, into one big design. Firs... [More]

When you need really BIG letters

Hello, all ME blog readers.  I got to know many of you at this year’s Community Circle in Orlando. If you were there and don't remember me, there's a picture of me on our About Us page. I also post from time to time in the forums under my username db1921 and I created the cof... [More]

What's in a name (tag)?

A while ago I nudged y'all a little about forming local "Community Circles" so you could get together once in a while to have lunch, chat, make projects and generally help each other out. Believe me, it was NOT my doing, but the "How many live in Central Florida?" thread has ... [More]

Fathers and Dads and Daddies and Grandpas and Poppies, oh my!

This one's for you, DaddyWhen I was small we didn't have a lot of money. Sometimes I don't think we had any. As time went on my parents incomes improved. But they didn't really change their lifestyle very much. Oh, the year I left for college they did carpet my bedroom (which had bec... [More]

GETTING ORGANIZED...or one can at least hope!

HH ME’ers!!!, (Hello Hello, Machine Embroiderers)Just back from a glorious trip to the beach. Yeah!!!! While there, I came to the conclusion that before I take another embroidery class in order to blog about it,I needed to …… Whoa! …… Stop!......... & GET ORGANIZED!!! I needed to:1.  &... [More]

Lace - The Ultimate Beginner's Project

Hear Ye’ Hear Ye’ …STOP the PRESS ….  The ULTIMATE Beginner’s Project is………….. LACE!! HH ( Hello Hello )  all you fellow ME’ers!!! I have been shopping up a storm!... and MEing too…. Speaking of shopping, Ann’s store has some good specials right now!!!!! Have you gone to her ‘shop' ... [More]

A Whirlwind of a Week - AnnTheGran in Toronto

It feels as if I was just packing for this trip and here I am home again! Bill and I had a fabulous time in Toronto. First and foremost it was a delight to have a 3rd annual "Spring Fling" with our dear friends Loes and Theo van der Heijden from the Netherlands. Second, it was wonderful to... [More]

Fun in the Magic Bookshelf - What's Your Idea?

Recent Brainwave   Believe it or not, it only occurred to me very recently that, with all the wonderful things available on our new site, we had never actually asked our loyal users where they want us to go next. I’ve told you on my blog here what we’ve planned, but I haven’t asked you w... [More]

Even If I can't Hoop it, I can Embroider it!

Hi, folks,  Had another great question in last week's post from gpleasant, who asked how to hoop towels, under and over. I can tell you how I hoop towels. Bath towels are as liable to be viewed from the back as from the front, so I want both to look good. That means two things. First,... [More]

Great Embroidery Mysteries - The Case of the Messy Alphabet

  Digitizing Mystery  I began digitizing alphabets eight or nine years ago. I like doing it and I take a lot of pride in my work. You can imagine how distressed I was when I began receiving a few messages telling me that the capital and lower case letter "A' was appearing as a b... [More]

Tons and Tons of Questions - Who Has Answers?

HH (Hello Hello!) Fellow Embroiderers,  How are ALL of you??? What things are you doing these days???!!!!! How many NEW embroiders are out there like me. (I stitched my 1st design last week. Yeah!!!). It would also be interesting to find out who has embroidere... [More]

Introducing Crash Course Cathy...

Hello Hello fellow  AnntheGran Embroiderers & New Orlando Circle of Friends!!!! :):):), Who Am I?  For those of you who attended the VERY SPECIAL 1st annual AnntheGran's convention in Orlando in April, you may remember me...it was pretty hard to miss my loud scream and waving arm... [More]

But first, a word from our sponsor . . .

Okay, that would be me, but now that I've got your attention I want to first address a couple of questions that were posted in the comments from last week's post. I thought I'd answer them here, rather than there, because the answers might be of interest to many of you. For LolliConn, w... [More]

You Ruined My Brand New Silk Blouse!

Every now and then I'll receive an angry email that goes something like this: "I used one of the free designs from your site and it sewed out terribly and ruined my brand new silk blouse. Don't you sew out those free designs before you put them on your site?"Well the truth is that ... [More]

Sometimes the Third Time is the Charm...

Challenges & Lessons: So, I looked at the Laughing Cow box for a week. I picked it up. I measured it. I didn't want to do something with the box just for the sake of doing something with it. Now, this box is fairly flimsy. And shallow. Then I looked around for something that would fit in the... [More]
The Avid Embroiderer Presents - Thread gets into everything! - And a Mom's dilemma

The Avid Embroiderer Presents - Thread gets into everything! - And a Mom's dilemma

If thread is the life blood of embroidery, then messed up thread will be the headache for your whole set up. 

There are some tips for your consideration -
  •  Thread needs to be kept away from - - - the sun, kids, animals, and in some cases, other various adults.
  •   It needs to be fresh. That fantastic 'sale' is likely to be thread that has been around for a long time.
  •  Never (well almost never) use rubber bands, tight wrapping, or paper clips. (Don't do what I have done in my example.)
  • Dropping a spool will have some pressure/dent on the thread that becomes flat. These also are often in 'sale' bins. Flat thread, despite seeming minor, can cause missteps in your machine and/or small flat spots in your design. That may be small, but the 'devil is in the details.'
  • IMHO, I use spray silicone on thread. It will assist in keeping it fresh, drying resistant and smoothly running through your machine. 

The first photo is the silicone I use, click on the photo go find these online. It is 11 ounces and sells for around $8.00. ($0.73 per ounce)

The second photo is specifically for sewing needs (??).  It is 13 ounces and $18.00. ($1.38 per ounce)
 

The facts are that silicone is silicone. They are all alike. There is no specific weight and, unlike the popular 'oil' spray. Silicone does NOT leave anything behind but a smooth, slick surface. The oil type leaves oil, stains, and collects dust.

Silicone is - 
  • Dry, odorless, colorless, non-staining, and waxless
  • Stops squeaking, sticking, and binding
  • Saves time, protects and preserves equipment 

Getting back to thread, this happened to me late one evening. I got up from my machine, made a 90 degree left turn; went up the stairs which has a 180 degree turn also to the left; entered my bedroom at a 180 degree right angle and slept for the night. When I got up in the AM and discovered that a thread had attached itself to me (I don't know how). It had accompanied me all night without my knowledge. Thread is strong, this was a 40# embroidery spool. Pinkie swear, it happened. 

I have a 'cone' spool of thread that I can no longer identify. I don't know the brand or exact color. I had tried to replace it with other golden colors. I have never been able to find the same luster, hue and beautiful color. This thread is dazzling in person. Here is a peak at a IRL (in real life) thread.


Alas, I managed to drop it and the bottom broke off. Scads of thread unwound immediately. Here is my, almost good, solution. 

First,  don't wait, pick it up immediately and gently. I did not and the unwinding became the monster that ate Brooklyn. I threw away a lot of it before I started working on a solution.

.

The next thing is to take a firm piece of fabric or paper, and create a faux spindle to hold the loose thread. It needs to be long enough to keep any loops from the spool in place. 



Here is where I ran out of ideas. The left over loops were difficult to keep in alignment. I placed a binder clip to hold them securely. In the above tips, I noted NOT to use something tight. But, I am at a loss as to how to hold those unsecured coils. If someone has a suggestion for holding that spot, please let me know in the Comments below. I will be forever in your debt. 

  •  For my last tip, you will want to see this video by Deborah Jones on tying thread on a spool.  It is 1 minute 27 seconds that will help you tame your threads. Tie off video.
Here is the Freebie this time, this is something every Mom knows well. As a wall hanging, pillow or on a kitchen towel, this is one fun thought for the whole family. Every Mom has a super-power, finding the lost, adrift and wandering items of the Universe.

Note: Because the Mom is very dense, I recommend using a adhesive heavy weight cut away stabilizer. It is not suitable for a light weight or loosely woven fabric. 




I am fortunate to be able to come to you with my ideas, tips, tricks and Freebies. My very best wishes to each of you!

Comments (1) -

Thank every one of my readers. I love doing my blog. I actually do about 40+ hours of each but it is a labor of love - and appreciation to YOU ❣

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

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