STORAGE IDEAS FOR YOUR THREAD |  aurifil artisan topic

This month Aurifil has asked of their Artisans to talk "Storage".

Now, if you have been here for a while you will know that I have shared many photos of my sewing spaces over the years and I find it a space that has evolved with me and the size of the space I have at any given time.

Approximately 7 months ago we moved which meant that I had the opportunity to 'refine' my space again.  I find if I have a messy or cluttered creative space my mind is 'muddled' and if I have a clean(er) space, my mind and creativity reflects this.  

Anything new that comes into my space is given and home and I try to be disciplined that it goes back to that space when I have finished with it. Well, that is the plan :)

This is one side of my current space. What you can not see is my computer desk along a blank wall and the end of my cutting table on the far wall that is also the home of my Brother Scan N Cut.

I have two of these height adjustable tables (from Officeworks here in Australia). One is my cutting table and the other is for my sewing machine, yes I stand to sew, and a little ironing station. My Raskog Carts from Ikea fit perfectly under my table. One stores a couple of crochet projects and the others have some secret sewing in them :)

What I would like to show you today though is my thread storage.

You will notice the blue draw units over in the back right hand corner (also from Officeworks here in Australia), they are where I store all my threads. Safely tucked away from direct sunlight, dust and my Pugs!  

Did you know that exposing thread to direct sunlight can cause a loss of strength in thread and can lead to spotting or fading of the thread colour, regardless of brand. Dust on your thread can also lead to tension and other problems with your sewing machine and no one wants that.

My threads are sorted by weight with each draw clearly labeled.

I also tend to buy small spools of coloured thread to keep on hand for projects as sometimes you never know what colour you might need. As these small spools become empty I replace them with a large spool of that colour. It is a great way to build a thread collection with a lot of variety. 

 When I am working on a project and have a selection of threads out, most of the time I like to keep them in pretty bowls or on plates. Totally unnecessary but seriously, they look so pretty like this so why wouldn't I :)

These are my recent purchase (above) - Aurifil 12wt in Cotton and they are an absolute delight to work with. I will share more of this project soon.

With my 80wt threads that I use for my English Paper Piecing though I like to keep them in this 'Bobbin Saver'. I find that it stops the thread from becoming unravelled, it holds the spool nice a snug and is convenient to throw in a project bag for when I take my sewing out with me so I have my most popular colours with me.

If you scroll up and look at the second picture in this post you will notice that I have a round red bobbin saver under the table of my sewing machine full of bobbins ready to go also.

One more tip for you before I go. Did you know that thread has a nap or grain? To explain this, think of your thread like a piece of wood.  If you were to run your hand along a piece of wood with the grain you most likely won't get a splinter, go against the grain and you will. Keep this in mind when you are threading your needle for hand stitching.  Try to remember to thread your needle from the end coming off your spool and knot the end that you are cutting. You will now be sewing with the Nap or grain of the thread and not against it. This can then reduce the chance of thread breaks.

I also like to use a Thread Balm. It provides a protective coating to the thread and can help reduce tangles. It helps thread glide through your fabric, especially if you are working with heavier weights and hand quilting.

Thank you for stopping by and until next time,

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

AURIFIL ARTISAN CHALLENGE | meet molly 

This year Aurifil Threads have set a series of challenges for their Artisans and as an Artisan we have the choice of which challenges we sign up for. The November challenge was a bag making!  Something a little outside of my comfort zone and the exact reason I choose to be a part of this one.

Aurifil partnered with Sallie Tomato to choose our pattern from and Therm-o-web would be supplying the interfacings. I teamed my pattern selection, 'Molly' with bag hardware in a gunmetal finish, gold fleck cork and two prints from Anna Maria's Conservatory Chapter Three "Wild" and all my topstitching was done using Aurifil 28wt in #2326 on my Brother Innovis VQ3000 sewing machine.

When it came to assembling the final bag some spots became quite thick with all the layers and my sewing machine took it all in her stride and I love the look of the Aurifil 28wt thread for the top stitching.

The gold fleck in the cork is subtle but when the light hits it, it give it just the right amount of bling!

I absolutely love how this bag has turned out and yes, before you ask, I did fussy cut the front and back panels.

On the inside I have added an extra swivel hook for my car keys and a "handmade" tag to the front to finish it all off. 

Not bad for a Saturday sewing session even if I do say so myself!  I am looking forward to adding this bag to my rotation of handmade bags.

Thank you Aurifil for the challenge, I have enjoyed my day sewing something a little different to what I would normally sew and I am looking forward to the next challenge.

Happy stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Quilt Big Book Tour

Quilt Big Book Tour

Maximum Impact, Minimal Time

Jemima had a super busy year last year and part of it was spent working on her second book.

In this book Jemima explores 'Bigger blocks for faster finishes', a concept I can totally get behind and today I get to share with you my make from her new book as part of the book tour. 

I decided to go with the ...

Lozenge Quilt

I would not normally sew with purple or yellow but I did and I LOVE it!

This combination of purples, yellows/mustards, pinks and blacks with the scrappy low volume background has set my heart aflutter.

The original quilt finishes at 72.5" x 84.5" My quilt finishes at 72.5" square and I quilted it with a serpentine stitch on my domestic machine. The quilting was also done in a purple Aurifil thread.

 

 

Everyone taking part in the Book Tour is listed below. 

Be sure to go visit them and see there makes as well.

28th Jan     Jemima Flendt - @tiedwitharibbon - www.blog.tiedwitharibbon.com

29th Jan     Melissa LeRay - @ohhowsweetco - www.ohhowsweet.com

30th Jan     Ange Hamilton - @alittlepatchwork - www.alittlepatchwork.wordpress.com

31st Jan     Nadra Ridgeway - @ellisandhiggs - www.ellisandhiggs.com

1st Feb       Alyce Blyth - @blossomheartquilts - www.blossomheartquilts.com

4th Feb       Lauren Wright - @mollyandmama - www.mollyandmama.com.au

5th Feb       Aurifil - @aurifilthread - auribuzz.wordpress.com

6th Feb       Amanda Castor - @materialgirlquilts - www.materialgirlquilts.com

7th Feb       Samantha Dorn - @aqua_paisley - www.aquapaisleystudio.com/blog

8th Feb       Sharon Burgess - @lilabellelane - www.lilabellelanecreations.com

11th Feb      Peta Peace - @shequiltsalot - www.shequiltsalot.com

12th Feb      Elea Lutz - @elealutz - www.elealutzdesign.com

13th Feb      Shannon Fraser - @shannonfraserdesigns - www.shannonfraserdesigns.ca

14th Feb      Saija Kiiskinen - @saija_elina - www.saijaelina.blogspot.com

15th Feb      Sedef Imer - @downgrapevinelane - www.downgrapevinelane.com

18th Feb      Kate Basti - @katebasti - www.quiltwithkate.com

19th Feb      Minki Kim - @zeriano - minkikim.com

20th Feb      Ayda Algin - @cafenohut - www.cafenohut.com

21st Feb      Elizabeth Chappell - @quilterscandybox - www.quilterscandybox.com

Giveaways

If you go and visit Jemima's post HERE you can go into the draw to win the complete

 "Quilt Big Thread Collection" pictured below.

... and if you visit my Instagram, look for @lilabellelane,  find my post going up sometime today of this quilt, leave a comment on that post and you will go into the draw to win these two spools of thread courtesy of Aurifil Threads.

Thank you for stopping by and happy stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Milk and Cookie - Week 2 Splendid Sampler

Welcome to week two of the Splendid Sampler Sew Along.

This weeks block is by Rebecca Bryan and is called.

Milk and Cookies

Do I love milk and cookies? No! You an take the  milk and I will take the cookies! 

 Just like my dessert, in my quilts I love simple pleasures like repeating shapes 

and secondary patterns. They go hand in hand, kind of like milk and cookies. 

Basic, but always scrumptious and satisfying. - Rebecca

Excuse my wobbly edges. I didn't use any appliqué paper or alike to keep the edges nice and curved and appliqué of circles is not one of my strong points!

As I mentioned last week I am sashing my blocks as I go and I plan on setting some of my blocks on point. The next picture shows this block with my sashing for it to be on point. 

If you would like any more details on the Splendid Sampler Sew along and to download this weeks block please visit the blog HERE. Every week Pat and Jane will be updating the blog and providing the link for the first 20 blocks in the lead up to the books release later this year.

Happy stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

How do you store your thread?

Continually evolving the studio .........

For the last 6 months I have been in the process of reducing and decluttering the studio. This has included all the cupboards that 'stuff' just gets placed in, rehoming old UFO's (unfinished objects) and taking a serious look at the fabric stash and making the decision that some just had to go.  It has been a very rewarding task. 

Some items have taken a while to get to the top of the clean out / re-home list but I do have to admit that the more I was cleaning out, the more I wanted to clean out. The process became easier and I found that I wasn't as attached the the 'items' like I once was. I was becoming happier about the reduced amount of 'stuff' that was laying around.

The photo below shows my sewing space back in January before I started the declutter and rehoming. The second photo shows it today. I have been able to eliminate one 8 cubed shelving unit, Lily was happy to receive that for her room, and replace it will a four cubed unit and place my two aqua filing cabinets on top. These used to live in the office but are much more functional out in the studio space as they held all my various English Paper Piecing papers.

With all this decluttering I have been rearranging things. I love this part, the patting of the fabric as you reconnect with the reason you purchased it in the first place and making plans to actually use it!  With all the rearranging more space became available and I was able to turn my mind to better storage. Top on my list was my thread.  Using thread as a 'decor' item is great, I love the colour and brightness that it adds to the studio and who doesn't love a thread rainbow!  BUT the dust. My thread was gathering dust, surely this can not be a good thing for a sewing machine right?

So I turned to Pinterest, as one does, looking for ideas. Then I looked to what I already had and could make use of. Those two aqua filing cabinets were originally full of various EPP Papers but now I have my Scan N Cut machine (which I absolutely love) I don't need to 'stash' papers like I did. Now I just cut them as I need them.  You can see from the photo above that one cabinet (the left one) doesn't have any white tags on it because it is now empty :)

Hello dust free Thread Storage.

In the top draw I have my Aurifil Floss.

In the next draws I have my sewing thread. 

I only use Aurifil thread in my sewing machine so it also makes more sense having it closer to my sewing machine.

  

If you would like more details on the aqua cabinets got mine from Officeworks

and all the details are HERE.

In my search for a thread solution I also visited the Aurifil Blog and found a little tutorial HERE on cutting up the Aurifil Thread card.  So this morning I also cut mine. It is going to make it a lot easier to colour match threads. I wish I had done this earlier.

I am now off to pick some new thread colours and maybe actually sew something,

 or I could finally cut up my Kona Solids Card! 

Happy stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here