Tag: Aurifil

My Aurifil Thread Collections Back in Stock and On Sale

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Good news for those wanting to purchase my Aurifil Thread collections: They are back in stock at shop.ChristaQuilts.com for just $99 plus shipping. This includes my new Variegated Collection as well as my Piece and Quilt Collections in Colors and Neutrals. Here’s what’s included in each:

The Variegated Collection

Variegated collection by Christa Watson

Variegated collection by Christa Watson

PIECE AND QUILT Varieagated INCLUDE:

3660 Bubblegum
3770 Stone Washed Denim
3817 Marrakesh
3840 French Lilac
3852 Liberty
3910 Lemon Ice
4150 Crème Brule
4250 Flamingo
4650 Leaves
4652 Licorice Twist
4654 Turquoise Foam
4667 Nutty Nougat

Piece and Quilt Collection Colors

PIECE AND QUILT COLORS INCLUDE:

2425 Bright Pink
2250 Red
4020 Fuchsia
2520 Violet
2130 Medium Butter
1133 Bright Orange
2920 Light Brass
2884 Green Yellow
2886 Light Avocado
1148 Light Jade
2725 Light Wedgewood
2783 Medium Delft Blue

Piece and Quilt Collection Neutrals

PIECE AND QUILT NEUTRALS INCLUDE:

2311 Muslin
5021 Bamboo
1246 Dark Grey
5007 Light Grey Blue
2326 Sand
2372 Dark Antique Gold (Brown)
2315 Pale Flesh
2405 Oyster
2024 White
2615 Aluminium
2605 Grey
4241 Very Dark Grey

Each collection includes 12 spools of 100% cotton, 50 weight, 2 ply threads with 1422 yards each They work perfectly for everything I do: piecing, quilting, machine, applique and binding.

Click here to purchase any of my thread collections while supplies last.

Color Weave Quilt Along Week 7 – Machine Quilting Random Crosshatch

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How is your quilt coming along? Remember, you can work at your own pace, so please don’t every feel like you have to “catch up!” Last week I discussed making a quilting plan and stitching in the ditch to anchor your quilt. This week we will complete the Random Crosshatch quilting.

Random Crosshatch Quilting

Here’s what it looks like after I’ve stitched in the ditch in both directions and am filling in randomly spaced lines vertically. My Aurifil variegated thread adds lots of texture and I’m not stressing out too much about whether the stitches are perfectly straight or all the same length. It’s more about enjoying the process!

Machine Quilting Random CrosshatchClick here to purchase yardage of the pink “Tracks” fabric from Abstract Garden.
I used the selvage as my label for this quilt!!

Because I quilted so densely, I started with 2 full spools of thread from my Auifil Variegated thread collection – one for the front and one for the backing in variegated colors that blend in with the quilt. Although I used up most of the spool, there’s still enough left that I can use for piecing my next quilt.

Machine Quilting Random crosshatch

I like to avoid marking my quilt as much as possible, so I’m using my  “divide and conquer” process which means I don’t quilt ALL of the lines in one area. Instead, I make several passes across the quilt in both directions, adding more and more lines until I’m happy with the way it looks.

Below are several videos I took of the random crosshatch quilting in progress where I’m adding additional lines of quilting. During an earlier pass across the quilt, I stitched about 1/4″ away from the ditch on both sides of the yellow fabric below. Now I’m using the previously stitched lines as a guide for no-mark quilting. I randomly changed my needle position so that the lines end up various distances apart as I go.

Doing this type of “irregular” quilting is much easier to do and gives a more interesting texture to the quilt. Next, this is what it looks like after I’ve added more passes across the quilt in both directions:

The pieced  texture is emphasized with the random spacing, and the variegated thread makes the whole quilt more exciting! It’s a really fun and forgiving machine quilting design to do. I recommend doing it over several days rather than trying to cram it all into quilting session. Here’s more eye candy quilting in progress:

And finally, here are some more detail shots of the finished quilting:

Quilting Random crosshatch

I love how the variegated thread adds a pop of color and dimension to the quilt!

Quilting Random Crosshatch

If you are ever unsure about your design – just add more quilting!!

Machine Quilting Random Crosshatch

Can you believe this quilt is nearly finished?! Next week, we’ll complete the quilt with fast and easy machine quilting – I can’t wait!

IMPORTANT LINKS

Click here to purchase the Color Weave Quilt Pattern – paper version
Click here to purchase the Color Weave Quilt Pattern – digital download
Click here to purchase the Abstract Garden strip roll
Click here to get my Aurifil thread collections
Click here for links to the previous quilt along posts
Click here to share your progress in my Facebook group

Quick Update on Aurifil Thread Kits – Get them for just $99

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Good news for those wanting to purchase my Aurifil Thread collections: I have them in stock at shop.ChristaQuilts.com for just $99 plus shipping. This includes my new Variegated Collection as well as my Piece and Quilt Collections in Colors and Neutrals. Here’s what’s included in each:

The Variegated Collection

Variegated collection by Christa Watson

Variegated collection by Christa Watson

PIECE AND QUILT Varieagated INCLUDE:

3660 Bubblegum
3770 Stone Washed Denim
3817 Marrakesh
3840 French Lilac
3852 Liberty
3910 Lemon Ice
4150 Crème Brule
4250 Flamingo
4650 Leaves
4652 Licorice Twist
4654 Turquoise Foam
4667 Nutty Nougat

Piece and Quilt Collection Colors

PIECE AND QUILT COLORS INCLUDE:

2425 Bright Pink
2250 Red
4020 Fuchsia
2520 Violet
2130 Medium Butter
1133 Bright Orange
2920 Light Brass
2884 Green Yellow
2886 Light Avocado
1148 Light Jade
2725 Light Wedgewood
2783 Medium Delft Blue

Piece and Quilt Collection Neutrals

PIECE AND QUILT NEUTRALS INCLUDE:

2311 Muslin
5021 Bamboo
1246 Dark Grey
5007 Light Grey Blue
2326 Sand
2372 Dark Antique Gold (Brown)
2315 Pale Flesh
2405 Oyster
2024 White
2615 Aluminium
2605 Grey
4241 Very Dark Grey

Each collection includes 12 spools of 100% cotton, 50 weight, 2 ply threads with 1422 yards each They work perfectly for everything I do: piecing, quilting, machine, applique and binding.

Click here to purchase any of my thread collections while supplies last.

Creative Spaces Blog Hop Week 5 – Organizing my Thread

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Are you having a fun time getting organized with your creative space? Even if you are only virtually following along, that can be tons of fun, too! Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for links to all 16 creatives on the Creative Spaces Blog Hop. I’m getting inspired, and hope you are, too!

Creative Spaces Blog Hop

This week we are discussing ways to organize our embellishments: buttons, trims, thread, and what have you. Here’s a not-so-secret truth about my work: I’m a minimalist and I don’t really embellish my quilts. (FYI, that’s why I find it hilarious that I named my current fabric line Fandangle  – a real, but silly-sounding word that means excess embellishment or ornamentation, LOL!!)

But anyway, back to today’s post! I choose to decorate my quilts with quilting and thread rather than bling them up with buttons or beads, so I’ll share a bit about the thread I love to use.


I love being able to get an exact thread match, no matter which fabrics I choose! This is an in-progress shot when I was making my modern Abacus wallhanging – (PDF pattern available here).

My favorite thread is Aurifil 50 weight cotton and I use it for everything: piecing, quilting, binding and machine applique. It comes in every color of the rainbow and I love mixing and matching thread colors to the fabrics I use.

During my last huge quilting cleanup I decided that it was high time to organize my thread stash. I sold or donated anything that wasn’t Aurifil and I keep all of my threads in plastic drawers sorted by color. The drawers are located in a shelving unit with doors so that the threads are kept away from heat and light (just like my fabric).

I have drawers full of Aurifil thread to choose from, sorted mostly into warm and cool hues.

The picture above is actually an older image that shows a small collection of other weights, too. But since then, I’ve gotten rid of those, too. I really only use 50 weight now for everything.

Aurifil Thread Squiggles

I love taking the time to “audition” my threads to see which will work best. Above is an image from a recent quilt along I did to showcase my first fabric line, Modern Marks.
Quilting it was just as much fun as sewing the top!

One of the main reasons I chose to simplify my thread stash is for purely logistical reasons. I didn’t want to have to keep track of all the different types of thread, in all the different sizes, and worry about which bobbin matches which thread!

Once I find something that works, I tend to stick with it and don’t really need to veer outside my comfort zone. Besides, since I piece and quilt with the same thread, I know what to expect performance-wise in each and every quilt that I make.

Aurifil Cotton Thread

If I’m not sure which thread to pick, many times I’ll choose a soft neutral with just a hint of color!
This is a detail shot of Modern Puzzle, one of the free quilt patterns I offer.

The nice thing about being able to piece AND quilt with the same thread is that I can always use up leftover quilting bobbins whenever I piece my next quilt, especially if it’s scrappy.

In fact, I’m so gung-ho on thread being able to do double duty that I curated a collection of my favorite threads with Aurifil – the Piece and Quilt Collection in Colors and Neutrals.

Piece and Quilt Aurifil thread by Christa Watson

My threads with Aurifil have been hot sellers for several years now because they cover all the basics! Want to go wild and colorful? Choose the Colors collection.

Piece and Quilt Neutrals Aurifil Thread from Christa Quilts

If you prefer to tone it down, choose the Neutrals collection. I love storing these in the Aurifil thread boxes, because that helps keep the clutter under control when it comes to thread!

I’ve been quilting with Aurifil exclusively since around 2013. I’ve tried many brands in the past, but none of them gave me satisfactory results. I tried other brands that friends raved about, only to be disappointed with how they performed in my machine. So my biggest piece of advice when figuring out what you like is to get a small spool, quilt it on a real quit and see what you and your machine like best!

How do you like to store YOUR threads, or other embellishments? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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Creative Spaces Blog Hop

Sparkling Stars Part 2 – The Quilt Top

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I recently made Sparkling Stars to help promote Fandangle, my brand new fabric line at spring quilt market. The pattern is currently available now in print or PDF.

Sparkling Stars in Progress

I decided to name this quilt Sparkling Stars as a nod to one of the prints I call “Sparkling Squares.” The collection name Fandangle means embellishment or ornamentation so I thought it would be fun for the fabric and quilt names to go with that theme.

Once the quilt blocks were sewn and pressed, it was time to sew them together to make the quilt top. This process went together rather quickly because I was able to refer to the image of the quilt top I had created in EQ8 for color placement, shown below.

Sparkling Stars Quilt Design

Here’s a tip when sewing lots of blocks into rows: sew the seams in opposite directions between blocks so that your blocks and rows don’t warp or bow to one side.

For example, refer to the top row in the image above. When sewing block pairs together, I kept the turquoise or teal blocks on top as I sewed the row together. There are a total of 4 vertical seams to sew per block row. By keeping the teal/turquoise on top, it ensured that I switched directions each time I joined the blocks.

Sparkling Stars by Christa Watson

After I completed the rows and added the borders, I pressed the entire top again from the front and back. Pressing often really helps ensure a nice flat top which is essential for successful machine quilting.

Hobbs quilt batting in cotton and wool

Whenever I make a quilt, I like to take a picture of the batting I’m using in the quilt so that I can remember what I used. For Sparkling Stars I chose Hobbs batting in cotton/wool.

This is one of my favorite battings for quilts that will be on display. The cotton gives the quilt drape and stability while the wool allows for good stitch definition and it doesn’t hold crease lines. I basted the quilt using basting spray and my design wall.

Click here for my spray basting tutorial.

Sparkling Stars Quilt PatternClick on the image above to enlarge

You can now purchase a copy of the Sparkling Stars quilt pattern. The PDF is available as an instant download through my Craftsy shop. The print version can be purchased now and will ship by the end of the month – once the boxes arrive from the printer. I can’t wait!!

Click here to purchase the PDF version of Sparkling Stars quilt pattern.
Click here to purchase the print version of Sparkling Stars quilt pattern.

Variegated Thread on Sparkling Stars

I chose Aurifil 50 weight variegated thread #4650 Leaves to quilt it since there was so much color. I’ve been experimenting with using variegated threads for machine quilting and really like them.

Stay tuned for part 3 where I show how I quilted it!

Lanterns Quilt – My Contribution to Rock Solid

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Have you seen the awesome new collaborative book from Martingale/That Patchwork Place and Robert Kaufman? It’s called Rock Solid, featuring 13 different quilt designs made from Kona Solids. My contribution, Lanterns, made the cover, so I thought it would be fun to tell you a little bit more about my quilt. But first, look at all that yummy solid goodness on the cover!

Rock Solid Cover

My quilt, Lanterns, was made from one roll-up (jelly roll) of my Christa Watson designer palette for Robert Kaufman, along with one roll-up of Kona coal. Aren’t they a smashing combination??

Lanterns by Christa Watson

I came up with the design while I was playing around in EQ7 (Electric Quilt software) on my Mac. I’m always designing and playing around with shapes and colors. I’ll usually start with a seed of an idea and then it branches off into a design on its own. The fun thing about my process is that I usually end up with at least 4-5 different variations in different stages of completion. Whenever I’m ready to finalize a new design, I start by looking through my “virtual sketchbook” first!

EQ7 design sketch for lanterns

As you can see, my virtual EQ7 sketch is very similar to the final quilt. Usually when I’m playing around, I’ll randomly color the quilt but I don’t worry about whether or not the colors end up in the exact same spot as designed. Just using the same swatches of color is good enough for me to get an idea of how the quilt will look.

Lanterns Quilt Path step 1

Step 1 – Stitch in the Ditch

When it’s time to plan out the quilting, I’ll print off the EQ7 sketch on paper and then start drawing possible quilting ideas. I know that you can actually draw quilting designs in the program, but it’s usually just faster and easier for me to draw it out by hand. 🙂

Lanterns Quilt Path step 2

Step 2 – Echo the Ditch

I usually make a quilting plan for each quilt I make because it’s much faster to draw out several ideas on paper, than try to dive into the quilt with no plan and then not like the results! I finally put a name to this process of  “finding your path” when my first Craftsy class came out earlier this year.

Lanterns Quilt Path step 3

Step 3 – quilt one design in the background between the blocks.

For the actual quilting I use another process I call “divide and conquer” where I break up the quilting into different segments and just attack one segment at a time. I teach this in my in-person workshops and I love seeing other students get it and start applying it to their own quilts!

Lanterns Quilt Path step 4

Step 4 – quilt a contrasting design in the blocks.

As you can see, my drawing lines are pretty wonky, but that’s okay – it’s the actual stitching that counts! Of course, I draw the designs on paper with contrasting ink so I can see them, but when I do the actual quilting, I use a blending 50 wt. Aurifil cotton thread. For this quilt I used just two thread colors – yellow for the blocks and gray for the background (both from my Piece and Quilt Collection).

Machine Quilting Detail from Lanterns by Christa Watson

Machine quilting detail – I can quilt better than I can draw!

I sure had a great time making my solid colored quilt.
Click here to see all of the quilts from the book and grab your copy!

Giveaway!! If you’d like to win an e-copy of this book, just leave me a comment letting me know if you’ve ever made a completely solid quilt before. If so – how did you like it? I’ll choose a random winner at 6 PM Pacific Time on Saturday, June 17th

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The Making of Diamond in the Rough Part 2 – The Quilting

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Click here to read about Part 1 – My design process for Diamond in the Rough.

Meeting up with Craftsy Acquisitions Editor at QuiltCon

Diamond in the Rough hanging at QuiltCon 2017. I’m with Linda Permann, my editor at Craftsy. I credit her with helping me put a name to the process I use to figure out how to quilt each quilt. It’s called “The Quilter’s Path.” Click here to register for my class of the same name.

Now I’m excited to tell you about how I quilted Diamond in the Rough, since that’s my favorite part of making any quilt! First of all, I printed off a copy of the EQ7 design on a regular 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper. (You can do the same thing by taking a picture of your quilt top and printing it onto paper – black and white is perfectly fine!!)

Machine Quilting Plan

This is the actual sketch I submitted to QuiltCon Magazine when it was accepted.

I always, always make a quilting plan before I quilt so that I can figure out the quilting path I’ll take to get it done. It’s like a puzzle – figuring out what designs I want to put where and how to maneuver around the quilt with the fewest stops and starts. I’m not too worried about scale here. I’m more interested in seeing how the texture of the quilting will look and where I may need to switch thread colors.

Of course, I have to sketch with black ink to see my design, so my quilting plan is pretty rough and quite stark when you look at it. However, from experience I know that I prefer to use a blending thread so that all you see is the overall texture, rather than the individual stitches.

Diamond in the Rough quilting detail

Overall, I’m really happy with how the quilting turned out. I’m just a little bummed that you can’t see the quilting in the black areas. I quilted a textural pebble design in the black triangles. Although I love the contrast of black and white, each time I quilt on black, I remind myself that it doesn’t show up as well as I would like. So I may need to use less black fabric in the future!!

I’m really happy with how the “Switchbacks” and “String of Pearls” quilting turned out in the white areas of the quilt. I teach how to quilt both of those designs in my book Machine Quilting with Style. It was super fun to combine them together in this quilt!

Quilting Detail on Diamond in the Rough

I used very dark gray, red, and white 50 weight cotton thread from my Aurifil Piece and Quilt collection for the machine quilting which I did all on my BERNINA. You can sort of see the pebble quilting on the top row of black diamonds in the image above.

Here’s a view from the back of the quilt where you can see the pebbles better. I normally use the same color thread in the top and bobbin so that any tension imperfections are not noticeable. However, since I didn’t want the dark gray thread showing up too strongly on the light back, I used an invisible thread in the bobbin when I quilted the pebbles. Here’s a tip: wind your bobbin slowly and only fill it half full!

Managing the quilt bulk while machine quilting

First I stitch in the ditch with the BERNINA dual feed before adding free-motion quilting.

Here’s the quilt in progress underneath my machine. I use a very technical process I call “scrunching and smooshing” to wrestle the bulk of the quilt. It’s really no more complicated that twisting and shoving enough of it out of the way so I can see what I’m doing. Here’s another tip: when working with a large quilt on a small machine, just remember you are only quilting about 5-6 inches of the quilt at any time, so it’s normal to stop and shift a LOT!!

QuiltCon 2017 Cover

Right now you can get a digital copy of my Diamond in the Rough quilt pattern in QuiltCon magazine. It includes the instructions for the piecing only, but when the rights revert back to me next year, I’ll release it on my own, most likely in multiple sizes with quilting suggestions.

I was pleased with the comments I received from the QuiltCon judges about the quilt:

  1. Strong offset focal point.
  2. Varied quilting motifs were well chosen and fit areas well.
  3. Strong geometric shapes create graphic visual appeal.

I’ve had at least one quilt in each QuiltCon and have yet to win a ribbon, but it’s still fun to get them accepted. In fact, the main reason I submitted this design for the magazine was that it was a guaranteed entry into the show. Since the other 5 I entered didn’t get in, I was really happy that this one did.

Diamond in the Rough by Christa Watson, at QuiltCon 2017

Making this quilt reminds me what I love most about the modern aesthetic: strong geometric forms, minimalist designs, and plenty of negative space for fun machine quilting. Although I love ALL quilts, making those on the modern end of the design spectrum truly make my heart happy!

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Pantone Quilt Challenge for 2017 – Featuring Greenery

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to help spread the word about the upcoming Pantone Quilt Challenge for 2017, featuring Greenery. In my opinion, it’s a much more palatable color than those that have been chosen the last couple of years!

Pantone Color of the Year Greenery

This year’s challenge is hosted by Rebecca Bryan of Bryan House Quilts and Sarah Elizabeth of No Hats in the House.  The basic idea is that you use Greenery to create a quilt and enter into one of 3 categories.

Pantone Quilt Challenge 2017 judges Carolyn Friedlander, Jennifer Sampou and Christa Watson I’m excited to be one of the judges along with Carolyn Friedlander and Jennifer Sampou.

There will be first, second, and third prizes for all the categories, plus several random “door prizes”. The deadline for all entries is May 29th. Check out either of their blogs (Becca’s and Sarah’s) for complete details. I can’t wait to see all of the amazing entries!

The first place winner in the Quilt Top category will win a box of my Piece and Quilt Thread Collection, courtesy of Aurifil.

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Aurifil Designer Block of the Month 2016 – A Finished Quilt!

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I’m pleased to share this beautiful quilt finish by Pat Sloan, an all around amazing person and coordinator of the Aurifil Designer of the Month Series.

Aurifil Designer of the Month 2016 Quilt

If you are just now finding out about this, you can get each of the free block patterns here including those for 2017!

Pat has also created instructions to make the layout here.

My block is the improv star shown on the first row on the right.
Improv Star block for Aurifil

Click here to get the free download to make this block pattern.

I am a huge fan of Aurifil thread. In fact, I use 50 weight cotton thread for everything I do – piecing, quilting and binding. I released my first thread collection with Aurifil at the end of last year. It’s appropriately named the Piece and Quilt Collection.

Piece and Quilt Aurifil thread by Christa Watson

I’m super excited to be working with Aurifil on an exciting adventure coming up next year. I hate to be a tease, but I’ll let you know more about it soon, so stay tuned!!!

Click here to get my Piece and Quilt Collection in Colors or Neutrals.

Piece and Quilt Neutrals Aurifil Thread from Christa Quilts

When you make the Aurifil Designer of the Month quilt, click here to share it on Pat’s site!

finsihed-aurifil-quilt-2016-with-pat-sloan

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My Aurifil Thread Collections are Now Available

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One of the biggest reasons for going to quilt market this year was to launch my Piece and Quilt Thread Collection for Aurifil. This has been a dream of mine a couple of yeas in the making and it feels so great to finally share them with the world!
christa-and-alex

Christa and Aurifil CBDO Alex Veronelli at Fall Quilt Market 2016

I first began using Aurifil 50 weight cotton back in 2013 after trying out numerous brands, thread weights, and fiber contents. After making dozens of quilts for publication and for family and friends, I can definitely say these threads are prefect for everything I do: piecing, machine quilting, machine applique, and binding.

My favorite thing about sticking with the 50 weight cotton for everything, is that I always have the right color on hand. Plus, any leftover bobbins from machine quilting can get used up when I piece my next scrappy quilt!

The Piece and Quilt Collection comes in both Colors and Neutrals and I really took my time choosing them. I wanted to make sure I offered enough variety that you could literally piece and quilt any quilt with just these two collections:
piece-and-quilt-colors-box
piece-and-quilt-colors-thread

Piece and Quilt Colors Include:

2425 Bright Pink
2250 Red
4020 Fuchsia
2520 Violet
2130 Medium Butter
1133 Bright Orange
2920 Light Brass
2884 Green Yellow
2886 Light Avocado
1148 Light Jade
2725 Light Wedgewood
2783 Medium Delft Blue

piece-and-quilt-neutrals-box

piece-and-quilt-neutrals-thread

Piece and Quilt Neutrals Include:

2311 Muslin
5021 Bamboo
1246 Dark Grey
5007 Light Grey Blue
2326 Sand
2372 Dark Antique Gold (Brown)
2315 Pale Flesh
2405 Oyster
2024 White
2615 Aluminium
2605 Grey
4241 Very Dark Grey

Color selection tips:

  1. When you don’t have an exact match, go a shade or two lighter with your thread. A lighter thread on a darker fabric will blend in better than a darker thread on a lighter fabric.
  2. Use very dark grey instead of black on black fabrics so you can see the texture of the thread rather than having it disappear.
  3. Use the darker neutrals when piecing dark or very highly saturated fabrics.
  4. Try out the lighter neutrals like oyster and bamboo (in addition to white and muslin) when piecing lighter to medium colored fabrics.

both-collections

Ask for my Piece and Quilt Collection at your favorite quilt shop, or get them directly from me at ThePrecutStore.com. I look forward to seeing what you make with them!