Silk Thread & the Double Wedding Ring Quilt

I'm gathering my supplies in preparation for starting the Double Wedding Ring quilt for the The Classic Double Wedding Ring with Gail Kessler Craftsy class.  That's always the first step for me and helps me to get mentally ready to begin a big project.

One of the specialty things recommended by Gail Kessler which I didn't have was silk thread for the applique.  I've never used silk thread before and had no idea what kind or colour, or how much, to buy.  Fortunately, Gail had everything I needed in her shop, Ladyfingers Sewing Studio.  She recommended the shades best suited to the Downton Abbey fabrics and said two spools of each should be adequate.  I'm very excited to try such fine thread but hope I don't get too hooked as it's a little pricier than regular cotton thread.  I'm sure I will feel very posh using it though!

I also grabbed a pack of these 60/8 Microtex Sharp machine needles by Schmetz.  They are the finest available as I understand and are perfect for the silk thread.  They will make just the tiniest hole in the fabric.  I'm a bit nervous with all the applique I will be doing adhering the 'rings' to the background fabric, but I'm also very pumped to do it!  I plan on going slowly to ensure the blanket stitch falls in just the right places.

For the basic piecing, Gail suggested a neutral Aurifil thread.  Since I'm already the biggest fan of Aurifil thread I had no problems adding a couple of spools of her preferred colour for this project.  It's super close to what I already have but since I know I will use up any leftover thread, and I wanted to get an exact match to the background fabric, I ordered two spools of that too!  (Really, it's just beautiful thread and this seemed like a good excuse to get some more!).

Now I'm all set to begin.  I have all my required quilt components in a new, larger tote (I've had to resort to storing them under my counter!) and once I have my last two quilts finished (Spools needs quilting, Swoon needs a bit more time to complete), I think I'll be ready to start work on the Double Wedding Ring.  As I said, I will take it one step at a time and not rush to get it all finished before starting any other project(s).

I want to add that I used the 'chat' feature on Ladyfingers Sewing Studio website and ended up having a lovely conversation with Gail's son.  He was incredibly attentive and helpful as I tried to assemble my order.  He checked stock and made recommendations and even checked a couple of things with Gail for me to ensure I was ordering the right products.  It was so fun to 'talk' to him and he made sure to ship my order asap!  I received the whole kit 'n kaboodle in no time at all, in perfect shape.  (I ordered glue too, which I'll talk about in another post).  Definitely check out Gail's on-line shop and if you are taking the Double Wedding Ring class too, she's got all the notions you'll need to complete the quilt.

Comments

[Maureen]

So the applique is a machine stitch? I don't think either of my machines would do a blanket stitch... maybe the Janome does... What do you do if you only have a straight stitch machine?