Thursday, February 25, 2010

Introduction with some questions!

Hi! My name is Tarrah Miller from http://indiantrailpottery.blogspot.com/ and I finally ordered and received this great book! I live in Pa, and yes we still are getting snow! Anyway, I am so excited to start, but yet hesitating because I do have quite a few questions....I will get to those in a minute. Let me first say that all of you are a great inspiration and all of these pictures of your blocks look fantastic! Thank you Brenda for putting together this great blog and allowing us to freely chat about our progress and ask for ideas and help when needed! :)
I have read every post and I still have a few beginning questions...trust me, I will have sooooo many more when I truely get started, but in the meantime, here it goes: ok, I know JoAnn suggests using valdani variegated pearl cotton size 8 for the stitching...where do I find this, and do you all really recommend buying this? I have never used it before and I wasn't sure if this was the next best thing to chocolate or what?! LOL!!! :) Also when you lay your wool out onto your blocks, how are most of you attaching them to each other, hand sewing or machine, or are you just fusing them down and they are then held down by your nice crazy stitches? I need to get all my materials and supplies, so I won't start yet, but I need to understand it all first and then hope to really get moving on it.
Thanks in advance for all your help!
Tarrah

7 comments:

Sandy said...

Wow, you're really going to have fun. I laid out my wool pieces and just overlapped 1/4 inch and basted them to the backing and batting. As I do nice stitching I take out the basting. And yes, I have some Valdani perle cotton and really like it. It's nice thread and there are nice colors. I already had some and found more on Etsy. I have size 5 and size 8, with the 8 being easier for me to use as it's thinner and goes through the layers easier. The heavier thread I'm using for small areas or for an accent somewhere that's easy to get to. Hope this helps.

Kelli said...

Welcome! You are in for a fun ride - there is so much sharing here which is really great for inspiration and encouragement. I laid out my wool pieces with approximately 1/4" overlap, then pinned it all in place so I could make sure I liked it before I basted it. Then I basted each seam like Sandy (above) did - I did it by hand so I could smooth out any bumps. As I begin to do the decorative stitching, I will remove my hand basting. I am using the #5 Pearle Cotton by DMC because I want a thick, rustic look. Happy sewing!

Jeanne said...

I am planning on using different threads depending on what I am doing. I have some great Wool Crewel thread that I want to use to make it more "Crazy Quilt" looking and probably some silk ribbon in some places. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Brenda said...

Welcome aboard! The Pearle cotton #12 is a great size for decorative stitching and will go through all three layers with a bit more ease than the #8, which is a bit thicker. You'll need a nice big chunky needle for the #8, of you choose to go with that thickness. I do like the #8 but I don't think my hands could take that much poking and pulling so I'm going to go with the #12.
I will be offering the Wool Crazy Sampler threads in a #8 soon. I am waiting on three colors that are back ordered by the manufacturer so the distributor doesn't have them yet.
I would suggest you try the #12 threads first, if you're not sure which one is for you. It really is a matter of personal preference. I have worked with both and
I tell you,#12 is my favorite. =)

JAM said...

Hi...Thought I'd put my 2 cents in too. I am partial to #8 because I like the stitching to show more...after all that hard work you want something everyone can see...:) Valdani has great variegateds....they vary amongst a range of color usually. I do use #12 for whipstitching when I have a good match in that size and not in #8....Hope you have lots of fun.

tarrah said...

Thanks for all your comments and help. I am really excited for this project...especially when I see all your pictures and when I open up JoAnn's book (for like the thousandth time)! LOL!! I need to start gathering some supplies now! Talk with you all soon! Tarrah

LindaB. said...

Have been reading all the great comments and so appreciate these blogs. Was wondering if you could use a regular wool batting as your base? Sometimes the W&N is kind of thick to needle through. Have just ordered my bag of scraps and was fortunate enough to meet JoAnn several years back while she was teaching Wool Crazies. Could not wait for the book to be published, it is awesome!!!! LindaB.