Word is getting around that GRMQ

is the place to be on the first Tuesday of each month.  I walked in about 10 minutes before the start time and had to shift some beautiful quilts to sit!  How great it is!

I think at one point there were 25 quilters waiting for the meeting to begin.  It was a very good meeting as well.  It is amazing the talent  we have among our ranks.  

 Jan offered to present a quick lesson on threads.  Oh, boy!  It's no wonder why the quilts she has shown at previous meetings look so beautiful.  While looking so professorial at the podium, she took over like the pro she is.  Her employment with Superior Threads equipped her and anyone she coaches with so much knowledge.  With her various samples from Connecting Threads, Coats & Clark, Aurifil and Sulky she led us through the thread selection maze.  Quick notes include:

• Staple:  at the length of the fiber being twisted.  Longer the better for strength.
• Egyptian cotton:  not necessarily grown there, but seeds from the plant called Egyptian cotton produced the fiber;
• All of us who have inherited thread from our mothers and grandmothers know this but can't dispose of them - thread has a shelf life.  Old thread - throw it out.  I do use it sometimes when sandwiching a quilt...if it doesn't continually break while basting.
• Rayon thread is not colorfast and most likely melts under a hot iron typically used in quilting;
• Mercerized thread will not shrink - a good thing.
• The biggie:  the numbers on the spool.  Visualize weighing a pound of thread- the more thread needed for 16 ounces the thinner the thread (high number); likewise the thicker thread has a lower number since it takes less to make a pound.
• When machine quilting, a sewer can use any type of thread and the top and bobbin threads do NOT have to match weights.  Jan prefers to quilt with polyester thread because she likes its appearance.
• The main criteria for selecting a thread to use should be the impact on your sewing machine.  The lower number threads are thicker (takes less to make a pound) will lint more than the thinner threads(higher number).  The lint accumulating in the bobbin area can be very difficult on your machines performance.  
• Metallic threads:  must, must, MUST change the tension on your machine to 0 or less than 1 and despite what the store clerk may tell you, a number 90 needle should be used.
• Needles:  while the new titanium COATed needles cost a bit more they lasts longer - the finish protects the needles from chips.  
• The groove on the needle faces you....so the thread has a path to follow (likewise, the flat side to the rear);
• Jan also indicated that thread should feed into the machines' tension disc from a vertical position and not a horizontal angle.  Her visual used a roll of ribbon unwinding.  Try it at home at both angles - you'll see that the horizontal angle twists the thread, while the upright angle do not. 
• Link for more information:  Superior Threads

Pictures of our creations and hard work on the next blog.

However, I'm going to repeat a"conversation" I  posted several weeks ago on use of the FriXon pens.  At a meeting I showed the shadowing that can occur using these pens on the right side of the fabric.  While I do use the pens, now only on the wrong side,  several persons defended their use since their experiences hadn't soured.  Please read this posting, as Jenny K Lyon talked with the manufacturer of of the pens.  All You Need to Know on FriXon pens.  The new news on this issue for me was that washing doesn't remove the gel.  She too, expresses some frustration over this issue.  Many of you may think similar to me that your quilts are not heirloom or quality for a show.  But as women, mostly, don't discount the value of your time and efforts (we do it far too often).  Well, well, that's my rant for today.  Keep up the good work and deeds that all quilters do!