need to needle

I'll start by saying that I know next to nothing about sewing needles. Yes, I worked in a quilt shop but there's no special training that comes along with gig. You learn as you go, just as many quilters and crafters have for years. If you've ever walked into a craft shop and thought "gosh, I know more than the sales clerk"; there's a good chance that's true. There's a whole lot of stuff in those craft shops and it would be difficult to know everything about everything. So if you find yourself in that sort of situation, cut them a little slack and remind yourself there's a whole heap of stuff you wouldn't know about either. Help them muddle through and try to work it out together.

So about those needles...

I'll confess for years I just bought that big plastic spinning disk assortment. The kind that only has five useful needles and thirty-seven that are unwieldy and awkward. The ones you can't even sew a button on with. Ugh...  I knew that the type and size of needle you had made a difference in your stitching. I just didn't put the effort into finding out which were best. The challenges of a bad needle were most evident when I spent hours a day closing up soft toys. Big, bulgy needles had a tendency to rip the fabric and leaving large holes in the weave.

Over time, I grew into the habit of buying patchwork needles while I was in Japan. I couldn't read the packages, of course; but it was obvious they were very fine needles with very fine eyes suitable for hand sewing.

At the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild in November, someone suggested I try Clover black and gold needles. Or maybe just Clover black ones? I'm not really sure what she suggested?  Should buy 9s, 12s, applique, quilting or chenille? Ok, I knew that I didn't need chenille or darning needles,  but clearly hadn't paid enough attention. So I randomly picked up five packages of Yushin and Clover needles on my last trip. I've played with them for a while now. They all seem nice, but I haven't developed a strong preference or favorite, but they are magnitudes better than what I've worked with before. They all have really tiny eyes that benefit from the use of a needle threader. They don't split the fabric weave and they help keep the stitches sort of invisible. I guess that's what I'm after.

I don't need any more needles at the moment, but I wondered if any of you have any recommendations for readily available needles? I know it varies depending on the type of sewing that you're doing. Are you brand loyal? size loyal?  Is there a needle you swear by? I get the feeling that it would make a big difference in my applique and hand work. I'm happy to be steered in a new direction.

Speaking of steering...

I've been working on a Queen of May black made using Sue Ross templates available at Material Obsession.  Queen of May is block number 3598 in the Barbara Brackman book. The original source seem to be a mail order company called Old Chelsea Station.  It's fun and round. I found it surprisingly more difficult than the cogwheel because of the y-seams around the center hexagon.

I've used a mix of machine stitching and handwork, hence my interest in needles today.  Though I used the same citron and teal palette, I don't think it's as impacting as the Cog Wheel. I think the order of colors makes the difference in this case. I'm not happy with the background fabric choice yet, hence it's not sewn down. When done, it'll be another nice block for my teal, citron and some times brown mixer. Though it was a challenge, I'd like to try this template block again. Rachael has done a great job with it in both brights and quirky fun colors.

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PS for Sydney folks: how great was it to see so many people out for Stash and Treasure sale?  I had a wonderful day and I hope everyone else did too. No one mocked my horrid sunburn. People bought my treasures and made it worth getting up early on the weekend. I got a free coffee. All the makings of a perfect day.  See you there again next time!