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| Civil War Bride Block One |
Hi gang! As you read this entry I hope you and yours are all doing well and looking forward to a Happy Christmas and Chanukah! Like you, I am happily swapped with holiday preparations but I wanted to take a minute and share my latest completed block - Cival War Bride - Block One. The fabrics are a mix of BOM from Honeybee Fabrics and my stash. It't taken me most of October, November and December to stitch this block - sometimes only stitching half a leaf an evening - but I never surrendered to work/life schedule and got my daily 15 minutes in every chance I could.
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| Clover Black Gold Applique Needles |
There's been quite a buzz lately about new applique needles by Clover. The buzz is because 1) they are fabulous and 2) they are EXPENSIVE. The 6 pack pictured here run about $5.50 US; almost a $1 a needle. Regardless of price, I had to try them because very accomplished, award-winning applique artist claimed that the needles improved their stitch. To my amazement, they really did improve my stitch! Oh great! Just what I needed, more expensive toys! So I went back to my stash of classics - Roxanne, John James, etc. and as soon as I picked up the needles I could see my stitch suffer. CWB - Block 1 was stitched almost exclusively with this size 12 Black Gold needle. Click on the photo above to see the block in a bigger view.
Here's my theory as to why they seem to improve most appliquer's stiches. They are coated in a black substance making the needle shaft matt and non-reflective. When I work with the needle, the tip and shaft are very easy to see because there is NO reflection from my light source. I can SEE exactly where the needle tip enters and exists the background. One tip - wipe new needles with a soft piece of cotton to remove any residue before using on your project.
Now back to Christmas preparations and my Cottage Garden project!
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| Close up of Clover Black Gold Applique Needles |
Best stitches,
Mercy in sunny Miami - expected high temps today - 81 F
Mercy in sunny Miami - expected high temps today - 81 F
Lovely block - I have had those needeles for about 18 months - they are fantastic - they are coated in teflon I believe, and slip through the fabric easily.
ReplyDeleteMercy, Your block is perfect! I saw those needles in the LQS but didn't buy them because of the price. After your review, I will give these needles a try :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm very please with how the block turned out.
ReplyDeleteBest stitches,
Mercy
Mercy, the needles are fabulous - I love how they move through fabric like cutting soft butter. Your block is so wonderful also because you have a great sense of what will work fabric wise in the block. Love it.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year everyone! Thank you for the wonderful commnets. I am busy working on my next blog entry and hope to post by the weekend.
ReplyDeleteBest stitches,
Mercy
Beautiful block. As someone allergic to metal, all regular needles turn black within a few hours in my fingers--however, they are not slippery. These needles are wonderful and I can get them to last much longer than regular needles. Thanks for heading me in this direction.
ReplyDelete