Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Civil War Bride and Clover Black Gold Applique Needles


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.

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.  
Close up of Clover Black Gold Applique Needles
Now back to Christmas preparations and my Cottage Garden project!

Best stitches,
Mercy in sunny Miami - expected high temps today - 81 F



6 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. Mercy, 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 :)

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  3. Thanks! I'm very please with how the block turned out.
    Best stitches,
    Mercy

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  4. 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.

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  5. Happy 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.
    Best stitches,
    Mercy

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  6. 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.

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