"Das-a-gulls"

What's in a name? When my daughter Rosie was very little she called these flowers "das-a gulls." It's become one of those family words that re-emerge each spring.

I've chosen a deep purple batik for the thread play - I think it will set off the yellows and oranges beautifully. Today I wanted to have a look at the threads against the fabric. In this photo you can see all the threads. Initially on the right of the photo, they're just draped across the fabric. In real life this is a great way to get a feel for the way the threads will act against the fabric. Context is everything! Threads look very different against different fabrics. So I like to audition threads before I choose what I'll be using.

Beginning at the left and working across...first I've got 3 bold and beautiful King Tut threads in variegated colours. Then there's 6 MasterPiece thread colours, a finer version of extra-long staple Egyptian grown cotton but in plain silk like colours. Next there's 2 versions of Rainbows, a shimmering variegated tri-lobal poly. After that there's 3 LAVA threads similar to Rainbows but stronger and more matt. There's an orange So Fine the most trouble free thread ever. Lastly there's 3 colours of Bottom Line an ideal bobbin thread but it can be used on top for detail quilting. Click on the images for a better look at the threads.

Beginning at the left top and working my way down, I used these same threads in the same order using just a straight stitch off the frame with my Janome 6600. Tomorrow I'll do a bit of sketching with pen and paper. Then I'll put the fabric on the frame and have a go machine quilting with my JUKI on the New English Quilting frame. The free-motion quilting will really bring out the differences in the threads.