Textile artist and designer Rob Appell got his start in the quilting and sewing industry years ago when he landed a job in his Mother’s Quilt Shop, “The Cotton Ball” in Morro Bay, California. He worked as a sewing machine technician and was quickly drawn to the world of quilting. He learned by trial and error and brings a masculine touch to this age old tradition. The man in Man Sewing, Rob now brings an energy and enthusiasm to the business through his terrific YouTube tutorials. He is a longtime user and supporter of Aurifil, singing praises of quality, variety and versatility far and wide.
We were so thrilled to partner with Rob on The High Voltage Collection. Rob assembled 12 of his absolute favorite, can’t-live-without-them, use-them-day-after-day colors in his go-to 40wt.
THREAD COLLECTION DETAILS
The High Voltage Collection
12 Large Spools – 100% Aurifil Cotton 40wt, 1094yds each
Colors included:
2024 – 2692 – 2615 – 2210 – 2350 – 2270 – 1133 – 1135 – 2730 – 2805 – 2865 – 5017
To view this info on our website, click the images above. For purchasing, please click here to visit Missouri Star Quilt Co or contact your local Aurifil Dealer.
THE INTERVIEW
How did you first get started in the quilting industry?
My mother had purchased a well established quilt shop while I was in college. I came home and ended helping out around the shop while working nights in the restaurant business. So glad to have found this path.
Do you remember the process of creating your first quilt and how you felt once it was finished?
I do, I was so excited to do my free motion machine quilting. That was why I made the quilt top, so super excited to give the FMQ a try. I was hooked in just a few stitches. I look back at those first stitches and just laugh at how poor they were, but I was having fun then, and still am now.
How did you first connect with the Missouri Star Quilt Co.?
I was asked if I would like to try to make tutorials like Jenny Doan was doing. They did approach me with a job offer that quickly became an adoption into their fabulous family. Great people to work and create with!
Who or what has been your greatest creative inspiration?
The past two years have been the best years of my creative journey. Everyday I wake more excited than the day before. I feel so blessed to have the job that I have and to get to inspire people with my quilting and sewing. I pull from nature, friends and family, humor, to state a few when being inspired, but at this point the feeling of success in my studio is more motivating than anything I have experienced before.
What do you love most about connecting with others via your show, Man Sewing?
I love that I get to be creative and create a wide variety of sewing and quilting related projects. The YouTube audience is so broad that I can enjoy presenting the craziest projects in the simplest of ways.
Do you have a technique that you favor?
I was very into fusible applique to create landscape quilts, but as I improve on my piecing I am enjoying doing more patchwork. The Applique quilts almost dictate the free motion process, where the patchwork quilts push me as a machine quilter too. I must try to be creative with the style, but it all shows up so much more.
When did you first discover Aurifil threads and what do you love most about them?
I use to sell the threads in my Mom’s quilt shop – everyone said it was the best. Then I met Alex while I displaying my Endangered Species Quilts, his booth was across from my quilts and we hit it off.
Do you have a favorite weight/color?
I love the 40 wt as I do so much machine quilting. My favorite color is green, but to pick just one spool would not be fair.
How did you go about selecting colors for this collection?
I took the whole color card and put a highlighter on my favorite colors. Then I had to go through and pick just the best. I wanted the collection to be able to work with just about anything from my personal stash. So far so good, I love having the different color families to choose from, and of course the stuff quilts like a dream.
Do you FMQ? Don’t forget to tag #FMQMania on Instagram!
THE GIVEAWAY
To enter-to-win The High Voltage Collection by Rob Appell, click here to head to the Rafflecopter entry page, or simply click on the image above. You do not have to complete all the options to be entered but the more options you choose, the more entries you have! Entries will be accepted from now through 11:59pm Eastern Time on Friday, September 16! Winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Saturday, September 17. Good luck!
Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winner, Afton Warrick!!
ABOUT ROB
Website — Facebook — Instagram — Twitter — YouTube — Pinterest
Rob Appell is the host of Man Sewing. He’s a guy with boundless energy and enthusiasm for life and creativity. He loves God, his wife, son and daughter. He enjoys waking up excited each day to see what lies ahead. He’s happiest when he’s outside or in my studio. He has been told that he inspires others and for that he feels very blessed.
What is Man Sewing? Well, Rob is a man who loves to sew and he’s proud of it. He is passionate about sewing and creativity and has a desire to teach, so he wants to share his passion with you. Is Man Sewing just for men? Absolutely not. Rob is just a man who sews. Join him every Monday for a new tutorial where you’ll use your hands, get covered in thread and create something completely new. It’s high voltage edu-tainment at its finest. Where creativity meets caffeine. It’s Man Sewing.
[For more, please visit the Rob’s Website]
** Images and all biographical text are courtesy of Rob Appell and Man Sewing.
Rob is such an inspiration and he’s fun and natural, love his YouTube tutorials!!! He’s also very cute!!!
I love his enthusiasm. His attitude is infectious . I got acquainted with his work through Missouri Star Quilts. Beautiful thread collection!
I enjoy his enthusiasm for quilting and trying something new.
I first saw Rob at Road to California several years ago and I thought his work was amazing, and still do! I love how he got his start and think it’s great that he is a very talented man that quilts!
Wow! I am in love with this High Voltage collection!
Ooh, love the colors in this collection!
Just like Jenny at Missouri Star Quilts, Rob is a natural, great teacher!
Their straightforward, enthusiastic approach is SO helpful and encouraging!… Makes you really believe that you, too, can do it!!
Thank you!…
I love the colors of Aurifil that Rob has selected!… Great choices!
I love his creative and personal ENERGY! REAL men-can quilt, and he isn’t faking it.
I love Rob’s energy and enthusiasm!! How addicting!! The colors are fabulous!!
I enjoy his tutorials and hope to make the Tutti Frutti quilt.
He has great tutorials. I want to make the weighted blanket.
I love Rob’s enthusiasm & talent. He’s very inspiring.
Your enthusiasm-it shows through on everything you do-your take on showing us how you work with different patterns & ideas is eye-opening-the light bulb comes on! Love, love these glowing colors!
Loving this collection Rob is so fun to watch I learn so much from him
Love the collection that Rob put together. One can never go wrong with Aurifil. It’s the only thread I use anymore after haVing disappointing results with other brands.
How fun to find Rob again! I remember his appliqué ocean inspired quilts hanging in the Cotton Ball years ago. They were beautiful and unique for the time. I am looking toward to seeing his new creations.
I love Rob’s youtube videos. He covers all areas of sewing and quilting.
Rob’s energy and enthusiasm are so inspiring. I love watching his tutorials. His collection of Aurifil thread reflects his “high voltage” personality!
I too love Rob’s energy and enthusiasm. Who does not want to learn and try something new after watching one of his videos?
I love his energy and his tutorials are great.
He is so upbeat and passionate about quilting. He is a joy to watch.
I love his attitude and his talent 🙂
Rob’s obviously in the right line of work and we benefit from his great interest and talent. It’s fun to watch.
i love rob’s enthusiasm and his color strata is go gorgeous!
Rob has mad FMQ skills. His creativity and high energy is inspiring. I love his endangered species quilts very much. I have watched his Youtube channel a time or two.
tushay3 (at) yahoo (dot) com
I enjoy his infectious joy and relaxed approach to sewing.
I love all the free motion quilting tutorials on his site. Now to find time and watch them all.
I love Rob’s enthusiasm! He makes it all fun:)
Rob’s work is gorgeous and his enthusiasm is contagious — what’s not to love?
Love Rob’s energy and enthusiasm for the craft of creating you have to watch and go try what he’s teaching
Rob’s fun to watch, and his designs and projects appeal to a wide audience. He’s funny, and personable.
I enjoy Rob’s videos. He’s got a fun, casual way of teaching. And, since he knows sewing machines, he can tell you why problems can happen and how to avoid them. What a great set of colors he’s chosen.
HI, enjoy his enthusiasm for quilting+trying something new ! Thanks Rob+Aurifil !
I love his clear concise tutorials.
I love his videos – he has so much talent, skill, energy and enthusiasm, he’s so entertaining!
I love Rob’s energetic personality and the projects he creates. You can tell from his videos that he really loves what he does. Oh, plus he’s very easy on the eyes. 😉
I love his personality and ability to explain things in plain English so I can understand what he is talking about. I actually have met Rob this summer and he is just as charming and approachable in person as he is in the videos!
Rob’s chosen beautiful colors! I would love to give Aurifil threads a try. I’ll go watch some of Rob’s videos, too. Thanks.
Love Rob’s endangered animals quilts.
I do love Rob’s quilts. He does such a wonderful job with his machine quilting. Love the colors he chose for his Aurifil thread collection.
His work is beautiful and his enthusiasm is contagious !!!
Thank you!
Love this collection and love his quilts! So fun to watch!
This is the first I have heard about Rob & Man Sewing. I like the examples of his work that you have shown.
Love Rob’s energy! I subscribe to his you-tube videos and love waking up in the morning to his level of energy with a new video!
I like Rob’s teaching style, he makes me try harder stuff instead of the easy pattern. I find I’ll pick more than one colour of thread when quilting.now I can easily use 10!
Thanks to Rob, I am learning to free motion quilt. His tutorials make it look so easy and I was such a chicken to try it. I am dying to try the 40wt thread and such wonderful colors.
I love the joy that he seems to experience from his creations.
It is clear that Rob loves what he is doing- his enthusiasm is infectious. That’s what I love the best!
His energy and a guys take on quilts.
Rob has great energy in person and on camera!
I so love Rob Appell and I am happy to hear he has a Utube site, Thanks
I love Rob’s enthusiasm and how much he enjoys sharing his knowledge.
Love Man Sewing and love the colors in this collection!
This is great! I have been intrigued with Rob since he started with Missouri Quilt Company. I love the story of his “beginnings” here!
I enjoy Rob’s high energy videos. 🙂 Whoever created the opening music for them captured Rob’s spirit for sure! I am hoping these will inspire my teenage son to try his hand at the sewing machine.
I love the quilting videos.
I love Rob’s excitement about quilting and the great YouTube tutorials he offers.
I love seeing the creative applique idea ideas he comes up with and the energy he brings to the screen.
I like his endangered species quilts. Such beautiful animals, such lovely quilts.
I enjoy Rob’s enthusiasm about quilting and enjoy the Man Quilting videos.
Great collection. I enjoy the tutorials. Always something interesting.
All of the colors are beautiful!
Rob’s videos are fun to watch and he inspires me to have fun with my quilting!
Bet you did not expect a comment from me here. I want you, and everyone to know how extemely proud of you I am. Love, Mom
That is so sweet, Judi Appel! You raised up a find young man.
it is a joy to see the many accomplishments of Rob. I first me him when i invited him to give a presentation and workshop for the Orange Grove Quilters Quilt in Orange county, CA, January 2008. He has become a very accomplished artist. It was a joy to visit his Mom’s Quilt Shop in Morro Bay many years ago. It would be a delight to connect once again. Lots of Hugs, JoyceO PS I am a huge Aurifil Fan!!!
You have a simple easy approach to quilting that anyone can understand.
Rob is sew creative, innovating, fun and fearless. Even when the project doesn’t interest me I want to watch.
Rob’s energetic personality and his enthusiasm for quilting are my favorite parts of Man Sewing, in addition to the vibrant quilts he makes.
Love his enthusiasm!
Rob’s enthusiasm!
Love the great encourage mentioned of course love the thread too
I love Rob’s energy! He is so enthusiastic about everything he does.
The lightening bolt that Rob wears and incorporates in his logo describes the way I feel about this collection. It’s electric!
I love that a man can be creative in a traditionally female format. Thanks!
Love the attitude!!
I like the variety of projects Rob has for us–and he always makes it fun.
I love that rob is so fun and exciting when quilting. I love his love for quilting.
I love his energy and his explanations how to do something complicated while still having fun.
Love his simple explanations!!
Love the bright colors!
I love the tutorial videos.
I love his tutorials, especially with FMQ
This thing I love most is the energy that Rob brings to the tutorials!
Wonderful quilts!
Love all the details
and colors.
Carla from Utah
I appreciate your enthusiasm and how you make everything doable for all!
I really love your landscape quilts!!!
Oh my, you are all so kind. I do love my job, so glad it shows. I have just started a fund raising drive for Operation Homefront and my “and the Flag was still there” quilt. Here is a link to GoFundMe if anyone would like to make a donation, http://www.gofundme.com/2h5gbe7s – Thanks, Rob
Rob is so funny – just love his approach to quilting!!!
I love Man Sewing! Rob is always so full of energy!
I love his attitude.
I like the practical useful things that Rob does tutorials on.
Love your enthusiasm!
I love Rob’s straight forward fun approach to making projects. Sew much inspiration!! see_amy_sew <3
I love his energy! His passion for quilting really shows!
He explains with ease just how to go about making whatever. His eye for color is ideal. I love the colors in his collection and I absolutely love Auriful thread, so I hope I win. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love both Aurifil & Rob. Thanks for the great interview!!
Look forward to each Man Sewing video! This thread looks wonderful!
I enjoy Rob’s videos not only because he’s a great teacher, but also because his energy and enthusiasm are contagious.
I love your energy and enthusiasm!
I absolutely love watching Rob!! He is wild & wacky, which makes it so fun to learn.
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!
I love watching Rob’s video’s I learn so much from him.
Thanks Rob for the wonderful giveway!
Love the colors…Would love to win to use in my projects
Love rob’s energy and colors!
I made the rag quilt from his tutorial and it turned out great!
I love Rob’s energy, sense of humor and creativity!
The thing I like best about Man Sewing has got to be Rob! (winky face)
What a cool collection! Love your tutorials!
I really enjoy Rob’s friendly and enthusiastic personality. The tutorials are great too!
I love his gorgeous quilts!
His enthusiasm! 😏
Love your energy! The endangered species and landscaping quilt are fabulous and the American flag with the soldiers is fabulous!
I LOVE his high energy and that he shared his struggle with addiction and how he over came it with sewing and quilting.
What a man!!
I love Rob’s energy and his enthusiasm is so contagious.
I love Rob’s enthusiasm and the different ideas he gets of things to make. I like that his channel, while mostly about quilting, is still so varied. The different tutorials, from making a quilt top to machine maintenance to quilting to making a dog bed. There is something for everyone.
I love his enthusiasm and how he demonstrates how to correct “errors” in his projects. He has some very unique projects.
I like the fact that his tutorials are clear and right to the point without wasting a lot of time on unnecessary stuff.
Pauline
Great colors!
What I like best about Man Sewing and Rob is…his tutorials tend to be often things I really need help with or I really want to know… For example his ongoing help with Free Motion Quilting…or his recent tutorial on paper piecing… He always makes me feel like “I can do it too!”… Thanks for that!
Enthusiasm always makes Robs tutorials and videos so much fun!
Enthusiasm is always high. I would love to win these threads.
I choose my color thread like I choose my fabric, it has to speak to me.
Love watching Rob, wish I was more of a modern type of quilter, I am old school. I always hand quilted and just started machine quilting 3 years ago.
I love Rob’s free motion quilting tutorials – such beautiful work, and it’s super funny when he gets caffeinated !
I love Rob’s energy, sense of humor and his love for quilting. His tutorials are fun and informative, great for any level of quilter.
I love Rob’s quilts and tutorials. I have two Autistic great grandchildren. I has been recommended that the older could use a weighted blanket which I plan to make using Rob’s tutorial. Ilove his color choices for the Aurifil threads.
I love Rob’s enthusiasm and pure joy for sewing and quilting. I was already happy just crocheting and knitting but it was his videos on YouTube that made me want to begin sewing and it was some of his projects that I sewed early on when I was just learning. I made his action figure holder for my son and learned how to turn a tube! I have also been practicing FMQ. Lots more I want to try out. More videos Rob!!!!!
I enjoy Rob’s down-to-earth and enthusiastic approach to everything he shows us!
Hi pretty thread colors. I enjoy your videos and the tips on sewing machine are helpful!
Thank you for the great videos, Rob! 👍👍👍
The enthusiasm.
I love these comors…so bright and inspiring!
I love his talent, energy and sense of humor. His Endangered Species Quilts are absolutely beautiful.
I love his enthusiasm for everything!
I ❤️ Aurifil and Rob convinced me I could free motion quilt 😀. I’m still learning but those video tutorials help a lot!
Thank you so much! I am doing a happy dance in honor of Aurifil thread!