For the past two weeks, we’ve been sharing all the love for Aurifil’s brand new 100% cotton 8wt 2ply thread. We’ve highlighted different techniques, presented a glorious parade of breathtaking projects featuring the 8wt, and swooned along with you while soaking in all 20 of the included hues. In case you missed it, check out our introductory posts for Aurifil 8wt here: Part 1, Part 2.
Today, we’re delighted to share a little more about the process and to introduce you to the designer behind the collection, Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts. Suzy is a beloved personality within the quilting industry, drawing on her graphic design background to transform conventional sewing into a fresh, personal interpretation of minimal, modern design. She is wildly creative and incredibly captivating, and has built a rich and dedicated following over the past decade. While she loves all forms of stitching, she holds a true passion for the art of hand-quilting… both for the look that it achieves and how it centers her and brings moments of calm amidst the bustle of day-to-day life.
We’ve been fans of Suzy’s for a while and even reached out about doing a collaboration a few years back. At that point, she wasn’t able to commit because her absolute go-to for hand-quilting has always been 8wt. While a few years have passed, we’re never ones to shirk a challenge. We realized that if Aurifil is heralded as the go-to cotton thread in this amazing industry, we sometimes have to push beyond our own boundaries and try something new. We reached out to Suzy to suggest the collaboration and the rest lives in beautiful history with the release of her debut 8wt thread collection, Evolve.
Lest readers think this was a simple process, it’s been a year in the making! Suzy worked collaboratively with our US team and our production team in Italy to develop the absolute perfect thread. We created, tested, revised, resent, and tested again on repeat until we found it… our perfect 8wt. It is with pure elation that we get to release this collection featuring this new thread weight in partner with Suzy at QuiltCon today! We hope that you try it… we hope that you love it… we hope that you’ll use it in everything and never look back! And please… share all the stitchy goodness that you discover along the way!
HUGE thanks to Suzy for taking the time to chat with us celebration of this partnership. If you’re at QuiltCon, be sure to come by the Aurifil booth (#529)!
Hi Suzy! We’re so delighted to welcome you to the Aurifil family and couldn’t be more excited about this collection launch. Before we fully dive in, we’d love for you to tell us a bit about yourself for those readers who may be meeting you for the first time. How did you first come to this creative space?
I learned to quilt when I was 15, making basic quilting blocks and focusing on traditional quilt patterns. As an art student in college, I took fiber arts classes where I dabbled in designing fabric and quilt patterns; however, it wasn’t until my mid-20s that I got the idea to make quilts and sell them. This was early 2015 so around that time I discovered Instagram and would post my quilts there.
Well, very few people wanted to purchase my quilts, but I did get an excited and engaged audience of sewers who wanted to know how to get the quilt pattern. I had no idea how to write a quilt pattern, but I was skilled in layout design because I was working full-time as a graphic designer.
I took a chance, wrote my first quilt pattern, Nordic Triangles, and began selling the PDF from my website. On that first launch day, I think I sold two patterns, but I didn’t really care. I was in love with the idea of designing something that other quilters could use.
When did you first start sewing/quilting and do you remember what you first made?
The first thing I ever sewed was a nine-patch quilt block made with Civil War reproduction fabric. I thought it was amazing and couldn’t believe I’d made something with my own hands! I took those skills and made a Rail Fence quilt, unfortunately slicing my finger off in the process (rotary cutters are SHARP!) That’s a whole story for another time, but only my passion for quilting could have gotten me right back behind that cutting table after such a painful adventure.
What is your favorite thing to make?
I’m very much an in-the-moment maker. Usually whatever I’m working on at the time is my favorite thing. While writing this I’m putting the finishing touches on my Evolve wall hanging for the Aurifil QuiltCon booth and it has been just a joy to hand quilt with so many beautiful colors!
Do you have a go-to technique?
When hand quilting, my go-to technique is to lay out my project flat on a table and work from there. I like doing that because I can clearly see what I’m working on and I don’t have to baste as much.
Who or what has been your greatest creative inspiration?
What a question! Oh wow. My high school art teacher was a huge inspiration in my life and she would always say that who we are creatively is a layering of experiences. I then had an art professor in college who impressed upon us how important it is to always be observing and absorbing the creativity around us as we walk through the world.
So with those two things in mind, I don’t think I could peg down one thing that has inspired me the most, other than the people who gave me such beautifully wise words.
We’ve absolutely loved following along with you over the years and have been so impressed with and inspired by how you’ve built your business. How do all the elements of your brand (fabric, thread, patterns, digital magazine, etc) come together to inform your creative direction?
One thing I learned while working in advertising as a graphic designer is the power of a strong brand. People need to clearly and quickly recognize and understand a company’s voice. Finding my own creative voice is a never-ending process of narrowing in — then expanding, editing — and then adding. The cornerstone of it all has been a mad chase to never get bored. I hate being bored. 😉
*note: be sure to visit Suzy Quilts via the button below to browse blog posts, tutorials, patterns, and to subscribe to The Cutting Table.
What inspires you to keep pushing those creative boundaries and trying new things?
You know, I’ve always had a hard time listening to authority. That’s probably why I’ve thrived as a business owner! So if I see someone doing something one way, my brain starts turning thinking of ways I would do it differently. And as I mentioned before, I hate being bored. I assume that if I’m bored churning out the same old thing, then my audience is getting bored too.
We started our conversation with you years ago and know that you’ve long been dedicated to Aurifil threads, but we weren’t able to build an official partnership until now, with the introduction of Aurifil 8wt. What excites you most about this collaboration?
Now don’t get me wrong, I love the hum of my sewing machine, but there is a different corner of my heart dedicated to hand stitching. The soft texture these stitches bring to a project are unlike anything a machine can generate. Plus, these 20 colors are sublime. They just are! You can pull any one of them from the collection and know that it can be mixed and matched with the other threads in a beautifully cohesive way.
This collection introduction has been a long time coming… What did you enjoy most about the process of creating this 8wt thread in partnership with Aurifil?
I loved how open everyone was to feedback and making changes. We did not get it right the first time or the second time or even the third time! We all wanted to make sure the sheen, twist, thickness, texture, and strength of the thread were perfect before stamping a seal of approval on it. I really appreciated that much attention to detail. We even drastically pushed back the launch date because we wanted to get it right!
How did you go about selecting the colors for Evolve?
I spent a long time creating the 20-color palette for my PURE Signature Solid fabrics with Art Gallery Fabrics. I used those colors as my launch pad, knowing I wanted the threads to coordinate. Since I have been hand quilting for years, I also know what colors I like (and don’t like) to hand quilt with.
One color you won’t see me hand quilting with, for example, is black. This is because I have gotten enough stitched in emergency rooms that I never want to see another black stitch again! So even though my Signature Solid Truffle color is beautiful, nothing that dark made it into the collection.
Why is it important for you to have that coveted color match between fabric and thread in the context of hand quilting?
I want people to have options when hand quilting. They can either match the thread with the fabric, or they can go a shade lighter or darker. One thing people will know for sure is that all shades of this Evolve collection will look fantastic with all Suzy Quilts fabric.
Why is 8wt your go-to for hand quilting over something like a 12wt?
I have tried to love 12wt for hand quilting because in the past it has been more readily available than 8wt. But I always go back to 8wt because of the finished texture and visibility of the stitches. 8wt thread is on the cusp of feeling like a yarn, which if you’re a knitter, I don’t need to say anymore after that. It’s just a lovely, cozy feeling! Plus, if I’m going to take the time to hand-stitch a million little stitches into something, I want people to be able to see them!
What are you go-tos for this technique? Favorite needles, perfect thread length, hoop or no hoop?
Like any new technique, hand quilting can be daunting for people. Because of that, I filmed a video and wrote this extensive blog post about my preferred tools and methods. One thing I do want to emphasize is that unlike using a sewing machine, this is a method of stitching that is based on touch and what feels right — which means the tools you use need to be very personalized. What I like should not necessarily be what everyone likes. My hands are different, so my thimble choice will be different.
Lucky for us, needles and thimbles are much cheaper than investing in a sewing machine, so I encourage people to try a few different kinds and sizes.
We’d love to hear more about your color inspiration. How do you determine which hues to include in your fabric (and now thread) collections? Is it solely personal preference, mood-based, or is it more dependent on color theory?
Picking a collection of just 20 colors was a bigger challenge than some may think. I wanted a full range of hues and values that felt inclusive to all times of creators. Although some of these colors are more deeply saturated than others, they all have a somewhat muted, warmth about them, giving them all “vintage vibes.” I felt that to be fitting when picking thread for hand quilting.
I designed this collection as a complete capsule. After leading many sew alongs and writing the Suzy Quilts blog for eight years, I knew firsthand how challenging picking colors was for most people. I wanted them to rest easy knowing that they couldn’t go wrong choosing fabrics from inside this collection.
I selected my 20 PURE Signature Solids based on thousands of Pantone swatches…
From there I was able to coordinate from Aurifil’s current formulas to find 20 shades. As I mentioned before, I prefer not to stitch with solids black, however, I did want to include a dark shade of thread which is where I got the 2345 Velvet hue. It looks fabulous stitched on both almost-black fabrics like Truffle as well as my lighter orange/red fabric, Poppy.
Tell us about your studio space– what type of environment fuels your creativity? Bright and airy or warm and cozy space? Total silence or music/podcasts?
I get very easily distracted, so when I’m trying to sit and design, I work best in a space that is light, bright, and mostly empty. I’m talking about everything put away behind a closed door and only the thing I am actively working on can be out.
I actually just posted some pics of the evolution of my sewing studio on our blog, if you’re interested in seeing them.
What’s up next for you and where can readers find you in 2024?
Well, what’s up next is launching a quilt pattern on March 28th and then having a baby the next week! This is kid #3 so it’s going to get rowdy in the Quilts home. But luckily I have a great team so the wheels won’t fall off the wagon while I’m gone. Monthly content and our Block of the Month will still be coming out on The Cutting Table. We have a beautiful new quilt pattern coming out for Christmas in the early fall. Also, I’ve already submitted artwork for my next fabric collection that will hit shops in early 2025!
So even though I’ll have a newborn strapped to me for most of 2024, there are still lots of beautiful quilty things coming out.
SPEED ROUND
Cats or Dogs: Dogs
Shoes or Barefoot: Shoes
Country or City: City
Camping or Glamping: AirBnB
To the Mountains or to the Sea: Sea
Favorite Notion: tailor’s clapper
Go-to sewing room playlist: Father John Misty radio on Spotify
Current binge-worthy show: I usually find myself just rewatching old episodes of Parks and Rec
Would this new line of thread also be good for embroidery work.