This month, we issued a thrilling challenge that invited our artisans to explore the boundless spectrum of Aurifil threads, boasting an impressive array of over 270 vibrant colors. With a mandate to unleash their creativity and embrace multiple hues, our artisans embarked on a colorful journey like never before.
The challenge was clear: let imagination take flight and craft something using at least three thread colors. From the subtle interplay of pastels to the bold contrast of primaries, our artisans were encouraged to push the boundaries, experimenting with various weights and combinations to bring their visions to life. We’re sure you’ll be inspired by the bold, the beautiful, and the brilliantly colorful as we showcase the remarkable talents of our artisans and the limitless possibilities of Aurifil threads.
A heartfelt thank you to all the participants who made the March challenge a dazzling success. Your unwavering creativity and enthusiasm to join us month after month are truly appreciated.
Debbie Jeske
This scrappy little project became even more fun and interesting when I began mulling over its quilting. There were so many colors in this piece, that any one thread color didn’t seem to fit. So I began to search for thread colors that matched the fabrics, and in doing so, pulled several different weights as well. In all, I ended up using 10 different threads! The various colors and weights of thread – both machine- and hand-quilted – really brought this mini (10.5” x 11”) to life.
Aurifil Thread used: 50wt in 2225 (Salmon), 2479 (Medium Orchid), 2975 (Brass), 6010 (Toast); 40wt 2692 (Black); 28wt 2625 (Arctic Ice); 12wt 2000 (Light Sand), 8530 (Puce Magenta Pink); 8wt 2420 (Light Blush); floss 6722 (Sea Biscuit)
Candice Odeen
I was inspired by @sew.miss.viv to grab this Rise and Shine fabric from @missmelodymiller for @rubystarsociety and quilt it to some soft and stable. This was also the perfect opportunity to use the “hand stitched” stitch on my @berninausa 735. I then used the quilted panel to make a laptop sleeve.
Aurifil Thread used: 50wt in 4020, 2810, and 1104 along with monofilament
Lou Orth
This is my spring inspired cute floral embroidery design. I used a selection of happy colours to hand stitch my design on to a cotton print which I then turned into a ‘Little things basket’. Further information on this sweet one can be found in my blog post and this digital design is free when you sign up to my newsletter. (Link in blog post.)
Aurifil Thread used: All threads are 12wt cotton in 4093, 2865, 2155, 2120, 2515, 2588, 4020
Ledine Watson
With so many choices, using Aurifil Thread for my projects always brings out my creativity! I used these bright muted rainbow Paintbrush Studio solids and matching Aurifil thread colors to create this minimalist flying geese throw pillow! Matching the thread colors in my directional quilting with the fabric colors made such an amazing impact!
Aurifil Thread used: 5006, 4173, 1154, 2908, 2515, 2145 all in 40wt
Janice Reimer
If I could sum this project into one word it would be ‘play.’ I usually meticulously plan everything out, but with this project, I just went with however I was feeling in the moment. Spontaneous decisions were made, and I’m pretty sure 28 wt is now my new favourite thread weight.
Aurifil Thread used: 12wt in 2000; 28wt in 5014, 4129; 40wt in 2850; 50wt in 2885, 2845, 2800
Karen Foster
I used 7 threads, 6 different colors in 4 weights for my March Aurifil Artisan challenge to create with at least three colors. A graphic quilt design with a limited palette, lots of texture and personality.
Aurifil Thread used: 50wt in 2115 (Lemon), 1285 (Medium Bark), 2460 (Dark Carmine Red), 2312 (Ermine) for piecing & 40wt in 2450 (Rose), 28wt in 2460 (Dark Carmine Red), 12wt in 2120 (Canary)
Elissa Ziccardi
For this month’s Aurifil challenge we were to let our imaginations run wild with COLOR! I chose to feature my quilted coat, quilted shoes, and quilted bag from the FreeSpirit Fabrics Circle of Makers Influencer Tour featuring the NEW Tula Pink “Tabby Road Deja Vu” collection (shipping to retailers in July 2024). From head to toe – the ultimate trifecta for wearable quilted items showing off a rainbow of color of thread, fabric, and everything else in between!
I really wanted my projects to be a PARTY- youthful, fun, and funky! Vibrant appliquéd motifs featuring kitties, florals, and mice dance around my minky lined (and reversible!) quilt coat. A new quilted backpack showing off Club Kitty, Cat Snacks, and Fur Ball featuring a FPP fishy bones pocket and adjustable straps in Cat Eyes. And timeless Disco Kitty fussy cut quilted shoes with rainbow eyelets and exploding with colorful selvages – it is truly a “love is in the details” process for me. Creating is very personal and I’m beyond thankful for the opportunity to put my unique “stamp” into showing off the creative genius that is Tula Pink – with 270 gorgeous colors in the Aurifil collection I can always find the PUR-fect match of threads for my creations, and I try to pack as many colors of thread into each make to really take it over the top… more is more is more and then some! Stay inspired and Happy Stitching!
Project: Quilt Coat – self drafted pattern (pattern release TBD) / Project: Quilted high top sneakers (pattern release COMING SOON!) / Project: Courtside bag by Patterns by Annie (ByAnnie.com) / Fabrics: Tabby Road DejaVu, True Colors, Solids by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics / Webbing and ribbons: by Tula Pink for Renaissance Ribbons / Aurifil Thread used: 50wt in 2515, 2479, 2520, 2535, 2220, 1231, 2835, 1148, 4093, 2021
Amelia Ellen
For the March challenge I decided to use Floss and 8wt threads to visibly mend these jeans that I got from ebay. Both of these thread weights are perfect for visible mending both are beautiful but strong! When using the Floss I used 3 strands. I will be looking for many more items to mend now!
Aurifil Thread used: Floss in 2026, 2214, 2225 and 8wt in 2840, 2930, 2420.
Emma Giacalone
The theme for the March artisan challenge was colour, and what better project to show that off than this super fun project! This embroidery was made from a selection of 40wt thread – I was especially pleased with how the ombré rainbow effect under the writing at the bottom turned out. Whether you love or hate marmite, I hope you’ll enjoy this!
Aurifil Thread Used: 40wt in 2024, 2437, 2250, 2260, 1104, 2140, 2135, 1231, 2810, 2735, 2692
Ben Millett
Quilt tops were created using Ombre by Vanessa Christenson for Moda in an improv manner after having grouped fabric colors into five different stories. Gentle curve channels were quilted on a longarm, followed by curved paths hand quilted using various thread colors that coordinated with the underlying fabrics.
Aurifil Thread Used: Quilting – 50wt (longarm) in 6722; 12wt (hand) in 2423, 2530, 2520, 4020, 2535, 2540, 2235, 2145, 2340, 2245, 2395, 5022, 2000, 2800, 2850, 4093, 1320, 2860, 1158, 5018, 1231
Shereece Nicole
Don’t want to keep changing the thread spool? Go variegated! You get multiple colors or shades of one color without changing thread.
Aurifil Thread Used: 4660 in 50wt
Heidi Schlicht
I made a phone cover with my pattern LuxEasy.
Aurifil Thread Used: 6724, 2625, 2600, 2610, & 2830 all in 28wt
Zeïba Monod
I decided to create a white linen quilt that would act as a canvas featuring a patchwork of threads handquilted in the shape of a honeycomb. I don’t have all 270 amazing colours on offer with Aurifil but I used as many of the threads I have in 12wt, 8wt, and Aurifloss to create colours and texture. I wasn’t able to complete my quilt so this remains a lovely work in progress which I shall enjoy completing for the weeks or months ahead.
Aurifil Thread Used: Aurifil 12wt, 8wt, Aurifloss for hand quilting and 80wt for appliqué
Mariana Diaz
AURIFIL – KEY FOBS I’ve been using Aurifil as long as I’ve been quilting, and have tackled all kinds of projects since becoming an Aurifil Artisan this year, from pure experimentation to personal challenges. This time, I decided to go for a personal favorite project of mine: key fobs! I wanted something where I could relax and completely focus on playing with the threads, where it’s pretty hard to make mistakes and, if you do, you won’t have to spend a miserable hour with a seam ripper to fix it. Since I really wanted to add to the decoration, I played around with different weights and colors, making an extra seam on some or using two different threads on others. My favorite was the Aurifil variegated threads! Go to my blog to find the full tutorial. Happy Quilting! Mariana
Aurifil Thread Used: 40wt in 3920, 4660, 4655, 4652, 3817, 2214; Wool in 8710; 28wt in2410, 2255; 12wt in 5006; 50wt in 2423, 2530, 1320.
Robyn Cuthbertson
This month’s challenge isn’t quite as finished as I’d hoped (maybe I was overly ambitious, but a flooded studio didn’t help the situation!). I’ve been wanting to create a miniature rainbow mandala for forever, so this month’s challenge seemed the perfect opportunity. I absolutely love playing with the beutiful range of colours aurifil has to offer. This mini is approx 15″x15″ and will have 25 colours (possibly a few more) of 50wt thread. Looking forward to finishing it when my studio is finally dried out!
Aurifil Thread Used: 50wt- All the colours!
Mary Burroughs-Mayer
My 10-year-old, Spirograph-loving self is having a moment with this one and I hope you’ll come along with me! The March #aurifilartisan project is all about using color! I chose these 8 gorgeous 50 wt spools and with fresh inspiration from my QuiltCon class with Jacquie Gering and her rotational designs, I dove in. Like big time. Like I should have stopped at 4 colors but just couldn’t. Like having the big box of crayons with the sharpener in the bottom and needing to try them all. It did get a little wild but I decided to embrace it and make it into a piece of hanging art! I found this 24×36” canvas at my local hobby shop for $14. I centered it on the quilt and stapled the edges to the back. I’m so excited to find the perfect place to hang this in our house!
Aurifil Thread Used: 2588, 1104, 2135, 1231, 2860, 5005, 2725, & 2520.
Kate Sandford
This month I used all the colours, well 23 of them! I wanted to get lots of quilted texture into this giant colourful improv koi. I used different weight threads mostly 50 and 28wt. All quilted on a small domestic sewing machine.
Aurifil Thread Used: 50wt in 2520, 2535, 7002, 2220, 7000, 7001, 2530, 2410, 1147, 2910, 2530, 2545, 1103; 28wt in 2545, 2265, 1104, 5022, 2140, 4250, 1114, 2975; 40wt in 1231
Jennifer Cannon
This month’s @aurifilthread challenge was to use three or more threads and here I have used five of my absolute favorites in this mini quilt! I used @lizataylorhandmade’s Hummingbird FPP pattern from her monthly club The Paper Piecers, and all of the solid fabrics are @artgalleryfabrics pure solids.
Aurifil Threads Used: 12wt in 1148 (Light Jade), 2535 (Magenta), 2530 (Blossom Pink), 1114 (Grass Green), 2115 (Lemon)
Francesca Kemp
My @aurifilthread artisan challenge for March is to showcase the glorious colours available, and I think these lovely primrose brooches, embroidered with five different shades each have made such a lovely use of the amazing colour options.
From the first drawings I knew I needed the brights to capture the joy of spring in these gorgeous little pops of colour. 💛
We encourage you to click through and check out each of these amazing projects in more detail!
Wow!! What an interesting array of creativity!! Great job everyone!!!
This is beautiful I so admire you