Greetings, Aurifil thread lovers! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator, I’m delighted to shine a spotlight on longtime Aurifil friend and Aurifilosopher, Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios. Scott has been stitching with Aurifil for nearly twenty years! Throughout the years Scott has contributed his creative voice to our community through multiple Block-of-the-Month programs. In 2018, we introduced his signature Aurifil collection and we’ve been inspired by his vibrant artistry ever since.
Rooted in the beauty of the forest and fueled by his signature love of all things vintage, Scott has an extraordinary way with color. His work bridges vintage and modern, drawing on the quilts, makers, and everyday moments that surround him. In addition to his past fabric collections with Banyan Batiks, he continues to bring playful innovation to every project.
In today’s Thread Matters feature, Scott shares his passion for cross stitch, offering a simple yet stunning design that can be worked with Aurifil Cotton 8wt, Cotton 12wt, Cotton Floss, or Wool 12wt. He provides a wonderfully clear comparison of these threads, giving our community valuable insight into how each one behaves in cross stitch.
Many thanks to Scott for sharing his creativity, expertise, and enduring love of Aurifil with us.
Is your shop, group or guild looking for insightful, inspiring and educational information on thread? Consider booking a virtual or in-person program with one of our skilled Aurifilosophers. Learn more about Aurifilosophy and find your favorite Aurifilosopher here.
Happy Stitching!
Karen L. Miller ~ Redbird Quilt Co
Before I was a REAL quilter, I was an avid counted cross stitcher. I had put it aside for years, though, as I could get a lot more done in less time with quilts than I could with counted cross stitch. A few years ago, I picked it up again and now they are competing for time in my studio!
Recently, I was inspired to work on a little experiment with all the wonderful offerings from Aurifil— especially after the release of their Cotton 8wt thread last year! I thought it would be quite fun to partner the Cotton 8wt with the Wool 12wt along with the ever so popular 6-Strand Cotton Floss and the Cotton 12wt I have been using for awhile.
So, I drew up this romantic little cross-stitch design and using what I could find here in the studio (my threads are FAR from organized), I came up with a wintery palette and called the design “Jardin d’Hiver” which is French for “Winter Garden”. I used 14ct Aida cloth and made a simple pillow pincushion from the design. I finished it with a pseudo knife-blade edge using a blanket-stitch and 2 strands of Aurifil #2435 in Cotton 12wt.
This design could be stitched in a wide variety of color combinations, and I may well make another one using my large collection of Aurifil, my mother’s old floss, and my “rescue” floss acquired when I’m antiquing or thrifting. I know you are not ‘supposed’ to use old threads, but I do think there is a lot of life left in much of the vintage floss.
But… BACK to Aurifil. I have to share my thoughts on their various weights and also on Aurifil floss & threads in general. Remember, these are MY observations and thoughts, they are strictly from my viewpoint and I am sure many people will have different opinions about various aspects here.
Love the Spools
First, I LOVE that all of Aurifil’s floss/threads are on spools. I hate how tangled other brands get when they come in skeins– those drive me nuts. I love the Aurifil spools, particularly the wooden ones for Cotton Floss and Cotton 8wt.
That Color Range
Of course their color range is vast and that is a given joy about these threads.
Lets Talk Sheen
Floss:
When I use Cotton Floss, I usually use 3 strands on 14ct Aida. I might use 2 strands on 16 or 18 ct, but I don’t use that small of canvas count much anymore. I would say the sheen on Aurifil’s floss is pretty comparable to most standard floss, mostly on the matte side.
Cotton 12wt:
When I use Cotton 12wt I usually double the strands to get what I think is a good thickness of thread. I find that Cotton 12wt has the most sheen of all four. If it were a paint, I would call it a medium gloss.
This was the first project on which I have used both Cotton 8wt and Wool 12wt. I was excited to see what the differences would be.
Cotton 8wt:
I used single strands of Cotton 8wt and to me it has a sheen somewhere between Cotton Floss and Cotton 12wt. In the paint world, I would call it a satin finish! It has the same feel and look of what I have used from other manufacturers typically called “Perle Cotton”. That weight has been one of my favorite fibers for embellishing. I am so excited that Aurifil now makes Cotton 8wt.
Wool 12wt:
The Wool 12wt was so soft and slightly fuzzy, very different from the rest. I used two strands of that and it filled in the counted cross stitch spaces very nicely. It has a very soft glow. It’s hard to describe it in paint terms. It appears fluffier and MORE matte than matte if that is possible.
I plan on making a few more pincushions with this pattern as gifts for family and friends. It went pretty fast and was beginner friendly. I will experiment with more colors and Aurifil’s variety of textures! I hope you like it and I look forward to seeing your creations.
The best place to reach me these days is on Instagram at @bluenickelstudios. I also have a website where I host a small shop of my PDF quilt patterns and where I occasionally blog. Warning, THAT blog is seriously in need of some love. I get too busy making stuff, and doing computer work just wears me out. Creating invigorates me!
Blessings to you all,
Keep Stitching, Keep Happy,
Scott
ABOUT SCOTT
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Scott Hansen is the self-proclaimed Mad Color Scientist behind the wheel at Blue Nickel Studios. His favorite pastimes as a child included paper pop-out dioramas and that coveted 64 color box of Crayola crayons. Later in the exploratory years of junior high, he took Woodshop and Home Ec where he learned that working with fabric was just a bit safer than working with wood. (This was before the advent of the rotary cutter, mind you).
Scott designed his first quilt at 14. After that he did more typical teenage activities like learning to drive, working, college, and figuring out how to talk to girls. He found the girl of his dreams after college, and has been married to his wife, Linda, also an artist, for over 30 years. They settled down in the countryside Northeast of Seattle, Washington and raised three kids and numerous chickens, ducks, cats, and one dog. Scott kept planting trees as well, just slightly faster than the local deer were able to mow them down, as he has always been a child of the forest. His constant fascination with trees shows up in his designs often. Scott and Linda recently moved to a cottage nestled in a quiet glade in the middle of an evergreen forest on Whidbey Island (still in Washington State). They now have Trees and Salt Water surrounding them on their deliciously primordial, mystical island.
That first quilt he designed as a teenager traveled with him, and after collecting a few vintage quilts, Scott picked up the quilting bug again and has been playing with fiber and color ever since. He has had many quilt patterns published in numerous quilt magazines since 2008. He has been running his blog since 2006 and has been self-publishing patterns since 2012. His “Painted Forest” quilt pattern has become a classic pattern now, but he has plenty more modern “Urban Folk” quilt patterns via his website and Etsy. He has designed two lines of modern batiks for Banyan Batiks as well.