Originally Posted by
Clay
I should have mentioned that the Madeira thread that the quilting instructor recommended for us was Madeira Cotona Nr.50 (whatever Nr. stands for???) premium quilting thread, 100% merc cotton . My wife has always used the cheap stuff. You don't know what you don't know and now that there is better stuff out there and a reason for it, life should be easier.
When I tried to find this same stuff online, we paid $6.99 a spool for this and I was looking for a better price, I'm having a hard time.
Assuming that I found the same thread - it's 50wt and a spool of 1000m - $6.99 is really not a bad price at all. That's on par with Aurifil at 1300m for $10ish - if it's a quality thread - which is how they're marketing it. It's German made and sold as a premium quilting cotton. I'm guessing that Nr is how they represent either WT (weight) or No (Number?) NO seems to be what it's translated to on some sites.
That said, as best I can tell Genziana is the same as Aurifil and especially with the Canadian dollar trading the way it is, this works out really well in your favor even after Canada Post extorts their fees for shipping:
http://www.tristan.bc.ca/cart/home.p...ction=0&page=2
Thread and needles are 2 places I won't skimp. I service machines and I often find that they are 2 of 3 of the most common very easily "problems" people can solve without needing a technician. The third being tension.
Poor quality needles are often not straight, have burrs and cause all sorts of other issues.
Thread (and fabric being pierced) causes lint build up - and that build up when not cleaned out by the owner between servicings can wick the oil and grease away from the parts of the machine that needs it - causing premature wear. Also, lesser quality threads can break easier - whether while under construction or prematurely during use. They tend to also have more slubs and joins.