I started quilting oh about 5 years ago. Previous to that I had sewn garments, so I had a fair bit of thread around - all kinds.

I used some of my C&C "all purpose" and I bought spools of many other threads specific for quilting throughout this 5 year period. Tried most (not quite all) of the manufacturers. I was never "married" to a specific thread maker. Most of my choices were governed by what my three regular LQS's carried, but I've also visited other stores, visited and purchased thread at quilt shows, and bought thread online. Mostly I bought colors that I needed, or thought I needed, and even some packs of every day colors.

Over the years I noted things about the different threads. Ease of feeding, amount of 'fluff', amount of sheen, availability, price, durability, etc. etc. etc. Most of

I FINALLY decided on *my* thread.

Aurifil.

I'll use others in the bobbin (I really like Gutterman 50 or even 60 in the bobbin), but I've decided that of all the thread I've tried, I want to make Aurifil my "go to" thread. I found a good supplier and I even scored a color card!! No more guessing colors from online purchases.

Why Aurifil?

It's clean. Almost zero fluff when I quilt and piece.
It feeds clean, never had a fray or a break.
If seam ripping is a good test of durability (and I believe it is) then then stuff is durable.
Sheen - I love the sheen to it. Some cottons look so flat and lifeless - Aurifil has a very nice sheen to it - even after laundering.
Yes, the price is higher than some, but I am willing to pay for quality.

No, I don't work for them, and am not getting paid to advertise for them (although if they saw this post and decided to reward me with thread I wouldn't refuse it <g>), I just wanted to announce that I am now "married" to a thread.

Now I need to test and figure out what batting I like the best. Going to take a lot more time as I use it far less frequently than I do thread. I know one thing, I'm using the wrong batting in the quilt I'm making now. Not enough loft for the amount of quilting I'm doing on it. Live and learn right??

glad to hear you chose a thread---
as for the batting i really could not imagine deciding this is the batting i'm always going to go to---every quilt is different- and has different batting needs- as you said- the one you are using now- is not the best choice- but for a different project it is probably perfect-
i have certain batts i love- and certain ones i absolutely hate- but i wind up using the ones i hate every now and then- because they are the right batt for the project- and sometimes my favorite batt is just wrong for a project--
thread on the other hand is quite different- i have my go-to thread too- but batts are a whole different animal :)

It's my first choice of thread too! I won't say married as I do use others occasionally, but maybe I should say engaged to Aurifil:>

It is a great thread; I use it all of the time. I do alot of civil war type blocks where there are alot of seems and a specific block size in the end. I had a really hard time getting the block size accurate until my teacher suggested using Aurofil; with it being only two ply it really made a difference in my blocks and it very low lint for cotton. My viking mega quilter recommends it for FMQ

My bobbin also holds more of the Aurifil thread ... almost twice as much. This is really great for retreats as I don't have to wind as many bobbins.

ali

I just thought of something. Most of the time I've actually been paying attention to what thread I'm using and how it behaves has been on my Janome.

It's entirely possible that I may like a different thread on my Husky.

Hmmm...