Adventures With Aurifil

See that bit of "fuzz" in the center of the red circle?  It's not really fuzz, it is a knot.  A knot that came off the spool of Aurifil thread that I have been trying out for the last couple of weeks.  I understand that factory knots happen and I've found plenty of knots in skeins of yarn (much to my dismay), but I can't say that I have ever found a knot in a spool of thread.  Now the reason for my not noticing other knots could be that they caught up in the needle and broke the thread without me actually seeing the knot.  You know, one of those times when the machine just acts up for no reason, so you rethread and everything is fine after that?  This knot just happened to be in the bobbin and showed up as I was about to snip the threads which is when I noticed it.  This certainly isn't going to ruin my new relationship with Aurifil thread, but I'll definitely be keeping a look out for knots from now on. 

I'm Sold!

A few weeks ago I put a spool of Aurifil thread on my machine to try and see if I could see what everyone was raving about.  After all thread is thread, right?  The answer to that is WRONG.  All thread is not created equal and it didn't take me long to figure out that Aurifil is much better than some of the other brands I have been using.  The most noticeable difference is that it is a much finer thread, so more thread fits on the bobbin. (I only had to change the bobbin once while piecing this whole quilt!)  A finer thread also means that seams are more accurate.  Both good enough reasons to convert me...I'm sold on Aurifil. 

Are You Thread Brand Loyal?

I've never cared much about thread brand.  I'm usually happy to use whatever brand my local quilt shops carry as long as I can get the color that I need.  I've heard a lot of good things about Aurifil thread, but it's not easy to find in our neck of the woods, so I've stuck with what is available.  Last weekend I was at a quilt show and one of the vendors was running a show special on Aurifil (2 spools for $20) so I picked up a couple of spools to try.  I haven't sewn with it enough yet to give a full review, so I'll let you know what I think of it after I've done some serious stitching.  I'm curious though...are you loyal to a thread brand?  If so, what brand and why?