Joyce's Cosmos Tumblers Quilt

 Tonight I finished my customer's Cosmos Tumblers quilt.  It measures 68" x 86".  The backing is soft, soft minky.  The batting is Quilters' Dream poly, in black.  The top thread is Omni 40-weight in charcoal, and the bobbin thread is Bottom Line 60-weight in medium blue.  That is, most of it is Bottom Line.

I ran out of bobbin thread just as I finished basting the edge of the quilt in preparation for the last three-quarters of a row of quilting. The thread I ordered won’t be here until next week. And in this little town, there is no Bottom Line thread to be found anywhere. Fact is, there’s no ‘real’ longarm thread here at all. However, I have sometimes found Gütermann or YLI long-staple thread at my favorite LQS (owned by a lady who's been my friend since Jr. High), and it works great in my machine. There are only medium-sized spools, though; no big cones. And it’s pricey.

I wondered... do I have any Coats & Clark thread in that color, and would it possibly work in the bobbin, for just these last few inches??

I pulled out my few remaining spools of Coats & Clark and took a look. Yep, there was a spool of medium blue in precisely the same color. However, Coats & Clark is anything but long-staple thread. You should see it under a microscope. It looks like a jumbled, messy bird’s nest.

But... I wound a bobbin. I put it in my machine. I started quilting.

The top thread broke in tiny little spots three times in the first few inches of quilting.

I laboriously picked out all the thread.

Not willing to give up just yet (after all, it matched!), I loosened the bobbin tension a little, tucked the bobbin case back into the machine, and started quilting – slowly, at only about half my usual speed.

And thus I finished the quilt.

I'll betcha you'll nevah, evah be able to find the spot where the Bottom Line ends and the Coats & Clark begins.  I don't want to use that stuff again, though.  I hate going slooow!  😆