Society of Soie Surfine - The Society News

• What is Soie Surfine?
  Soie Surfine is a 130/2 tightly twisted silk thread from Au ver á Soie.
• What's the difference between Soie Surfine and Soie 100/3?
  As the weight indications would imply Soie Surfine is thinner than Soie 100/3. Soie Surfine is twisted with 2 strands of silk vs. 3 used in Soie 100 and is about 25% - 30% thinner. You can feel the weight difference with your fingers or even better, you can view it with a microscope. Both are supple threads that do not untwist like Soie d'Alger so they hold their shape and stitch smoothly.
  
• Is the Society thread a skein or a spool?
  Because this is a hand-dyed thread it will come as a skein.
  
• What count fabric does it work best on?
  Soie Surfine works great as a single strand on 40 or 45 count. We have stitched with it both over one or over two on these counts. Over two on 45 count gives great coverage, it's sparser on 40 count over two so if you want it too look full, use two strands. Over one on 40 count works better than over one on 45 count if using cross-stitch - it's a little too plump but it's still lovely. If you want to do over one on 45 count do a half-cross or tent stitch. You can use it on other counts but you will need to use more than one strand. The colors are aligned in the skein so stitching with more than one strand isn't a problem.
• Are there designs for the thread?
  There are no specific designs, either for the hand-dyed Society thread or the solid colors. However, we're sure everyone has great designs they would love to stitch with this thread. Any designs that are a single color or tone-on-tone work great. You can find photos of some of them on the blog.
  
• Does Soie Surfine come in solid colors?
  The Society is having the thread dyed in part because availability of the solid colors is very limited. Au ver á Soie makes Soie Surfine in several solid colors but only a small portion of that is available in the US at any given time. The Society has worked with the US distributor to bring in few of the colors in sufficient quantity so that it would be available for those wanting solid colors. Contact your Society Member Shop to see what we've been able to get for solid colors from Au Ver á Soie.
  

• Is the skein one continuous thread or cut?
  Series #2 Threads are available either as 100yd cut skeins or 200yd uncut skeins. Both are hand-twisted and bagged. The color is aligned in the skein so you can easily use one or more strands.
  
• What threads colors are part of Series #2?
  Three of five thread colors have been picked - Aubergine (deep purple), Flowers of Italy (an multi-colored thread with purple-burgundy, gold and green) and Cabernet (the purple-burgundy in FOI). The remaining 2 colors have not been picked yet. Four of the colors will be tone-on-tone color and will coordinate with each other as well as with the custom color of Lakeside Linens fabric we're calling Society Thyme.
  
• Can I sign-up now or later?
  You can sign-up for Series #2 until approximately 30 days after we have released our last color. We plan to release colors about 2 months apart. Whenever you sign-up you will receive all the of colors released for Series #2 up to that time as well as any not yet released as they become available. If you wait until the end of Series #2 you would get all of the threads and the fabric in one shipment.
  
• Can I order more of a Series #2 thread or fabric?
  You can order more of the Series #2 thread colors and fabric until the end of Series #2. Additional thread and fabric is only available to Series #2 Subscribers. We will take orders for additional thread and fabric until approximately 30 days after our last color is released. At that time all colors will become unavailable.
  
• Can I order a different count of fabric?
  We are only doing Society Cuts in the 40 and 45 count as part of the subscription. But you can order a a Society Cut in the other count or you can order a Stitcher's Half of 28, 32, 36, 40 or 45 count as additional yardage. Additional fabric is only available to Series #2 Subscribers.
  
• How often are the releases?
  We plan to release the colors about 2 months apart. Timing is not exact since we have to get the base thread from France, which can sometimes take a bit and fabric from Italy and Germany.
  
• When will the fabric be released?
  The fabric - Society Thyme will be our second release and is expected in April/May 2011.
  

This model is a small Christmas ornament from The Marking Sampler ( Eliza Ann Taylor Christmas Sampler #2). It's only 88x78 so it's a nice size to do as a quick gift. The original was done monochromatic, and you could do it in any Society color and have a lovely piece. However for this model it's being worked with Cabernet (color #3) for the border and Flowers of Italy (color #2) for the lettering.

It is stitched over-one on Series #2 Society Thyme 40 count linen (as cross-stitch).

The second release in Series #2 will be the fabric, which we expect to release in April/May. It's a lovely green, which we're calling Society Thyme, that goes well with the colors in this series, as well as those in Series #1.

When this chart from Primitivebetties (Never Enough Thyme) came my way I knew this had to be a model for Series #2. It's being stitching over-one on 45 count but as tent stitch. I can control my tension better with tent vs. half-cross and it doesn't slip. I normally work in-hand but I find I can see the 45 count linen better to stitch over-on if it's tight in a hoop. Seems like it opens the holes just a tad more.

The words are being stitched in Aubergine, the vine in Flowers of Italy (color #2), the bird in Cabernet (color #3) and the bunnies in Cocolat from Series #1.

This lovely little model is another of the JBW Designs, which I think a great for over-one stitching on fine count fabric. This particular piece will likely go into another necklace so it was stitched without the border. The design is French Country Love.

It was stitched over-one (as cross-stitch) on 40 count Graziano Ricamo linen (Ivory).

This is one of the models for our colors in Series #2. Stitched with Aubergine on our sample of the fabric for Series #2 (which will be a green this time) this is an Amon ami Pierre design (Référence JD 190 - ARBRE AUX OISEAUX POSITIF).

This model is stitched over-one on 40 count as cross-stitch. So you get a very dense but crisp look.

If you're interested in the chart for this model contact your Society Member shop - we should all have some of them coming in soon.

Stay tuned for more model progress...

Here's a photo of 5 of the hanks we get from Gloriana when they've been dyed. The odd looking threads are the separators used to keep the thread from tangling when it's in the process of being dyed.

It's a great mixture of deep purple, blue and a little bit that's almost black. Definitely reminds you of a an eggplant - a truly lovely color!

Be sure to check with a Society member shop to sign up for Series #2.