A Year as an Aurifil Artisan: A Look Back
Hi, artisans!
For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure and honor of being an Aurifil Artisan (1). Earlier this month, I received the news that I was selected again for the 2026–2027 round, so it felt like the perfect moment to look back at the 12 challenges from the 2025–2026 program and reflect on how I responded to them.
Also, a word for the Aurifil team: Claire, Erin, Cayci. You are a dream team and wonderful to work with. I have no idea how you keep up! But you do, and I am so thankful to have met and got to work with you.
Now, being selected as an ambassador is always a little bittersweet. I know how many people apply, and I know many who aren’t selected walk away feeling rejected, like their work simply isn’t good enough. If that is you, I hope you keep making anyway. Not because rejection doesn’t hurt, but because you and your work deserve a future that isn’t determined by a jury or sponsorship. In many ways, my May submission speaks exactly about that.
Full list Aurifil Artisan 2025-2026
Auribuzz, the Aurifil newsletter
Aurifil Artisan Welcome Box 2025-2026
June
This challenge is all about your Artisan Welcome Package! We’d love for you to feature an unboxing. Choose anything new from your welcome package to create something of your choosing. Get creative and show us what you’ve got!
Aurifil threads used: 80wt (2370), 50wt (6738, 2692, 2314), 40wt (2530, 2024), 28wt (1135), 12wt (4655), 12wt Wool (8520, 8130), 8wt (2250, 2735), Floss (2886, 2515), & Monofilament (Clear).
Reference Guide
To kick off the Artisan program, and since I had only tried one weight of Aurifil before, I thought I would test ALL of the thread weights so that I could have a guide to reference to for future doing future works.
FYI Aurifil has 80wt, 50wt, 40wt, 28wt, 12wt, 12wt wool, 8wt, floss and monofilament.
July
Let’s Get Scrappy! It’s time to turn your fabric leftovers into something spectacular! For this challenge, we invite you to create a project using scraps—whether from your own stash or the bundle included in your welcome pack. Use any Aurifil thread weight and let your creativity shine through piecing, quilting, applique, or beyond.
Appliquéd, hand embroidered and quilted with Aurifil: 50wt in 2515, 2140, 2535, 1147, 6738, 2314; 40wt in 2024 and 2530; 28wt in 2120, and 2410; 12wt 2455 and 2026; 12wt wool in 8520 and 8130; 8wt in 2250.
Self-Portrait
I joined my local quilt guild summer challenge to make a quilted self portrait with Aurifils scrappy July.
Now, I don’t have snakes for hair (promise), but I added them as a reminder that mythology, much like History, was mostly written by men. When the patriarchy writes the stories, powerful women often get rewritten as monsters. So this one’s for the Medusas of the world: You are beautiful. You are sinless. You are worthy of protection.
If you don’t know the true story of Medusa, I highly encourage you to listen to this episode of Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby!.
August
This month, celebrate summer vibes and fond memories by reimagining the postcard! Create a mini quilted design, embroidered message, or stitched scene inspired by a hometown, travel memory, or something special — and send it to a fellow maker.
Appliquéd and quilted with: 50wt in 5006, 2912, 1147, 2775, 2240, 2520, 2479, 2123; 28wt in 2120; monofilament in clear.
Soft Postcard
I came to the US in 2023 after an extremely long waiting time. I did “everything right” and still got stuck in the country for 20 months while I waited for my Green Card. Surprise! Supriiise! The due process doesn’t work. This postcard encapsulates exactly how it felt to hop back home to Lisbon after 20 months in NYC. I landed straight into a pile of bunny hugs!
This quilted postcard is a love note to that moment, and to all the Trees who stood beside me on my immigration journey to the U.S.
Reproduction of an illustration from the book “Bunny and Tree” by Balint Zsako, with the author’s blessing. Click here to see the book.
September
It’s time to celebrate all things sweater weather with stitches that embrace the spirit of Fall!
This month, your challenge is to create something that captures the warm, layered aesthetic of the season. Think cozy quilt textures, sweater-themed embroidery, visible mending on beloved knits, or any project that leans into the thick, rich comfort of Fall.
Machine embroidered with Aurifil: 40wt in 2530; 12wt in 2026; wool in 8130.
Sweather Weather
September’s challenge called for the spirit of Fall, and nothing says Fall like sweaters. My mind immediately went back to a moment years ago when I pulled a tiny, shrunken mohair sweater out of the washing machine. After mourning it for far too long (like… years!), I finally gave it a second life: the sweater was reborn as a cuddly wool pillow and an embroidered mug cozy.
October
Secret Stitch Swap: It’s time to spread some festive cheer! If you signed up via the link in the latest Artisan newsletter, you’ll soon be paired with a fellow Artisan to exchange a small, handmade surprise—just in time for Christmas!
Embroidered with Aurifil: 80wt in 2123; 50wt in 2140, 2240, 4020, 2314; 40wt in 2784
28wt in 1135; 12wt in 4655, 2455, 2515; wool in 8130; floss in 2692.
Gift Tags
Holiday season was around the corner, and I was busy preparing Christmas gifts. I thought about how committed people in the US are to buying disposable paper gift tags —yes, feeling 100% judgy— often just to write a name and toss them away right after. In the spirit of resisting pointless waste, I made three gift tags actually worth keeping.
They can double as ornaments, bag charms, mini-mini-mini wall hangings, or whatever else feels right.
November
Aurifil Collections! Dive into the vibrant world of Aurifil threads by showcasing the thread collection box sent in your welcome pack, or any other Aurifil collection box of your choice. Let these threads inspire your creativity as you embark on any project of your choosing.
Pieced and quilted with Aurifil x Vickeidy Plybon ‘Hilos de Alegría’ 50wt thread collection box.
Solstice Bloom
This piece was really a case of the stars aligning perfectly. In my Artisan Welcome Box, I received the Hilos de Alegría thread collection curated by Vickeidy Plybon. Around the same time, for the August postcard challenge, I had ordered a few fabrics inspired by Balint’s illustration. So when Vickeidy asked me to test her Solstice Bloom block everything suddenly clicked into place. Her threads matched the fabrics I had on hand perfectly.
And for the full-circle moment: I had already planned to gift Vicky the bunny postcard, which she finally received in October after I returned from my long vacation in Lisbon.
December
It’s time to shine a light on one of thread’s unsung heroes: Variegated Threads!
This month, we challenge you to create a project that showcases the power of variegated thread in any weight. Whether you’re quilting, embroidering, piecing, or embellishing, let those shifting tones work their magic — and show us how you make them shine.
Embroidered with Aurifil: floss 4658, 4659; 4655 in 12wt.
Tah-Lay-Gho
This piece was a delight! A pure exploration of variegated threads and hand embroidery. One flame led to another, dancers emerged, and the surface slowly filled with whimsy as I experimented with stitches and strand weight. The final composition was applied to a taleigo, a traditional cloth bag from Alentejo, Portugal, typically used to store bread.
January
3:2:1 Challenge! Take at least 3 thread colors, in at least 2 different thread weights, and incorporate them into 1 project!
Machine appliqué lettering and flames with Aurifil: 50wt 2140, 2240, 2535. Handquilted with 40wt 2530. Hand embroidered with 12wt 2026.
Turn up the Heat on Blast!
I made this banner back in August, convinced its moment would arrive during a brutally cold NYC January. Turns out timing has its own sense of humor. Remember Operation Metro Surge, when thousands of ICE officers invaded Minneapolis and tried to tear apart entire communities and families? In below-zero temperatures, the people of the Twin Cities sure turned the heat up on blast.
February
This month, we’re celebrating the art of color matching! Your challenge is to turn to your Aurifil swatch card and use it to find the perfect thread pairings for your next project — whether you’re piecing, quilting, hand stitching, or adding detail to a garment.
Pieced and quilted with Aurifil: 50 wt in 2123, 2140, 2437, 2277, 2515,4020, 1243, 2520, 2775, 2710, 2835, 2850.
Rainbow
Back in December, I thought of making one pair of slippers as a Christmas gift, but… guess what? “You get quilted slippers!” [in Oprah’s voice] multiplied by six. I used the Aurifil swatch book to perfectly match-contrast the 12 colors of solid fabric scraps and finished off each pair with Washi Plus fabric from Ruby Star Society.
March
Unfinished Business: This month, we’re embracing the art of transformation. Your challenge is to revisit a project that’s been tucked away — a forgotten WIP, a stitched piece in need of love and turn it into something new.
Hand embroidered with Aurifil: 12wt in 2120 (Y), 1104 (O), 2270 (R), 4020 (P), 5005 (B), 6737(G). Pieced with Aurifil 50wt 2692.
Count with Me, Baby!
For the last eight years, I worked part-time as a nanny and thinking about children’s education became an unexpected part of my everyday life. I was probably never the most conventional nanny, which may be exactly why the families I worked with chose me.
This soft book captures that spirit perfectly. Click on the photo to take a peek inside.
April
Share your technique in action. Film a short Reel or capture step-by-step photos to show your favorite method, helpful tips, or just how you bring your projects to life with Aurifil thread.
Pieced and quilted with Aurifil: 50wt 2310, 2692, 2437; 40wt 2024; 12wt 2026, 5015, 6737, 5005, 4655, 2515; 1140; 8wt 2250.
Breakfast for Two
Moving to NYC made me nostalgic for the culture of shared meals I grew up with in Portugal. There, sitting down together for a meal is part of everyday life. Lunch time is lunch time, whether you’re hungry or not.
This picnic blanket was inspired by that longing: made for shared food, sense of community and that unwanted guest that often shows up at meal time.
May
To close out the Artisan year, we want to see you in your element. What’s your signature stitch — the style or technique that defines your work?
Make a Wish!
One of the things that saddens me most is how much talent is lost to greed, cruelty, and injustice. Far too few people are handed a book of matches at birth, and so many never receive even a single match stick. And even when you do carry a few matchsticks in your pocket, so many flames are extinguished before they ever become fire. Being the “wrong” color or gender, born into the wrong social class, or not having the luck of crossing paths with the right people at the right time, the list goes on. What stands against us is often far greater than what stands beside us.
Make a Wish celebrates the fires we were able to start, while also mourning all the sparks that never had the chance to catch.
Stay strong, lovelies, and keep lighting flames.
Notes:
¹ The Aurifil Artisan program is a year-long ambassadorship organized by Aurifil. Each month, Artisans receive a creative prompt and are invited to interpret it however they see fit. Aurifil does a wonderful job of bringing together a group that is quite diverse in both style and technique, making it quite interesting to see how each Artisan approaches the same challenge. Along the way, we receive thread, collections and other goodies from Aurifil to support our work.
