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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Back to FMQ

Monday and Tuesday night, I confess, I was lazy.  There was no stitching going on at my house.
So tonight (Wednesday night)  I decided to break that pattern.  I grabbed two squares of fabric and some batting.  The machine already had thread in top and bobbin so I just used what was there. (completely forgetting that I need more of it for the other quilt I was working on! yikes!)

I took a cereal bowl and a chalk pencil and drew a circle in the middle of the top piece of fabric.  And I started free motion quilting. I followed the circle first.  Then I used a pattern from the Leah Day free motion filler class and made it giant size, filling the circle. Leah calls this filled circle "sawblades."  That part went GREAT!
Then I tried spiraling out from there.  As you can see my spiraling needs work.
The outer edges are not round. Oh well...it is better than I was doing two months ago, so I am happy. Then I filled the spiral lines with pointy spikes, pebble circles, and U shapes.
Here is the back side
This is nowhere near perfect, but that is okay. I learned that next time I will draw the spiral too.  I have learned to follow the line much better.
I also learned that it is easy to lose sight of where you have sewn if you use a variegated thread that at places disappears because it matches the background.

Now for the good news.  I still have plenty of thread on the spool to finish the other quilt.

Have you tried free motion quilting? Did you like it?  Did it scare you?

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.
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6 comments:

  1. Unknown9:42 PM

    I love FMQ! I am ok at it, gonna keep practicing. I use a domestic machine so tweaking the settings is essential...if I can get past the garment sewing teachings about using only certain settings...I must learn to play more!

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  2. Debbie7:07 AM

    I've been watching your practice for a while now.....and every time I see improvement. And you have the right attitude, it does not have to be perfect. Personally, I can't seem to follow a drawn line so I am always impressed when someone does as well as you have! Keep it up.

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  3. Vicki W8:07 AM

    It doesn't matter what it looks like. It's only the practice that matters. I need to do more of that when I have a few free minutes.

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  4. Beth9:41 AM

    It still scares me. You are doing so great. I really like the center of that piece. I don't know how you kept that so even .

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  5. Teresa Quilts10:07 AM

    FMQ still makes me nervous. I haven't practiced nearly as much as I need to. Your saw blade filled circle looks awesome, Gene!!!

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  6. Pat Merkle12:23 PM

    Looking good Gene!!! Keep going, you're doing great!

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