Sunday, February 28, 2016

Are you Tired of Looking?

Are you tired of looking at my free motion quilting practice pieces?  I do get tired while making them but I don't get tired of the process or playing with designs.
I have been a "doodler" for a long time. When I was working, I often sat in meetings and doodled.  I found that it actually helped me to keep my thoughts on the subject being discussed.  My hands and subconscious were occupied with the doodling-which freed my conscious brain to pay attention.  I would have my notes from meetings and classes surrounded by doodles and zentangle designs.  I think that free motion quilting is a lot like doodling.

So, on this piece I did what I frequently did on doodles when a line was "off" - I repeated the line to darken and correct it on the large motifs. That caused the spine of the feather to really show up.

I am showing the back and the front.  The red is really the front, but the design in the fabric (not a solid) doesn't show the quilting as well as the "dark mustard" back fabric.

I quilted this one with a twisted embroidery thread that is blue/red.  It blends visually and appears to be purple. The shine on the thread is a delight. It is a shame that it doesn't show in the photos.  Don't fall for the old saying that you can't use poly thread to quilt with.  It works just fine.

This section of the class is called "Showboats" - The feather is my main showboat with the heart, leaf and triangle-swirl being my secondary showboats.  That small stippling took more time than I had anticipated.  But in the end it really made it look good. (or at least I think so!)

Here is my second one:
Yes, I thik I like the first one better.  Isn't that always how it is?


If you want to check out this class it is the class Wild Quilting by Christina Cameli on Craftsy.  I am truly enjoying her teaching. (Please note that the class link is an affiliate link.  If you click it and purchase, I will receive compensation.)

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger" - I can not reply.

8 comments:

Barbara said...

Magnificent fmq! If you don't get tired of doing these, we won't get tired of being amazed by them!

Pam said...

Thanks for sharing. I'll have to try some of the twist threads to quilt. I know I like their results when satin stitching. Just did not think of using them to quilt. Great inspiration.

Debbie said...

Really great!!! Poly works great for fmq but avoid rayon as it is not strong enough. I use Poly a lot for fmq.

Vicki W said...

Sweet!

Mary said...

Very nice!

Kathleen said...

Great work!! Love the two different kinds of stippling.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

No - I am not tired of looking at your practice pieces!! They are amazing and make me want to practice my own FMQ more and more - ;))

Jeanna said...

Very pretty quilting, Gene.