Some Free Motion Quilting Time

It has been a while since I have try something new on the quilting front with my main machine out of action for 8 weeks.  My quilting pile has grown.  So it was time to tackle some of the projects, as some have deadlines that needed to be met. Luckily they are all small projects so I was able to get 2 of the small projects with deadlines quilted. My second colour way of my Tea Party Table Topper  (picture above top right)which is a retreat workshop next month and my contribution to Kate's Scrap Crazy workshop samples. Nothing fancy but nicely done.

Then there was two cat quilts that got pinned. I did manage to start on one of the cat quilts and this is where I get to play. I saw a wavy check tutorial by Leah Day last week and I wanted to try it. So this was the perfect piece to try it on. Not too big so it would take me all day, but not too small that it would be over before I got the hang of it. I got halfway through quilting it before I ran out of time but the effects were brilliant for the first time doing it. I think I will be using this one again and again in different sizes. I hope you can see it. Excuse little Miss Pochee she loves to walk through photos.

You can see it better on the back.

When I finish it I will share it  with everyone. I am sharing this post with the Free Motion Mavericks. Take a look at what others are up to.

Until Next Time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt -FMQ Along #15

In our free motion quilting quilt along I am up to block 7, the disappearing nine patch block. Having made this block before it came together very well and it wasn't long before I was ready for quilting. There is 3 blocks to quilt and the first one was pretty straight forward to quilt. So it should by now, straight lines.

The second block was more challenging with the square spiral and the circles all the same size in rows. Well the neat rows of circles disappeared into pebbles and the last block aha moment on pebbles I want to do more so I did more.

The third block featured a spiral with some stippling. The spiral was interesting to stitch, a little wobbly in some spots but it turned out ok with the stippling. 

The next block is going to be a bit more challenging so we should have some fun piecing them.

Until next time

Keep stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt - FMQ Along #14

It has been a while since I have done a post on this project. Honestly I haven't been happy with my progress and the project has been sped up so I knew there was no way I could keep up. So it has been sitting there in it bag since the end of May I think. Over the last couple week I have been thinking about it I should at least keep going even if I can't keep up. I really want to improve my FMQ, so I pieced the next 2 blocks ready for quilting.

Finally I got to the 4 pinwheel blocks and after some warm up on my Celtic Solstice quilt doing the borders. I got them completed. So here they are.

My spirals are rubbish but I had a-ha moment with the pebbles I think I have them worked out but need to work on them in a larger size.

 This one is very interesting how it turned out.

 One of my favourites

My other favourite.

I am stilling having problems with some designs but there was a few designs I am now starting to enjoy like wiggly lines, zig zags and straight lines especially if I don't have to mark the blocks.  That is my major problem, marking the blocks I just can't see the marking clear enough to follow them and I think that is really putting me off. So these blocks I only marked the 8 inch square in the middle for guidance and went for it after watching Leah's And Josh's tutorials on each block.  I must admit there is improvement in my technique; thank goodness I was starting to think I wasn't going to get passed the basics. There is hope for all of us who think we are not good enough. 

Until next time

 Keep Free Motion Quilting 

We will get there in the end; it just may be the long way round.

Cynthia                      

Building Blocks Quilt - FMQ Along #13

I am still working on our Cheater Drunkard Paths blocks with 2 left. I got the second one done with a few wobbles here and there and that was mainly because I couldn't see where I was going, the lines were a little too light as I have misplaced my yellow marking pencil. I wonder if 1 of my cats has stolen it. I will have to look for it before doing the next block. The wiggly curves in the arches  are looking better at least.

Here is the link to see what others have been working on.
http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/fmq-project-link-up.html

Until next time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt - FMQ Along #12

Here we are in May already and time seems to be flying by so fast. In our Free Motion Quilt Along we have a new block to piece and quilt - the Cheaters Drunkards Path and we get to quilt the first one  with Lines and Grids. I haven't tried raw edge piecing before and after hearing mixed opinions on this topic I decided to just follow Leah's instructions and it worked out better than I thought it would. 

Now we are at the quilting part so I marked the block and watched the tutorial. I decided to try sewing the curves in one go instead of stopping and starting, so I don't get the pointy bits. I also decided not to turn the block around as much as I have been doing, as Leah suggested if you are working on a large quilt we will not be able to turn our quilts easily. There is some wobbles in the curves, travel stitching and in the triangle sections and I think I lost one of my triangle points in the small curved section but I did it with only a few pauses. It could have been a lot worse. At least you can see the design I was aiming for, I didn't break my thread and my stitches are looking a lot more even. I think I have found the sweet spot on the throttle. Not too fast or too slow.

Until next time

Keep Stitching 

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt- FMQ Along # 10

I have fallen behind in our Free Motion Quilt Along. I left it to last in my list of sew alongs to complete. I have been struggling with some of the quilting designs and not happy with some of the results. I know my problems were common problems and practise was required to overcome them but that wasn't making me feel any better. I think I have solved 1 problem, I finally found a marking pencil I can see on my fabric. It is a yellow quilting marking pencil. First the last block from March to complete. Again circles appear, luckily only 4 this time. My circles are still not true circles yet but I like the results from the lines. I did complete the block without breaking the thread and my stitches were more even.

Front of the block.

Back of the block.

Now for piecing April's block. Something easy to sew. All done.

Now to mark the stippling pattern, I only marked the 2 largest stippling patterns as Leah suggested. Stippling is something I have tried before. This was my only experience in free motion quilting before this quilt along. So I was fairly confident I could do this one.

Here it is. I stitched the 3 larger ones with no troubles I did have a little trouble with the smallest stippling I did snap my thread right at the end and was having trouble seeing where I was going. 

I don't think I would use the largest stipple design in a project but I found the second and third stipple sizes more suitable to use in future projects. 

Here is the link to see what other quilters are up to.

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/fmq-project-link-up_18.html

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt - FMQ Along # 9

This week block was cursive words. It was a disaster block for me. So I am not happy. The only thing that was ok was the first row of loops that I traced and followed. I was hopeless with the writing and it shows. I don't know if I will tackle words again too soon. I just couldn't see what I was doing to get it all lined up. LSH ( my long suffering husband) suggested an extra light to help with the shadows. It did help a bit so I will set it up on the next blocks too. I almost didn't do this post as I am a little embarrassed with the results. I think I am at the bottom of the class this week.

To see some better looking blocks follow this link.

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/fmq-project-link-up_28.html

Until next time 

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt - FMQ Along # 8

This weeks quilting lesson was focused on wiggles and teeth. I manage to do this one early in the week rather than at the end of the week. After watching the tutorial I was a little worried when Leah suggested not to trace the second wiggly pattern and second teeth pattern. Just trace the beginning to get you going. Well I did what she said but in my head I was thinking I can always trace it if it was a disaster.  So imagine my surprise  when I was able to copy the line next to it free hand and had less trouble than following the traced lines. Not perfect but if I was doing more on a quilt border I think I would improve 10 fold. I may have to use these patterns in upcoming projects so I can practise. Again I snapped my thread a couple of times.

Follow this link to see what other quilters have achieved.

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/fmq-project-link-up_21.html

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt- FMQ Along #7

This month block is rail fence blocks. A nice easy block to piece. With that done it is time for the marking and quilting of this month's first block Lines.

 I'm still having trouble with marking my blocks and seeing the lines to follow. So I have traced over my pattern for this block with a black Sharpie marker to make them stand out more. It was an improvement, I could now see the lines to trace them. Now I was ready to quilt, next time I should check my bobbin as I ran out part way through my block, another end to sew in.  At least my hands and machine seem to be working together better as I had no broken threads this time. My  lines got a little wobbly at stages but I enjoy the zig zag sections. My travel stitching is still a bit off, I need to practise that a bit more trying to stick to the previous line. After I finished the quilting and looked at the back I noticed I missed 1 stitch in the ditch line. I was going to leave it as I had travelled stitched through it but it had gaps. So I just went back to the machine and stitched it. Just need to sew in my threads. Here is my block.

 I will ask the question To stitch or not to stitch  the ditch line? Does it matter or not?  To me when I looked at the back it look uncompleted as I had stitched in the other ditch lines but there is plenty of quilting on this block so if I was using a busier background fabric it won't stand out as much so it might be ok to leave it. Share your thoughts with me in the comments section. I would love to know what others think  for future reference.

To see what other quilters have achieved follow this link. 

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/fmq-project-link-up_14.html

Until next time

Keep stitching

Cynthia

Building Blocks Quilt- 2014 Quilt Along #6

This week I decide to catch up on the last 2 quilting blocks- Circles and Wiggly Pasta. I shall start with the Circles. Guess what I don't like them! I can't believe the trouble I was having. More practise will be needed to master them. I just couldn't find the flow point so I was stopping and starting all the time creating some rough edges. On the upside I have learnt my machine doesn't like going backward and I still need to get my hands to move a little faster in time with the machine. Don't look too close I may redo this block at a later stage if I can't live with it.

Now for Wiggly Pasta, I found this an easier block to quilt and by the time I finished the wiggly pasta lines in the blocks, I could see myself using this design in future quilting. The border quilting was a little rougher I'm afraid. I got a little carried away and a little wayward but there was improvement as I went. My main trouble was not seeing my tracing clear enough to follow and my hands moving too slow so my stitches were really small and I snapped my thread a couple of times because of it. At least I know what I am doing wrong so I can work on it. Right.

Keep practising is the key I think. We can only get better, not worse I hope.

To see what others are up to go to

 http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/fmq-project-link-up_28.html

Until next time

Keep Stitching

Cynthia