Monday, December 1, 2014

Working on my Free Motion Quilting


Saturday and Sunday I quilted on my Cow-Chicken quilt.

 I flipped through quilt filler designs on Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project page. 
This lower design she called icicle lights and had them coming from top and bottom. Since I kind of ran out of space and I used Sulky variegated thread I call it Christmas Palm Trees!

The top design was based on a design from Leah Day. I just called it Loopdi Loop.

Then I took some pictures of other quilts in progress. I made a list of about 7 quilts and I know of about 7 others halfway done.

I bought the pattern for the Dancing Butterfly Quilt Project!
I can't decide between using Butterfly material to make the butterflies?? or should I use floral fabric?





 All this deep thinking is confusing me!
I guess this is a decision for tomorrow.






Saturday, October 25, 2014

Farm/Chicken Quilt

I've purchased some new fabric to take the farm animal quilt to the next level. I'm going to use a solid tan floral print for the backing. I'm going to use the green leaf material to block the animals into a field. I think I want to try a large leaf quilting pattern in the border.

The backing looks really bad!
I decided to use 2 LARGE tables to help me layout the quilt. I didn't tape down the backing. It wrinkled up REALLY badly.

I used cotton batting. (not cheap)and I used spray basting. It is holding the quilt together well. I went ahead and started quilting it even though I wanted to scrap the whole thing.

Hopefully tomorrow will go better.
Quilting from the back

Quilting from the front

Saturday, October 18, 2014

My first blog.

This is my first time blogging. I don't expect anyone to see this.

I'm a 54 yo married woman who enjoys quilting but has mostly pieced and seldom complete my quilts.

My sister-in-law tried to interest me in quilting starting in 1998. I know this date because that is the year the Block of the Month packets started showing up. :) I resisted for a couple of years. Then I saw a book on Stack and Whack by Bethany Reynolds! I went crazy and pieced about 20 wall hangings and lap quilts. About 10 of them got completed and used. I made a flag one that my brother still has hanging in his office window. I have one that I gave to my grandmother and now it hangs in my office window. I have 2 quilts that I have quilted in blocks and I still need to bind the quilts in a quilt-as-you-go method...One is my niece's wedding quilt...I got 16 or so 18" blocks done and I'm needing to finish it before their 15th anniversary.

Before quilting I felt that I had no creativity. I knit and crocheted and cross-stitched and I always used the colors and yarns suggested. I followed the rules.  But when I started quilting I chose what fabrics went together and I seldom asked anyone if they matched or coordinated. It made me feel like I was creative. I could follow a pattern or change it to suit me.

Sorry for rambling. I have many works-in-progress. Today I worked on a crazy quilt that I pieced together on Sonic napkins. There are 4 squares with chickens in the center of each square. I've finally backed it and started quilting it with embroidery stitches that are on my sewing machine. I'm using 6 different colored threads.

I will try to get pictures of past and present works of art and make a gallery here. My next project I'm going to quilt a strip pieced lap quilt and free motion each strip in a different style as seen on http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/p/365-designs.html . I've been looking at Leah Day's blog and I'm ready to start free motion quilting again. Here's to having fun!!