Friday, May 31, 2013

Free Motion Friday - May 31, 2013

I've been getting ready for a bout of free motion for the last couple of weeks. I've pieced a quilt top. I've put my hexagons on the black fabric. Both of those are now wrapped around gift paper rolls waiting for their turn.

I also pieced two log cabin blocks. One rather wonky and the other a classic one. I've got piecing problems with both of them, but they were pieced to be learning projects, so I decided to just keep on.

Today I got to the free motion part of the project.

I started out with some stippling on the sandwich I use to warm up on. I hate stippling, even good stippling, and mine isn't good. I decided to try the stippling Sharon Schamber taught in one of the DVDs that The Quilt Show is allowing their members to watch for free. It is a bit different from the method Leah Day teaches. And at least I didn't find myself having to cross over. But it is still pretty ugly.           


 I had made up a bunch of 7 inch squares and put a 4 inch square in the middle of them. This is the first one. The pattern is one Leah Day taught on her web site this week called Inside the Sun. This is the first time I did 4 inch squares, and I think they are a good idea, but I'd like more fabric around them to make handling the fabric easier.

I'll use the rest of the ones that are made up, but I'm going to consider drawing the squares on a larger piece of fabric and having multiple squares on one piece of fabric.
 I also stitched it into the middle square on one of the two Log Cabin Blocks. This isn't a great photo of it. All of the fabrics are darker, and the thread is a beige.

Leah Day has a point that stitching with contrasting thread helps you see the stitches and over time will improve your free motion quilting. That is what I hope will happen for me.

Take care all


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5 comments:

  1. Quilting NonnieMay 31, 2013 at 9:53 PM

    I don't think your stippling is bad. Give yourself a pat on the back...you're learning. I'm looking forward to seeing your quilting on blocks to come!

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  2. Deb@asimplelifequiltsJune 1, 2013 at 11:18 AM

    If I could stipple that well I'd be thrilled! I'd say you are doing a great job...

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  3. UnknownJune 1, 2013 at 12:51 PM

    I recognize your feelings about your stippling. Stippling is not that easy. It improved my stippling with the lessons about stippling of Leah (posts January 2012, Leah's Quilt Along). I doodled stippling a lot on paper and when it looked like real stippling on paper (after a lot of paper), I started with samplers with rows and rows of her exercises. Really it helps! It helped me also to control the speed of the machine with quilting other patterns!

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  4. UnknownJune 1, 2013 at 1:03 PM

    By the way: a great idea to use your square in a log cabin block!

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  5. AnnJune 3, 2013 at 3:48 AM

    Stella, Your quilting is fine and will also improve over time. Your photos and explanation are great (except you're too hard on yourself.) The colors of your log cabin are great!
    I doodle like Maartje on a little pad whenever I'm waiting in line, at the doctor, during commercials. If you don't pick up your pencil, it;s just like a line of thread. It seems to help lots.
    The 4" blocks are too small for me, too. I usually practice on a top the width of the fabric. It's a small quilt to donate when done.

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