More FMQ Designs

I've been trying out a few different free motion quilt patterns. I tried some swirls. They're hard for me. I'm trying to make them all the same size and as uniform as possible. It's so easy to make them too small or lopsided. I'm getting more comfortable with them. It's certainly going to take more practice!

 

 

It looks better from a distance! Everything all sleeps to blend much nicer!

 



I  don't really know the name of this pattern. I refer to it as a double loop.  These are fun and easy but you have to get a rhythm to really get them going. I tried to keep them all uniform in size with the same amount of space between them. This picture shows how my free motion patterns fit with my feathers. I really like how it's coming out!

 

This quilt is taking me such a long time to quilt! I designed the quilt and had absolutely no idea how to quilt it. I had too many decisions to make! Now that I'm nearing the end, I feel I've learned a lot. I have a better idea of how to pick quilting designs. It's been a great learning experience for me.

 



McTavishing Project Piece Complete!

 

I have had a blast trying to learn McTavishing with Amy from Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures.  I started this little practice piece and have kept working on it throughout the month. I'm going to bind it and actually use it. It may turn out to be a little wall hanging or even a table topper. I'm going to try it out in a few different places and see what I like best!

Here's a closeup. It's a really interesting quilting pattern. I did try making one long wavy line and then filling it in but it just didn't seem to work for me. I do much better by making a shorter wavy line and working in smaller sections. The videos Amy posted over the last month have really helped me out. I understand she's going to continue to sponsor free motion quilt alongs every Monday. I'll be joining along! It's a great opportunity to learn. Hope some of you take a look and try some too!

I'll be adding this post to Amy's Linky Party for Week 4! See you there!!

Charm Cherry Pack Quilt

My daughter's friend has always asked how much she would have to pay to buy one of my quilts. I really didn't want her to pay me so I decided to make a quilt just for her for her upcoming graduation from college. I saw that the Fat Quarter Shop had a new pattern out called Charm Pack Cherry Quilt.
I thought this pattern would be perfect and fun to make. I involved my daughter in the whole process.
She's not a quilter but I'm hoping I can still make a quilter out of her!

We chose a charm pack together. We decided on Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda Fabrics. It had all the colors my daughter thought her friend would like. We changed the pattern a tiny bit. The pattern uses one solid but we chose multiple colors for the solid squares in the pattern.

It was quite easy to sew together. There was minimal cutting since we used charm packs for the solid as well as the print. My daughter put all the blocks together according to the pattern and I sewed everything together. When it came time to cutting, I cut everything and she put the new blocks together according to whatever color combinations she liked. It was a good partnership.

Here's the quilt without the border:

 

 

We shopped for the border this past weekend. The pattern doesn't call for a border but we decided to add one. The quilt looks quite busy since we did use all the differently colored solids.  The border calms the pattern down and makes the quilt a little larger.  The quilt now measures approximately 61.5" x 63.5".  I think that's a nice lap sized quilt!

 

We've already ordered the backing. I hope to finish the quilt in plenty of time for the May graduation. This what a great project to work on with my daughter. She really made it fun. It would be nice if she got interested in quilting. 

McTavishing Week #3

Here is my sample for Week 3 of the McTavishing Quilt Along. This is being sponsored by Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures. Please excuse by lopsided circles! This is only a sample. I was hoping to create space around each sphere. I used a plate that wouldn't sit still! My daughter says it's a nice effect. I'm not so sure!!

I loved working on this sample but found it more difficult to work around those circles. You have to plan ahead while you're quilting. There seems to be a lot to think about all at once! I did relax and enjoyed it the more I got into it. I still have one little corner to finish but I stopped when my bobbin thread ran out!

Here's a closer view. I sometimes think my backtracking is awful but it always looks good as a whole piece. I'm so glad Amy gave us this opportunity to learn this wonderful technique. We only have one week left and then the quilt along is over! I'm hoping to use this lovely pattern in some of my upcoming projects. I'm sure this pattern would work on many different quilt designs.

McTavishing Week #2

This is my Week #2 McTavish practice piece. Amy of Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures is sponsoring a free motion link party/quilt along every Monday in March featuring Mctavishing!

I loved watching Amy's video as she filled in a circle and thought it would be fun to try out this week. I'm not sure if it was any easier. I tried to keep my eye on the border and hoped to have my design fill the circle completely. I didn't want the swirls to fizzle around the edges and definitely had to think a little more with the defined edges acting as an end to the design.

Here are close ups of each circle.

As I'm quilting each piece, I notice that my back tracking is a bit off, some of the lines are shaky. However, when you look at the design as a whole, it looks fine! I guess distance is a good thing! I'm quite happy with the final piece. I would love to use this design in a future quilt. Thanks, Amy! I don't think I would be this comfortable with McTavishing without your quilt along!

Here are a couple of the sketches I did. I think drawing on paper is harder! I've never been very good at drawing. So glad my sewing is better!

Quilty Parcel

 

I was lucky enough to receive this lovely package in the mail. It was sent to me from Diane who blogs at The Cheshire Quilter. She reached 100 followers and had her grandson pick a name from her followers that had commented on her blog that week. I was the winner! I received some beautiful goodies which I would like to share with you.

 

Isn't this a gorgeous purse? I wish you could see it in person. The sewing and quilting are just perfect!
The button resembles a gem! I can't wait to use it!

I'm an avid reader. I'm not sure if Diane knew that but I'll be using this bookmark a lot! Her stitches are impeccable! So nicely done!

 

 

I got these chocolate mixes to make drinks with. Of course, I love chocolate too! My daughter wants to try these but I may have to hide them from her!

Two nice sachets too! They smell so nice. I plan on tucking them into a drawer for now.

And a nice card too! Thank you so much, Diane! I love reading your blog and keeping up with you and all your lovely projects. I'll always think of you when I use the gifts you sent me!

I hope you all go visit her blog. You'll love it!

More Tone It Down Blocks

I have 5 blocks down! Only 15 more to go! These blocks take forever to cut but I love making them. They aren't too hard to sew together. I try and sew the smallest pieces together first. Once the 9 patches and 4 patches are sewed together, everything matches up. (Unless I've goofed along the way!)

I thought you might like to sew one block completely cut but not sewed together.

You can definitely see how the block will come out but there are so many pieces!

Here's the block all finished!

Doesn't it look so much neater?? The directions are wonderful and clear so it goes together quite easily.

I have to start cutting out the next block. I've been working the last few days and got a cold on top of it. I'm hoping to get going on the next block. So glad I've got lots of Sudafed and Benadryl at the house. Just hope the sneezing stops!

McTavishing Attempt #1

Here is my first try at McTavishing! Amy from Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures is sponsoring a quilt along and linky party. I've always wanted to try McTavishing but was intimidated by the intricate design.  Amy posted videos of Karen McTavish lecturing and teaching her technique. Amy also had a video explaining her way of quilting this design. I watched and tried to figure out how I would attempt it.

I tried on paper first.

These are only 2 examples I'm sharing. I'm not going to bore you with all the others. When I first started, it was pretty awful. These 2 examples are my better sketches!

So far, I'm quite happy with the results. I hope to improve.  We'll have to see what next week holds in store for us! I'm joining up with Amy's linky party.  Love doing this!