2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge Overview

 I loved the 2012 FMQ Challenge.  Here are my 12 completed practise sandwiches.  I had lots of trouble photographing this.  Click on the photo to get a better view.

 This is only half.  You get a better picture.

This is the other half.  Click on each of the photos to get a better picture of what I have done.

 

Now for what I have learned.  It is so much that I don't really think I can express it all. Let me try to make a list.

 

1.  I got to take class from some of the top quilting professionals in the business.  I never could have afforded to do that on my own.  Just getting to know them and getting their feedback was awesome.  Some of them even wrote messages just for "me."  They were such giving people. 

 

2.  I learned that I am better at small curving quilting than I am at long straight lines.

 

3.  I learned to not care so much about being "perfect" and just have a good time.  If it isn't perfect, no one really cares but me.  Look at some of those blocks I made, some are awesome and some are not so awesome.

 

4.  I have learned to take what I have learned and actually make several quilts with those skills and patterns.

 

5.  I set a goal a while back to learn to quilt my own quilts.  I am there.  I am ready.  I have actually been doing pretty good, and I don't mean to sound braggy. 

 

Last, but not least, thanks to SewCalGal for all the work this challenge took.  Thanks for your time, your insight and your knowledge.  You were one of the first blogs I started following and I will never regret having become your blogging friend.

Happy quilting to all!!!! 

 

 

December FMQ Challenge

The December FMQ Challenge was taught by Patsy Thompson.  This was only part of her great lesson.  I loved it so much.  I am excited about doing borders now.  Won't this be fun to do on a real quilt!  Click on the photo for a better view.

November FMQ Challenge

November Free Motion Quilting Challenge from SewCalGal.com.Swirls are lots of fun.  These aren't my best, but I think they look better when they aren't perfect.

 

Sept FMQ Challenge in Fun and Done

This block was a delight.  September FMQ challenge from SewCalGal.

August FMQ Challenge

This is my block for the August Free Motion Quilting Challenge by Sew Cal Gal.  No one in the challenge will recognize this as the pattern we were to do.  It was more difficult than I expected after I started.  I definitely need more practice on the magna doodle.

July FMQ Challenge

This is my July sample for Sew Cal Gal's Free Motion Quilt Along.

I should have put the lines further apart.  They lose themselves in the McTavishing.

It still looks nice.  Thanks to Angela Walters for the lesson.

June FMQ Challenge

Our June FMQ Challenge was taught by Cindy Needham.  She did a really good job.  I have always admired her work.  

FMQ Challenge May 2012

This month's teacher was Leah Day.  She showed two cute filler patterns.  One was railroad tracks and the other a loopy pattern.  Hers looked much better than mine.  It was actually harder than it looked.

April FMQ Challenge

Here is my April Free Motion Quilting Challenge practise block.

I appreciate Don's lesson this month.  I found it new and was excited at the possibilities.

March FMQ Challenge

These are my attempts at this March challenge.  I actually did a better job of making

daisies here. on a quilt I made in February.  Sometimes you do better on the real thing.

February 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge Block / Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice Installment #12

This is my block for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge sponsored by SewCalGal.  The February lesson was taught by Diane Gaudynski.  I have all her books and have studied her quilting for several years.  I quilted the feather in a verigated thread, and did the outside echoing in an ecru thread.  It isn't perfect, but from a distance, it doesn't look bad.  (DON'T click on the photo to make it larger. You'll see all my istakes!  lol ) Thanks to Diane for participating.  I feel honored to have had her as a teacher.

2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge January - Fun and Done Quilting Practise Installment #11

 These are my practise pieces for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge sponsored by SewCalGal. 

This was the original pattern.

 I added some loops because I thought it helped me go from one place to another.

This months instructorMartha Moore added an extra pattern on her blog.  I really liked this one.  It fancied things up

I am using the "Fun and Done" method from Praire Sky Quilting for my practise pieces.  I started a quilt a while back with this method so I could pracise and not have to throw away all that fabric.  I keep some samples ready all the time so that if I need to practise a pattern before quilting I will always have something ready to quilt.  I will add the practise pieces from this challenge to this quilt.  You can go here to see my other blocks and to see how far I have come since I started.  Fun and Done Practise Quilt

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice Installment #10

Some people have asked if my Fun and Done Maching Quilting Practice quilt is finished. It is not. I have started sewing some of the blocks together. The reason it isn't finished is because it is a work in progress. As I need sandwiches to practice my quilting on, I use these blocks. I don't practice every day, only when I am getting ready to quilt something. I did decide on a quilt width and have started sewing blocks together and then rows together. I am still a long ways from being done. I thought you might enjoy the photo though. Click on it to see a larger image. Sometime people use fancy stitches to sew the sashing down. I just used a straight stitch.

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice Installment #9

I haven't posted about this for a while, so I probably need to explain what this is. There is a technique and pattern out there called "Fun and Done." This technique allows you to quilt a block and then sew it together with other blocks to make a quilt. I took this a different direction and I cut the fabric the way the pattern suggested, but used a whole piece of fabric. Now I am practicing my machine quilting. After "many" practice blocks I will have a quilt instead of just a pile of practice pieces.

This block is a practice of the flower I used on my Dazzeling Diamonds Quilt. I left out a few of these lines on the actual quilt. It makes the flower prettier. This flower is from a book by Judy Woodworth titled "Freemotion Quilting." I really liked this book, but if the only thing I got from it was this flower pattern, I would still be thrilled. I recommend this book to those who are wanting to learn more than just the basics.

This is the same flower done with invisible thread. I was having trouble with pop ups so I used the brown thread on my actual quilt. This has a few more lines than Judy's pattern too. On the quilt I stuck to the original pattern instead of trying to make more lines. Sometimes "less is more." The original is much prettier. I have a picture of that quilting on the post just before this one.

Here I am using techniques I learned in "Free Motion Quilting Made Easy" by Eva A Larkin. This is one of my favorite books. It has helped me in my learning process.

This is a stencil I used on my Potatoe Chip Quilt. I was just practicing going around the stencil. I added the stippling. I didn't use stippling on my quilt. I wasn't willing to do that much work on it.

This is another stencil I used on my Potatoe Chip Quilt. It is an easy stencil, but it added a lot to the look of the quilt. That quilt is one of the best I have quilted on my home machine so far. Here is a link to that quilt: http://colleensquiltingjourney.blogspot.com/2010/08/potatoe-chip-quilt.html

Someone asked if I had finished the quilt yet. I haven't because I don't have enough blocks done yet. I will finish it after more practice pieces.

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice Installment #8

We are coming to the last of the blocks that I have finished.

This quilting is Headbands from Diane Gaudynski's book. Don't you just love them. Even if I made mistakes, it still looked nice.

This is a stencil that I echoed.

This is done freemotion around lines going corner to corner and middle to middle.

I used a straight stencel to make this pattern. Can you see where I got the leaves backwards.

I will do more blocks as I learn to quilt.

I just finished a really great quilt I will post soon.

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice Installment #7

Some of my practice pieces are getting better. Some still need more practice.

Simple meandering and stars. Need more practice.

Meandering leafs.

Stencil.

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice 6th Installment

This one I left as a stencil. I like the hearts.

This is a stencil I bought at Hobby Lobby. I have had a hard time finding quilting stencils in stores. They have the best selection I have found.

This lovely design is one of my favorites. I think it came from Harriot Hargraves book. It is easy and so dynamic.

The middle of this one is a stencil. I was practicing my echo quilting. I need a 1/4 inch foot with a whole circle around it to keep my echoing straight. I got lots of practice here though.

Machine Quilting Fun and Done 5th Installment

These four blocks are all from the book, "Free Motion Quilting Made Easy" by Eva Larkin.

I am finally getting the hang of things.

Even More Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice 4th Installment

The books I have used for my quilting quides are "Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski's Machine Quilting Guidebook" and "Guide to Machine Quilting" both by Daine Gaudynski, and "Free Motino Quilting Made Easy" by Evan A. Larkin. They are all three fabulous books.

These are free motion grid lines made following lines drawn in blue wash away marker.

This is more echo quilting practice around a boot stencil.

Another stencil with free motion loops.

I can't remember the name of this pattern, but I absolutely love it. I think it is so much easier than it looks. This pattern is sewn around a grid of squares. This was sewn on a 1/2 inch grid.

This is the same pattern sewn on a 1 inch grid. Don't you absolutely love this pattern.

Fun and Done Machine Quilting Practice 3rd Installment

Anyone who has read Diane Gaudanski's book will recognize these practice pieces. This is spirals.

This is doodling. I just added the heart for fun.

This of course are her feathers. Well, they are supposed to look like her feathers.

This is headbands around a butterfly that has echo quilting around it.