Sunday, June 5, 2016

Free Motion Quilting

Hello friends and fellow quilters!  It has been a while since I was able to post as I've been out of state to a conference for work.  I didn't even have time to visit a quilt shop!  I did find that there was one within a mile from where I was staying, so that was frustrating.

The hotel where I was staying was having some sort of Alice in Wonderland party going on and there were all kinds of artists displaying their talents.  Here is a sand scultpure in the works.

You can almost hear the Queen of Hearts shouting "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"


These five mushrooms are several feet tall and made of blown glass.


Here is a closeup of one of these.  Amazing stuff!


And here are some ceramic figures of the mad hatter and March Hare.  Kind of creepy looking but I can still recognize the time and talent it took to make them.


Anyway, just got home and had to do SOMETHING!  So I decided to practice some FMQ (free motion quilting).   I have a baby quilt all finished for my niece and wanted to do something different than just meandering but I haven't really learned anything else yet.  Sooooo . . , here is my first attempt at trying some new things!


 Feathers are not my strong suit.  But I will keep practicing!  I love how they look when done right.


I need to figure out a better way to go at this.  Sometimes I can't see where I'm going!  But nevertheless, this is a LOT of fun!!

Hopefully, I'll have my 3rd finish to report after this Saturday (my niece's baby shower)  Stay tuned!  Which pattern up above do you like the best?  Do you have suggestions for some other patterns I should try?  I'm not sure whether I should try any of these or play it safe and do a meander.


Happy quilting!







16 comments:

  1. That's a lot of practising :) I usually decide what fmq pattern depending on the quilt pattern(quilt block). Which ever one you go with it will be pretty when it's all quilted :))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Way to get some fmq practice! I'll look forward to seeing your choice for the baby quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pretty good for a newbie! Most important part is to get in there and do it as you have done. I like your bravery in trying out different patterns and fillers. I am an appliquer and while i have fm quilted my quilts, it still holds a lot of terror for me.
    pam at https://pamspaintbox.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks fantastic! Living vicariously thorough you as I haven't worked up the courage to try FMQ yet. I really like the last one - so great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks great, wish I was half that good

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks great, wish I was half that good

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your quilting looks great. I am very impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your quilting is looking really good! I've used that loopy flower design on baby quilts before and love it. It's an easy design, you can get wherever you need to be, and it has a fun look to it. Thank you for linking to Main Crush Monday! I can't wait to see your finished quilt! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gosh - those sand sculputres are amazing! Love your quilting - its all fun ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your quilting is fantastic. I am impressed! Thank you for visiting my blog and thanks for nice comment. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow Janice, you really have a talent for FMQ. I would never have believed you had just started. Very well done.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Janice, you look like a pro already at FMQ! And I love the updates to the blog over here!

    ReplyDelete
  13. OMG that sand scuplture is amazing! I love all things Alice so love seeing your pictures. Your FMQ is great - would never have known these were a beginner's practising! I am sure that whatever you choose to do on your neice's quilts will look great!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your quilting lines are amazing! Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  15. love the sand art!! I think your feathers are great - I do not do free motion but straight lines when I do anything by machine - great job for being new at it like you say.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Janice,
    That is some serious practising that you have been doing. Great results! I think you are already hooked.
    Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
    Love, Muv

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE meeting new quilting friends and always respond to comments so I'd love to hear from you!