Monday, August 27, 2012

Succumb to fmq practice

I thought free motion quilting was for others, not for me, but I've changed my tune. Admittedly I'd resisted for a long time. How to get there without so much work?! Now that I've succumbed to daily fmq practice, I'll get there eventually. Here's proof that it has ruled my studio time.

You'd think a simple change in direction to create a checkerboard effect would be easy. It was.Until I spaced out and discovered many squares later they didn't alternate properly anymore. Then it got ugly. In the few tedious hours it took to un-stitch several squares, I could've finished them all! Thenceforth I marked the direction of each square and quilted in one direction only. Thus avoiding or aborting further mishaps. It's now ready for binding:
fmq'd mini whole cloth with trapunto
This Ohio Star would make a good pillow:
fmq'd Ohio Star
The pink one just needs a filler around the perimeter . . .
waiting for fmq around perimeter
. . . or maybe not. 

Now is a good time to get moving on a group challenge due in mid-September. An opportunity for design-play once again plus another opportunity for fmq, of course. 

Really good news: the machine quilting workshop with Sandy Ciolino is a go! Yay! This also means a get together with a Michigan friend for a trip to Toronto! Yay for that too!

4 comments:

  1. That is good news that the class is a go! I need to follow your lead and set myself up with a few dozen little sandwiches and get going.

    Practice has proven very effective:).

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    1. You can do it! Some designs will feel natural and stitch more easily, whereas others are a struggle from the first stitch to the last.
      I'd exceeded the average 100 hours to get comfortable, to get to that ah ha! moment. Now I feel adventurous and will make a sample of almost anything.
      I encourage you to stick with it to get to that point. Then you'll be free from the confines of the walking foot.

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  2. Sandra Palmer Ciolino8/30/12, 9:35 PM

    I really enjoy traveling on the FMQ journey with you. Your dedication to improving your skills is an inspiration. What I have come to know for sure is that no project I quilt is ever completely satisfactory to me. So we just have to keep on keeping on!

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    1. Thanks for coming along on this journey. My single mindedness can get me into trouble, but this time it has paid off!

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