FMQ, design wall and a quilt-along

Batik Quilt

As I mentioned in my last post, I liked the Feather Meander pattern so much that I used it in my third batik quilt. I've really had a blast quilting it, until I ran out of thread :-(

Here it is, about half quilted.

The quilted half of my batik quilt 3

I used the Feather Meander that I learned from Angela Walter's FMQ Challenge Quilt Along. I wanted to use an all-over quilt design on this quilt, since I had never done this before. This is a perfect FMQ design that you can make as large or as small as you need it to be.

FMQ Feather Meander

At the top left of this picture, you can see two blocks that haven't been quilted yet. The quilting does tone down the colours but they are still vibrant. I used Kimono silk thread from Superior Threads - a mid blue for the top, and an orange for the back.

Making a design wall

I've always wanted a design wall. I bought a little one years ago but it's too small to be useful.

Last year, I read something on the web about using Craft Board to make a design wall. I had heard of using other material, but craft board from the dollar store was right up my alley.

It took me a few months, but I finally went to my favourite discount fabric store in Cornwall - Ron's Fabric. It's only about an hour away but I don't even cross town to shop, so going to another town doesn't happen often.

He has some great fabric and also great prices on flannel - which I've used before. So I finally bought a couple of yards of white flannel to make two design boards.

Front of my new design board made of
craft board and flannel

I heard that you're supposed to put a layer of batting under the flannel, but I'm not convinced. I don't need to pin anything down. Hopefully it'll work for what I need it for, otherwise, it's very easy to pull apart and fix. I just ironed the flannel and then taped it tightly to the back side of the craft board.

The back of the design wall -
another use for duck tape!

To make sure that it worked, I placed the 5 panels that I've quilted in Angela Walter's FMQ Challenge Quilt Along on the design wall. They have been there for about 24 hours and don't seem to want to fall!

FMQ panels on the design wall.

Comfort Quilt Quilt-Along

Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side is hosting a quilt-along to celebrate her new book, Modern Heritage Quilts: New Classics for Every Generation. We are making her Comfort Quilt and Amy has provided the calculations for making this quilt in 6 different sizes.

I bought all of that flannel at Ron's to make this quilt. I'm hoping to make at least 4 cuddle quilts to donate to the neonatal unit through the Common Thread Quilt Guild. I made a couple a few years ago, but am way behind since I've been wanting to make at least one per year. 

If I get bored of making the same quilt, I can always make a couple of quilts from the other patterns in her book. I've drafted 6 patterns for 20" x 20" quilts based on Amy's book. We'll see how far I get😊

If you get a chance, sign up to join the Quilt-Along. It starts next week.

What I learned

• The feather meander design is very forgiving. It took me a few tries on paper to get the hang of it. I find it harder to make it larger than small, but after FMQ a few dozen, I'm getting the hang of it.
• I say that I'm getting the hang of it, but when I ran out of thread, I was actually quilting on the inside of the curve instead of the outside. Just for something different. 
• I've never quilted a whole quilt with only one design because I tend to get bored. I've done fairly well on this piece and it's fun to fill in the spaces between the meandering feathers.
• This quilting design has really helped me make feathers from any position. For traditional feathers, I have to quilt them with the stem down. I might now be able to experiment with other positions. That's always a good thing, especially when quilting large projects.
• Thanks Angela for the opportunity to learn the Feather Meander.

Related Links

• Feather Meander tutorial with Angela Walters
• Angela Walter's Free-Motion Challenge Quilting Along
• Free Motion Challenge Quilt Along posts:
• Free Motion Challenge Quilt Along update, April 14, 2018
• March finishes and April beginnings, April 1, 2018
• Ron's Fabric in Cornwall, Ontario
• Comfort Quilt Quilt-Along with Amy's Creative Side
• Modern Heritage Quilts: New Classics for Every Generation by Amy Ellis

Linking Party

Let's see what's happening in quilt land! Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, Moving it Forward, Main Crush Monday, Linky Tuesday, Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Finished or Not Friday, Free Motion Mavericks,