Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Free Motion Mavericks Link-up

Welcome to...
Free Motion Mavericks (Week 212)

As some of you may know, Muv of Lizzie Lenard Vintage Sewing has been hosting Free Motion Mavericks for a while (two hundred and eleven times in fact!). A few months ago she asked me to co-host the weekly link-up. I was thrilled and said YES! So Muv and I will be taking turns hosting this trans-Atlantic event. We're still working out the details, but I'm sure we'll figure it out 😊. So let the fun begin!

For my free motion quilting (FMQ) this week, I thought I would show you the evolution of our new buttons.

Andrée"s Button
Muv's Button
What I originally wanted was to free motion quilt the words "Free Motion Mavericks" on fabric to use as the logo. As you can see, it didn't work out that way!

I played with different fonts and printed up a few to use as examples. Many were very difficult to free motion quilt continuously.

I then chose a fabric that I thought would make an interesting but subtle background. Below you can see  my attempts at achieving contrast.
Not enough contrast
Too much contrast if your letters aren't perfect!







FMQ in contrasting thread




Finally I chose a Kona solid fabric, wrote the words using a Frixion Pen and then free motion quilted the words in dark blue. I free motioned some feather meanders around the writing. I learned these from Angela Walter's FMQ Challenge last year.





Ready for the photo shoot

I then staged the photo and used PowerPoint to add more text.




Here was the final image. Not bad but the name of the link-up just isn't prominent enough.




Finally I just added writing over the FMQ backgrounds (one of Muv's and one of mine) and Voila!
Much more effective. Oh well, I did learn a lot 😊



What I learned
  • I already knew it but it was confirmed once again. Writing using free motion quilting is not easy, especially when you want the writing to show. 
  • A little pattern on a fabric can make a huge difference in the legibility of the writing.
  • The writing on a button needs to be very visible and I'm not sure that my FMQ skills are quite up to it at this time. Thank goodness for PowerPoint 😊
Related links
Linking parties

I'll be linking this post to many fun link-ups in the hope of getting the word out about the Free Motion Mavericks Link-up. Don't be shy, spread the word! Tuesday Colour Linky PartyLinky Tuesday, Let's Bee Social, Midweek MakersSilly Mama Quilts WIPs, Needle & Thread ThursdayFinished or Not Friday,  Friday Foto FunCan I Get A Whoop Whoop?

In last week's Free Motion Maverick Link-up (Week 211), Karina linked up with her Christmas Wreath Panel. Go check it out - it's lovely!




10 comments:

  1. I'm amazed anyone can free motion write! I think all your versions are amazing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Janine! Free motion quilting is incredible - if you can draw or write it out with a pencil, you can do it with FMQ! Maybe not as well, but it can be done. Like writing, it just takes lots of practice.

      Delete
  2. Now that I am doing more free motion quilting maybe I will link up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa, I really hope that you will link up. It's not a linking party if no one shows up :-)

      Delete
  3. Wow, I didn't know anyone could write with free motion. I think you did a great job with it. I can't wait until my sewing area is up and running again so I can start FMQ again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marti, good luck with your sewing machine. I wouldn't last very long without being able to FMQ - actually 2 weeks is about my limit! I hope you'll join us at Free Motion Mavericks when you've back at it.

      Delete
  4. I like Free Motion Mavericks. I will admit I had forgotten about this one after linking a few times ages back. Thanks for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dione, I hope we'll see you linked up again - both here and with Muv!

      Delete
  5. I've been using FMW for my labels for a few years now. Thought I'd do as painters do. The new button are just right. Off to put one on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angie, I'm so glad that you dropped by. I've been thinking of using FMW to add my initials to my quilts (like the painters!) but I haven't done it yet. Maybe it's time :-)

      Delete

Hi! I would love to hear from you and I will try to answer you. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a message. :-)