Welcome to week 280 of Free Motion Mavericks. I found a free motion quilting (FMQ) project to work on during my Free Motion Mavericks posts. Here it is!
Pinwheel & Stars Baby Quilt
This project has been around for years (a very early UFO). I started the blocks at least 5 or 6 years ago, before I figured out that piecing was not my thing. I love pinwheels and the fabrics I used are so bright and cheerful. I had made the blocks that make up this quilt, but I would have needed at least double this amount to make the full quilt. If I can find the magazine with the original quilt pattern, I'll add it to Related links below.
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| Mini pinwheel blocks and large stars |
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| Bright pinwheels and stars |
Then, in 2016, I made my first baby quilt featuring a large negative space for FMQ, A Beautiful Day. The second quilt, Charming, was based on the same concept and was published in Make Modern Magazine in January 2018.
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| A Beautiful Day |
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| Details of the FMQ Moon and Sun |
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| Charming Baby Quilt in Make Modern Magazine |
It's around that time that I found these blocks. Since I was not going to make more blocks, I decided to place these around a large negative space that could be used for FMQ.
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| Lots of negative space for some fun FMQ in the middle |
Tonight I started stitching-in-the-ditch. I will be outlining the blocks and then the fun begins. If you have any suggestions for the middle, please let me know. At this time, I'm thinking pinwheels and flowers. I'm also considering using coloured thread for the central FMQ. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas 😊
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Adding a fabric strip on the side
to test the tension |
What I learned
- I'm really glad that I had this quilt sandwiched and ready to go. It will be a fun project for Free Motion Mavericks and I actually have a new baby to give it to once we can visit again.
- I saw some quilters add a strip of fabric on the extra batting and backing of the edge of their quilts to check their stitching tension. I remembered and tried it here. What a great idea. Thanks!
- I've got some of the stitching-in-the-ditch finished. Next Free Motion Mavericks I'll have some FMQ to show you!
Related links
- A Beautiful Day Baby Quilt, June 24, 2016
- Charming Baby Pattern - Make Modern Issue 21, March 1, 2018
- The original pattern was Make a Wish by Karen DuMont in Quilt Almanac 2011.
Linking parties
I will be linking this post to many fun linking parties. Let's see what's going on. Also, don't forget to link up to Free Motion Mavericks below.
Colour & Inspiration Tuesday,
Midweek Makers,
Needle & Thread Thursday,
Monday Making,
Put Your Foot Down,
Friday Foto Fun,
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?,
Peacock Party,
Oh Scrap!,
UFO Busting,
PHD in 2020,
What I Made Monday,
Design Wall Monday,
Free Motion Mavericks
We had some lovely projects linked up last time. Thanks so much for taking the time to join our party! We've been watching Quilting Gail make her Stay-at-Home Round Robin quilts for a few weeks now. Well, the results are well worth seeing!
Go to her post to see the FMQ from the back of her quilt. She must of had a lot of fun doing all that FMQ! It's really lovely😊
It's your turn!
I love star quilts, and I'm working on one just now. Yours is great.I've linked a dinosaur quilt today. I quilted it free hand, but with straight lines. I'm from Norway.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Tubakk. It's great to have you join us all the way from Norway. I'll be announcing you and featuring your lovely quilt the next time that I host, in two weeks. Take care.
DeleteQuelle bonne idée, tes étoiles vont être bien mises en valeur en bordure, et ça te laisse un bel espace de free-motion ;-)
ReplyDeleteMerci pour le lien vers ma linky!
Merci Frédérique - et ça me donnera un projet pour mes semaines de Free Motion Mavericks!
DeleteSorry I have not been linking up, things have been crazy busy with many distractions. I absolutely love the quilting and minimalism in your first quilt. The pinwheel quilt, love it even more and I wish I had a quilting suggestion. Quilting designs often escape me. Not often, always! Looking at the bottom row in the pinwheel quilt, it would be so cool to have an entire quilt with diagonal light pinwheels with opposites dark (like you have) and the stars. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise, I know that you've been incredibly busy. I was off the grid for a while too - just to tired to deal with blogging! Thanks for the suggestions. I am thinking of maybe having some pinwheels with FMQ designs specific to children in between. I keep changing my mind! I have finished the stitching-in-the-ditch so will have to come up with something by next week. Take care.
DeleteGail's round robin is wonderful, totally agree. I like what you've done with your pinwheels and stars, and coloured thread in the middle sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing at the Chameleon's Colour & Inspiration Party.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dione. Now that I've finished the stitching-in-the-ditch, I have to start thinking about the middle. I do want to use coloured thread but that means that I'll have to plan more than I usually do (any plan is more than I usually plan :-) )
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