Tuesday, September 08, 2020

How many more blocks to FMQ?

Two free motion quilting (FMQ) posts in a week - wow! I had the weekend to myself and spent most of it fixing and continuing to FMQ our king size batik bed quilt. At 13 x 13 blocks, it's huge! It wasn't always pleasant but I did get a lot done.

After this weekend,
only 49 blocks left to FMQ


Fixing ripped blocks

When I sandwiched this quilt in July of 2016, I stitched-in-the-ditch around each block. However, since each block is 8", that really wasn't enough quilting, especially considering that we've been sleeping under this quilt since November 2016. At that time, only 23 had been FMQ.



By August 2019, I had FMQ 54 blocks and still had 115 to go! Well, today's count is much better - I now have 120 blocks quilted and only 49 left to quilt. 😊 That's more than 2/3 finished!

Some of the blocks had ripped. Three needed major work and were replaced while a couple only needed minor surgery.

A full replacement was needed here!

I'm not sure what the process should have been - but this is what I did. First I cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the one being replaced. I ironed the seam allowance and then stitched it on top of the ripped one that had been removed.

The replacement is in position

Here is the block with the replaced piece of fabric. 

A successful operation

Here is another replacement. It's the smaller square on the top. I got a little carried away with the stitching. That sucker is never coming out again! 😊

Another successful operation.

FMQ many, many blocks

I wish that I could say that I had a blast FMQ these blocks, but it was a generally painful, tedious project. It wasn't the FMQ that was the problem, it was trying to stop my thread from breaking and bunching up.

I remember having problems the last time I FMQ some of these blocks. I was hoping that the cause was just the extra drag and that I would be able to work around it. Well, it was only partially the problem. I did what you're supposed to do. I changed my needle, I used another bobbin, I even tried to use a Kimono silk thread instead of the Bottom Line that I was using. I've been using Bottom Line for different projects and have never had a problem, but then if something is going to affect the tension, it's a huge king size bed with a batik top!

As you can see, I had a lot of support for my quilt. I had an extra table on the side and a chair on the other side.
Supporting the quilt
Can you imagine that I even tried using the walking foot? It worked wonderfully except for all of those turns every few seconds. It was nasty!

Finally it did turn out OK. If I went really slowly and stayed within the small quilting area around my FMQ foot, everything was mostly fine. Now I know that the slow and steady turtle wins the race, but boy was that tedious. I'm used to zooming around but this brought me right back to basics. 

Sometimes it was good, and sometimes it was ugly!

I do want to mention that I read Christina Cameli's FMQ Step-by-step book and practiced about 8 or 10 different FMQ designs. There are three of these new designs in this block.

I'm going to make sure that I read this post the next time that I start FMQ this baby again.😊

What's on this week

Coming up very soon is the Hello Fall Blog Hop. I had a really good idea but I don't think that I'll have time to make it, so it's on to Plan B - that means a lot less work but probably just as lovely...I guess we'll see! Make sure that you check it out - it starts September 21st and I'm on Wednesday, September 23. See you then.

What I learned

  • More than I was hoping to!
  • I guess I can't expect to zoom through all of my free motion quilting. I'm surprised by how much I've been getting away with! I may start slowing down a little to see if that might improve my FMQ overall....you never know!
  • In my two other posts, I worked on some really lovely FMQ designs but this time, except for some simple stuff, I just wanted to get it done! I'm hoping that now that I know what works, that I'll be able to enjoy quilting it the next time I get to it.
  • I took the time to plot out the blocks that still need to be quilted. I really hope that I'll get to them sooner rather than later, especially where there are a few blocks in a row that haven't been FMQ. 
Related links

Linking parties

Thanks so much for dropping by. This week it's Muv's turn to host Free Motion Mavericks. I hope that you'll go and link up. Also, we will be celebrating Free Motion Maverick's 300th linking party on October 1st. I hope that you will join us that week! You can see the invitation below.

I'm also going to link up to a bunch of great linking parties. Take a look and see what's happening out in the quilting universe! Colour & Inspiration Tuesday, Monday Making, To-Do Tuesday, Oh Scrap!, Long Arm Learning, Midweek Making, Put Your Foot Down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished or Not Finished Friday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Friday Foto Fun, Peacock Party, 


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15 comments:

  1. Denise @fortheloveofgeese9 September 2020 at 08:50

    Oh my, I bet your shoulders and fingers are sore. Binding the 2 large quilts on the machine does that to me, I cant imagine fmq one. The quilt is beautiful and the replacement patches blend in perfectly. I've almost finished putting together your package and will be in touch about it soon.

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 September 2020 at 12:04

      Thanks so much Denise. Since the quilt was so big, I didn't have any choice but to take a lot of breaks, so I think that it helped.

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  2. Denise @fortheloveofgeese9 September 2020 at 08:52

    I forgot to say, when fmq batiks on my domestic I have to slow down and get in rhythm with the machine otherwise my stitches are all over the place.

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  3. Home Sewn By Us9 September 2020 at 09:01

    Good morning, Andree! Slowly but surely you are completing all of that FMQ on your king size quilt. It sure looks nice on the bed! The colors and fabrics are gorgeous. I can just imagine how much pull there is with the weight of the quilt. I'm guessing you can only do a small area without having to reposition everything. Good job! Thanks for linking up this week. ~smile~ Roseanne

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 September 2020 at 12:06

      Thanks Roseanne, yes it's always about repositioning and getting it supported properly. After that it's about working in very small areas, must more slowly than I'm used to! Take care.

      Delete
  4. Angela9 September 2020 at 09:29

    Oh, I feel your pain. I hate when my machine acts up. I guess that is why I prefer hand work.

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 September 2020 at 12:07

      Hi Angela, I can understand your love of hand work and not having to fight with your machine. Usually it's not a problem but it is very frustrating when it is! Take care.

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  5. Rebecca Grace10 September 2020 at 13:12

    This is a fabulous idea, having a big quilt that you can use to practice all kinds of different quilting designs on! I have a bed quilt needing similar repairs as yours, coincidentally (or maybe not!) it is also a top with a lot of batiks and one particular batik fabric has worn/disintegrated in certain places. Every single patch made with that fabric has got holes worn into it, so I'm thinking it had something to do with a wax or certain dye or chemical used in the process of making that fabric. But my quilt is a drunkard's path so these are all pieced curve patches needing to be replaced... I'm dreading it! Planning to do like you did except that I'll have to turn a curved edge on each patch. I was thinking I'd hand applique the new patches on top of the old ones and then quilt over them, but not sure if I should try to remove the previous quilt stitches under the patch that go through the batting and backing?? It's pretty heavily quilted. Hmmm... Thanks for linking up with Long Arm Learning!

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  6. Miaismine10 September 2020 at 16:48

    Oh wow! I am so impressed that you are quilting your own quilt! It is lovely and I definitely appreciate your sharing your experiences! Thank you!

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  7. The Joyful Quilter11 September 2020 at 20:37

    While you may not have had fun with the FMQ-ing, it LOOKS like you did!! :o))

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  8. Quiltpiecer13 September 2020 at 03:21

    I have a couple of my older quilts that need repair so I thank you for this post. Wow, I can't imagine FMQ a large quilt on a domestic short-arm machine. I just finished quilting a lap size and it was a pain. I didn't FMQ but used a walking foot for straight stitching. I'm going to look into Christina's book as I would love to improve my FMQ. Enjoyed reading your post.

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  9. Alycia~Quiltygirl13 September 2020 at 12:34

    Wow!! I like that your numbers are getting smaller - that has to be a good feeling - and how fun to spend the weekend on it!!

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  10. Dione Gardner-Stephen15 September 2020 at 01:51

    that sucker is never coming out again... lol, I reckon you are right. This quilt will already have so many stories by the time it is officially finished, having already been in the real world for so long! Thanks for sharing at Clever Chameeon.

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  11. Muv25 September 2020 at 04:52

    Gosh Andrée, that's a mammoth job! It's a gorgeous quilt, well worth the effort, but I feel your pain!
    Love, Muv

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