Welcome to Free Motion Mavericks, week 308. The stars on the Pinwheels & Stars Baby Quilt are done. In this post I'm going to wrap up the free motion quilting (FMQ) of the stars and plan the next part of the quilt.

FMQ star designs

At the end of July, I proposed seven possible FMQ designs for the six stars on the quilt. By November, here is what I ended up with. If you missed any of the posts, the links are in Related links below.

Making plans for the negative space

I designed the quilt so that the centre could almost be a wholecloth quilt. I've made a couple of quilts like this and love that some of the sides have blocks but that the centre is all negative space. This time, I'm going to be brave about FMQ the centre. It's going to be in colourful thread that will NOT blend in! That is a very scary thing to do, but I do believe that if the centre part is well planned and practiced, that it should be fine! This is not a project to do the night before it's due 😮

Here is the quilt so far.

All of the pinwheel and star blocks have been FMQ

A better image taken during the day

This is my initial idea for FMQ the centre.

A space theme to go with the stars

As you can see, I have a lot of work to do (especially if I want a rocket that looks like a rocket!). I'm sure that I will re-arrange these but at least I have an idea of what could be included. I would also love to include something that could represent the Milky Way, so I will be playing around with this a lot.

What I learned

It's been a lot of fun finding and practicing various FMQ designs.
This is the scary part - but as I mentioned, planning and practice should help me do this well (not perfect, but good enough).
I will also have to deal with some of the puckering in the fabric in the middle of the quilt. I will undo the stitching at the end where there are no blocks, so that will help.
I love researching the various elements to figure out how to represent them - how to draw them, where to put them and what colours to use. This is where the various elements of creating art come in - such as focal point, mouvement, contrast, etc.
I also have to learn to draw that spaceship! 😊

Free Motion Mavericks

It was a quiet party last time but as always it was great to be seeing everyone's amazing and diverse free motion quilting. I don't know if you realise this, but the hardest part of hosting Free Motion Mavericks is deciding on which quilt to feature! So, here goes... if you haven't dropped in on the Joyful Quilter's lovely little wall hanging with lots of texture, then take a few minutes to drop by to see it.

Look at all the texture on that little quilt
by the Joyful Quilter

It's your turn now 😊

12 comments:

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué27 November 2020 at 12:13
Joli thème pour décorer les étoiles ! Bon courage avec la fusée ;))
Home Sewn By Us28 November 2020 at 15:05
Hi Andree! I love the quilting plan you've shared. The quilting on the stars will allow the center area to be the hit. I am SO impressed that you are going to tackle this center area!! You can do it - you've been working toward it with all of your previous projects. I can't wait to see your progress. Thanks for linking up. ~smile~ Roseanne
Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting28 November 2020 at 18:51
That quilt will be brave and beautiful!!! I love what you've proposed to quilt. It may morph as you work on it, but you'll get the groove going!
karenbbsnow29 November 2020 at 05:15
Wow, the stars and pinwheels look so good together! Can't wait to see this one come together.
Alycia~Quiltygirl1 December 2020 at 08:53
The stars are great - but the plan for that center is going to be out of this world!!!
Cheryl1 December 2020 at 20:29
Great stars, I love how each is different yet they go together so well.