Welcome to week 460 of Free Motion Mavericks. I have been able to do free motion quilting (FMQ) this week. It felt good to be back home and at my Jag (my sewing machine) 😁
FMQ the T-shirts
I started quilting the outlines of the hearts on this lovely t-shirt. Once I finished the hearts, I added the row of ruffle to the top of the block. Isn't it cute? 😍 I'll come back and do the sashing when I have blue thread in the machine.
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| Lovely heart t-shirt with a ruffle |
I then FMQ some of the t-shirts whose sashing I had previously quilted. In this case, I just wanted to keep it simple. They are mostly wavy lines.
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| The three high school t-shirts ✔ |
I just FMQ around the people and outlined the letters. After adding the photo to this post, I decided that it needed a little more quilting.
For this t-shirt block, I used some dot-to-dot type FMQ for the sashing. The sides have rather rough diamonds, the bottom is covered with echoed paisley and the top is another variation from the dot-to-dot design. On the t-shirt itself, I quilted a row of meandering flowers at the bottom and then some swirls. I also outlined the girl. Isn't she precious? She reminds me of my niece when she was young!
For this next t-shirt, I had a dilemma. I FMQ the Anna Canada t-shirt following the very faint lines that are in the t-shirt fabric, and I outlined the numbers. However, you can probably see the extra t-shirt fabric on one side. It's more than a little pucker and it will be vulnerable to ripping so I went back and sewed it down by giving it a slight tuck. It took quite a few lines of stitches but it's better than a huge pucker.
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| Outlining the group and name |
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| Adding more swirls in white |
I then started another t-shirt block. On this one I fudged improvised the sashing a lot because the t-shirt had to be cut at odd angles. I FMQ linked squares and rectangles and then went around the letters. I didn't want to stitch over the image too much because it's rubbery, but I went around the hat and it seems ok. I love the sentiment of this t-shirt...I guess my niece and I have that in common 😊
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| Linked squares and rectangles in the sashing |
Here are a couple more blocks. I had fun with the Bridge t-shirt. I FMQ clouds in the sky, then water below, with fish and a sailboat. It's not obvious but it will be a fun discovery 😊 I'll be FMQ the border when that navy blue thread comes out!
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| Bridge t-shirt with FMQ landscape elements |
For this t-shirt block, I used some dot-to-dot type FMQ for the sashing. The sides have rather rough diamonds, the bottom is covered with echoed paisley and the top is another variation from the dot-to-dot design. On the t-shirt itself, I quilted a row of meandering flowers at the bottom and then some swirls. I also outlined the girl. Isn't she precious? She reminds me of my niece when she was young!
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| Dot-to-dot variations in the sashing |
For this next t-shirt, I had a dilemma. I FMQ the Anna Canada t-shirt following the very faint lines that are in the t-shirt fabric, and I outlined the numbers. However, you can probably see the extra t-shirt fabric on one side. It's more than a little pucker and it will be vulnerable to ripping so I went back and sewed it down by giving it a slight tuck. It took quite a few lines of stitches but it's better than a huge pucker.
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| Puckers stitched down |
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| A dilemma that needed to be fixed |
The emoji t-shirt was FMQ with a kind of flowing algae design with white thread. It's much better than what I usually do, which is to circle around each element.
I went back to the music t-shirt and added more looped filling within the t-shirt. As I cropped the image, I realise that I'd be going back once more to put a few lines between the locations at the back of the t-shirt. That has flatten it out well.
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| Additional lines of FMQ to flatten the t-shirt |
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| The back of the t-shirt |
Here is the t-shirt that I was working on when I ran out of bobbin thread and called it a day. I have to eventually publish this post! For this pink t-shirt, I'm FMQ some allover large echoed flowers. It's a lot of fun but is time consuming.
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| FMQ allover large echoed flowers |
What I learned
- The FMQ goes quickly when I know what design I'm going to use. It always slows down when I have to think of something new to use.
- I spent a few hours looking for and drawing out some fun designs. This time, I went back to Leah Day's 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs. I drew then out and added them to my FMQ journal to keep track of.
- It turns out that even if there is no batting, I still need to quilt all over or there will be loose fabric that can get caught, as I showed you.
- Considering how accuracy challenged I am, I'm pleasantly surprised that there haven't been more problems.
- I did manage to cut the backing too much at the top of the high school t-shirts. I left the top sashing unquilted for now, so that I can add a couple of inches of backing. 😒
- Of the 25 t-shirt blocks, I have 7 more blocks to complete, 1 t-shirt only to FMQ (not the sashing) and I've almost finished the pink all-over block.
- All of this, including the binding needs to be finished by next Wednesday. It will be done ✔
Related links
- T-shirt Quilt FMQ on Free Motion Mavericks, November 22, 2023
- Updates on Free Motion Mavericks, November 17, 2023
- FMQ the T-shirt Quilt on Free Motion Mavericks, November 09, 2023
- T-shirt quilt top done on Free Motion Mavericks, October 05, 2023
- Secret FMQ and T-shirt Quilt Update on Free Motion Mavericks, September 21, 2023
- Update on T-shirt quilt at Free Motion Mavericks, September 13, 2023
- Leah Day's 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check them out? Design Wall Monday, Midweek Makers, Sew & Share, Put your foot down, Peacock Party, Patchwork and Quilts, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2023,
Free Motion Mavericks
There were no link ups last week. I don't think there were issues with InLinkz. If there are, please let me know in the comments. Thanks.
What wonderful projects you are making!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Pat. I really have to get this one done so that it can get to my niece in her brother's luggage - all the way to Denmark!
DeleteThank you for the linky. I am on the fence over tshirt quilts, my first and only one was kind of a nightmare. I love what you are doing with yours.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Denise. Frankly I hope to never make another one, at least as a queen size. It wouldn't be as bad if it was just a throw. Don't to there if you don't have to :-)
DeleteYou are making good progress and it's looking great!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Raewyn. I hope that you're having a good time blogging every day! That is so beyond me. Going to read your latest posts now :-)
DeleteVery fun quilting for each shirt. You've made good progress.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate!
DeleteTrès joli ce quilting autour des dessins des t-shirts ! J'aime beaucoup les petits coeurs ;))
ReplyDeleteMerci pour le partage !
Merci bien Frédérique!
DeleteI've never made a t-shirt quilt. Yours is coming along beautifully though. I hear you on the deadline. I'm not making Christmas gifts this year, but most years, I make most of my gifts. Most years I am up in the wee hours before Christmas trying to get things finished.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurie, sorry that I'm so late in replying. The t-shirt quilt was done on time and delivered to Denmark to my niece. I'm happy to say that she loved it. I try not to make Christmas presents any more - those deadlines are nasty. I hope that you were able to enjoy a stress free Christmas! Happy New Year.
Delete