Bonjour and welcome 😃 I spent most of the day outside playing with hexies - that was nice 😍 I'm writing this ahead of time since I'll be in Toronto for my semi-annual eye exam. I used to be able to stitch in the car but not anymore. That means that not much will get done quilting wise, so I may as well prepare this post before I go.
Playing with FMQ Designs
As you saw last week, I finally started quilting Square Dance, a baby quilt. Since then I've been FMQ one block per day. I'm so excited - it's pure play. Of course I said that I would keep it simple but you know me...a chance to practice and play with FMQ. I just can't help it. 😁
Since the first block I FMQ just had straight lines, I wanted to add some curves into the next one.
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| Straight lines with "C" curves |
The next one, on the turquoise background was FMQ with Lori Kennedy's Swirling Stars. I drew the design on the fabric with a white chalk pen.
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| Swirling Stars |
The maroon block has a pickle ball fabric in the middle, so I practiced drawing on paper and then on the fabric, pickle ball pallets and balls. The rest was FMQ with
squiggly lines.
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| FMQ pickle ball pallets and squiggly lines |
Summer Hexies Sew Along
As well as playing with FMQ, I also spent time doing EPP (English Paper Piecing), the wreath for the Summer Hexies Sew Along.
This is what I have done so far.
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| Hexie Wreath so far |
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| Another double flower |
I now have 10 single hexie flowers and 4 double hexie flowers. Now I need to make one double hexie flower and 8 single hexie flowers and the leaves. It's coming along nicely 😊
Focus & Flow Course
I'm taking the Focus and Flow course offered by Fibre Arts Take Two. The course is taught by Karen Olson. It's a mindful eco-art program. Our first project was a teabag paper journal. I used inks for a few of the pages and then used a branch from my yard to put into the spine. The book is tied with sari yarn.
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| Teabag paper journal |
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| It was a windy day - the pages wanted to dance |
If you're wondering. teabag paper is a translucent paper that feels a lot like tissue paper. It's very durable and takes paint quite well. Apparently if you want to work with Japanese papers, this is an inexpensive way to get used to them.
What I learned
- I made the teabag paper journal a while back and have finally returned to the course. I've missed making books so it's great to be back into it. This is definitely from an arts perspective.
- Playing with hexies outside for most of the day was very relaxing. I'm motivated to finish the wreath since it's more than half done.
- Choosing fabric that plays well with the initial fabrics I bought has been fun. A little variety is a very good thing!
- FMQ the Square Dance quilt has been fun, from figuring out the designs to practicing them and then drawing them on the fabric. As I've said before, it's a good thing that I'm pretty good at following lines 😀
Related links
- FMQ a Baby Quilt and I Quilted This!, September 03, 2026
- Getting Things Done and I Quilted This!, July 23, 2026
- Slow Progress and I Quilted This!, July 16, 2026
- A Finished Flimsy, FMQ, slow stitching and I Quilted This!, June 18, 2026
- Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This!, May 21, 2026
- Getting stuff done and I Quilted This! January 22, 2026
- Modern Baby
- Mad About Patchwork - Summer Hexies Sew Along
- Focus + Flow with Karen Olson
Linking parties
I Quilted This!
Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party that celebrates quilting on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. Feel free to link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it!
Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.
Kat of Scrapbox Quilts made another lovely
Lil Bear Hug quilt. This one is yellow and purple - the August and September colours.
Diann at Little Penguin Quilts has finished her lovely
Patchwork Hearts quilt. She quilted-as-you-go. If you're curious, read about the process on her
post!
Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts quilted a lovely quilt that she called
Jeni's Colorado. You'll want to read all about it.
Vicki from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting has been busy. You'll want to check out her
post. Here are a couple of
fall quilts that she finished.
Gail of Quilting Gail made the cutest baby quilt. You'll want to read the
story behind it. She quilted it with the Rocket Ruler by Silly Moon.
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| Details of the ruler quilting by Gail |
It's now your turn 😍
Your quilting on the baby quilt is beautiful! The hexie flowers are lovely, you are going to have a cute quilt, happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Gretchen. I was on a roll and then fizzed out. Hopefully I'll get back to the baby quilt on the weekend!
DeleteWhat fun fillers you are coming up with to quilt that baby quilt!
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry! Of course now that I've done some obvious ones, I'm struggling a bit with what comes next, but I'm sure I'll figure it out :-)
DeleteThose hexies look great. That teabag paper looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sally. The teabag paper is going to be great with experimenting, especially for collage. I'll post my experiments!
DeleteFMQ without any pressure, just all playful, really is fun, and for me, liking watching fish in a tank, so meditative. Square Dance is coming along nicely!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra, it can be very meditative, when you're in the flow. I hope to get back to the FMQ soon.
DeleteYour quilting looks great and your teabag journal is interesting. I like the way you have bound it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Janine. It's been fun trying out these new things and I love adding natural elements to my work when I can :-)
DeleteTon FMQ est très réussi, j'aime beaucoup les courbes du bloc des tortues. Je vais tester le crayon bleu qui s'efface à l'eau, pour marquer les motifs de quilting, je trouve que la craie laisse toujours des marques. Jolies fleurs, et expérience de teinture ! Bises
ReplyDeleteBonne chance Frédérique, avec les crayons - ce n'est vraiment pas facile de trouver le crayon parfait car ça dépend beaucoup du tissu. J'espère bien retourner au FMQ bientôt. Pas toujours facile après un petit break. Bises
DeleteSounds like you've been busy on several different fronts. The tea paper journal is really pretty. All the quilting you've done so far is really fun. Hope you have more time for all of that this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate, it did have some time but ended up using it to listen to audiobooks! I guess I might have done to much last week. I can't seem to sustain it but that's ok - self-care is also important :-)
DeleteLove the Baby quilt. And the hexies are so pretty. Enjoy your eye exam??
ReplyDeleteThanks Alycia. We had a good time in Toronto, despite the eye exam. It went well but it looks like I won't get my eyesight back in my right eye. Oh well, I'm slowly getting used to it :-) Thanks for asking.
DeleteI love seeing your different practice motifs for FMQ. I used to watch Lori Kennedy a lot. She is great. Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings!
ReplyDelete