Wednesday, October 07, 2026

Back to FMQ and I Quilted This!

Allô and welcome 😊 My studio is a disaster after going away, but that hasn't stopped me from getting things done! I spent a few hours last evening adding more free motion quilting (FMQ) on the Square Dance baby quilt. It's getting there! Since my last baby quilt was given to the recipient just before his third birthday, I'm not too worried - but it would be nice to get it done sooner rather than later. I didn't make it for my September One Monthly Goal (OMG) but I'll be done in a week or two...and then on to the next one 😁

FMQ Square Dance Blocks

So far I've shared three FMQ blocks. Here are more - the ones I quilted last night are shown first while the others were quilted a while back.

The centre square features dinosaurs. I tried drawing dinosaurs based on the images in the fabric but with no luck. Then I found a pieced stegosaurus on the internet. Adapting the image from a pieced quilt was much easier. There's a close-up below.

Dinosaur block with dot-to-dot quilting
and a dinosaur

Close up of the FMQ stegosaurus

The centre fabric on this block is adventuring in the jungle. I FMQ a fern à la Angela Walters and then added vines with leaves.

Adventure block filled with ferns and leaves

The fun red fabric has all kinds of fun motifs. I FMQ rainbows at the top of the block and then a car, sun, cloud and house. There are mostly Lorry Kennedy's quilting designs. I now have the rest of the block to finish.

Rainbows, car, sun, cloud and house

There blocks were quilted after the last post on this quilt.

FMQ stars in the Star Wars block

FMQ flowers, a butterfly and squiggly lines

What I learned

Drawing a realistic dinosaur is beyond my abilities at this time but I was so happy to find a pieced stegosaurus. Since it was simplified to be pieced, it was simple enough for me to draw it. I'll have to remember that as a source of images to FMQ.
The hardest part about FMQ this quilt is coming up with the motifs. When possible, I like making it relevant to the centre block, although geometric designs can also be effective.
I'm going to publish this post early so that I can link up to the October OMG. This quilt needs to be finished soon since I can't wait to start designing the next baby quilt. I haven't let myself start until I finish this one!

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.

Terry at Ongoing Projects is still FMQ her butterfly collage quilt. You'll want to check out her post for more details!

Terry FMQ her butterfly collage quilt

Vicki from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting is now working on her fall quilts.

Vicki's Cinderella wall hanging (I just got the joke!)

Vicki finished this UFO fall table topper

Gail of Quilting Gail used to dislike appliqué - a lot! However, as she made some fun projects, she's now grown to like it! Here is one of her quilts. Check out her post for more!