October updates

October is almost finished and so far I've written very few posts. I did some quilting, lots of planning and listened to many audio books. I'm also totally overwhelmed by the number of comments on my September posts and I hope to answer them....one day, or not. So please know that I really appreciate getting comments, but at one point, I may give up on answering the older ones. Sorry 😔

One Monthly Goal (OMG) accomplished!

My October OMG was to finish a quilt top for a t-shirt and dress quilt for Sonya's daughter. I had very little hope that it would get done, so I am very, very pleased to say that the quilt top is finished and the quilt is about half quilted.

Here are a few of the quilted blocks so far. I'm not sharing the rest of the quilt top yet since I'd like to keep it a surprise 😊 Since I'm planning to make this quilt my November OMG, you'll be able to see it at the end of November, if not earlier.

This first block is a variation of Peas in a pod, designed by Maddie Kertay. You can see my own doodling of it in my FMQ journal. The design is found in 180 Doodle Quilting Designs, page 99. The book is compiled by Karen M. Burns.

Peas in a pod

Variation of Peas in a pod
FMQ design

You may recognize this next FMQ design from Angela Walter's Free Motion Challenge Quilt Along that I did last spring. This is the Feather Meander and a lot of swirly variations.

Feather Meander and swirly variations

Finally, I quilted around the dolphins and then FMQ a whole bunch of bubbles.

Bubbles around the dolphins

There is a lot more to quilt, especially since I also want to FMQ inside the sashing, which I will keep simple.

Fabric acquisition for a future project

For the October's Throwback Thursday, I posted a Beatles quilt that I made using a walking foot. In the post, I said that although made for my daughter's room that the quilt had never hung there since I had taken too long to finish it and her room decor had moved on.

Well my daughter, who is now studying art history for a semester in Venice (doesn't that sound absolutely amazing?!) commented that she still wanted a Paddington Bear quilt and would love it even if her room changed. (The link to that post is in Related links below.)

Since I know that she loves Paddington Bear and that she's my number one fan, the day after she posted her comment, I went on the internet in search of fabric. I found these on Etsy and I'm sharing the links below since I had excellent service from both shops.

Lovely Paddington Bear fabric

At this time, I'm thinking of making a large Paddington Bear applique in the quilt centre and then using this and other fabric blocks around it for a scrappy look. This will probably be a winter 2019 project.

More hexies

The 100 hexies in 100 days event on Instagram is now in its eleventh week. Here are the hexies and the pictures for weeks 9 to 11. Since I haven't done as much quilting as I would like, I thought that I would try to put a little more effort in my pictures of these hexies.

Week 9 - Floral

Since the floral theme was all about colour (for me), I thought that I would use the Our House quilt to showcase the hexies I made. Here they are!

Floral hexies at Our House

A close-up of the floral hexies with "the two cats in the yard".

More floral hexies in the yard

Week 10 - Favourite Colours

It's pretty difficult to make me choose ONE favourite colour. Instead, I gathered up some of my favourite colours and made a display with my muse and my Kimono silk thread collection.

What a lot of colours - how can I choose just one?

The quilt under the hexies is a wheel chair quilt that I made for my grandmother. It's the perfect backdrop for wonderful colours.

More lovely colours and incredible silk thread!!!

Week 11 - I Spy

This week's selection is objects that are used in an I Spy quilt. It took me a while to find fabric that I mostly hadn't use on previous hexies. Thank goodness I've purchased a few fabrics recently :-)

I Spy hexies on fireman fabric

My absolute favourite is that priceless pink squirrel!

Paddington Bear makes his first appearance.

Art with Fabric, Fall 2018 Coming Soon!

The Art with Fabric blog hop, hosted by Alida, will be held between Monday, November 5 to Friday, November 9, 2018.  My post will be featured on Wednesday, November 7th.

The theme of the blog hop is our favourite colour. I am doing my art piece on the colour white - which is not my favourite, although technically white includes all colours, so technically it could be my favourite :-)

My piece is based on a BBC documentary series called A History of Art in Three Colours. While the first two films were interesting, it's the third one that caught my attention. My piece will feature white and its role in the evolution of art history, particularly in contemporary art.

What I learned

• I tend to practice a lot of FMQ designs on scrap pieces of paper or photocopy paper. When I get one that works well on paper and ink, I'll usually try it on the sewing machine. Generally I know that if I can draw it, then I can quilt it. I then either re-copy these in my FMQ journal or just cut and paste them in the journal. If I didn't keep track of the designs I use or can do, I would never remember what FMQ designs to us! 
• The 100 hexies in 100 days event on Instagram has influenced my fabric purchases! I now look for some fabrics that have interesting characters. This is not normally the type of fabric I buy, but they can be very handy to have when making art quilts.
• I've been working very hard on my Art with Fabric Blog Hop piece. It's a fairly complex piece that has been both fun and challenging to make. I'll have a lot more to say on November 7th, so I hope you'll join me.

Related links

• 180 Doodle Quilting Designs, compiled by Karen M. Burns
• Free Motion Challenge Quilt Along update, April 14, 2018 
• Throwback Thursday for October, October 3, 2018
• Paddington Fabrics on Etsy from these two shops
• Onlinebargaingalore in California
• Sewingdoing Shop in South Korea
• Welcome to Our House, September 12, 2018
• Remembering Jeannette (1915-2013),  March 6, 2018
• Art with Fabric Blog Hop, Fall 2018
• BBC History of Art in Three Colours 3of 3 - WHITE

Linking parties

I will be linking this post to the OMG Finish link-up as soon as it opens. Also check out the other great linky parties going on! Monday Making, Main Crush Monday, Design Wall Monday, Moving It Forward, What I Made Monday, Linky Tuesday,  Tuesday Colour Linky Party, Let's Bee Social, Friday Foto Fun, Finished or Not Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Needle & Thread Thursday,  Free Motion Mavericks, Slow Sunday Stitching,

Practice Makes Better

I know in theory that practicing a skill increases your skill level. However, I’ve never really seen the results so obviously for myself. It’s now been a little over two years since I started free motion quilting (FMQ) on my new-to-me jag. I first blogged about it in Playing & Quilting, August 27, 2013. At the time, I had no idea how much this would change my quilting.

Free Motion Quilting practice piece

My first class was Free Motion Quilting a Sampler with Leah Day on Craftsy. I started by doing stippling, “S” curves and paisleys. It took a while for those “S” curves and paisleys to look like they were supposed to. I quickly learned that drawing was the best way for me to learn. Now, whenever I want to learn a new FMQ pattern, I take out my pencil and paper and draw until I’m comfortable with it. After that, it usually takes me only a couple of practice tries on fabric to get ready to quilt the real thing.

A modern looking paisley

I’ve recently decided to practice my FMQ on a more regular basis (what ever that means) because just FMQ completed projects is not enough. I still doodle FMQ patterns whenever I get the chance but I really want to expand my repertoire of patterns.

I started by gathering the solid fabrics from my stash that I had inherited from my mother. I hesitate to use them in quilts because they’re mostly cotton/polyester blends. These are perfect for making practice sandwiches. I spray basted rows of long skinny pieces of batting left over from previous projects between the fabrics. For these practice pieces, I found that they didn’t have to be taped together.

For my first practice piece, I concentrated on paisleys and leaves. I found some great ideas in a Dover library book, A Treasury of Design for Artists and Craftsmen. My favourite was a modern paisley that doesn’t have outside edges except where the lines within happen to go to the edge of the design. With an iron-off marking pen, it was easy to draw the outline of the paisley and then quilt the lines within it.  If I was to use this pattern again, I could practice it to figure out how to continuously quilt it without having to travel from one end to another. That would ensure that both sides would have the open effect that makes it special.

Paisley with curves

I also practiced breaking up the space within the paisley to add different designs. I used many straight lines at different angles, from triangles to zigzags, as well as a few curved pieces including a paisley within the paisley. This is a very versatile design that can include pretty much anything you can FMQ within it. The bigger your original paisley, the more you can add.

I got the idea for the leaf patterns in a Zen Colouring Designs magazine. The image didn’t come out well since I used much lighter thread. Again, it’s the same principle of dividing the space to add different designs.

Leaf - divide and conquer

I had so much fun FMQ this practice piece that I ended up binding it and placing it on my wall at work. I smile every time I see it.

I also practiced my cathedral windows based on Cindy Needham’s Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts on Craftsy. As she recommended, I took the time to draw out an on-point grid with my trusty iron-off marking pen and then followed her instructions. My edges are a bit off but otherwise, it’s a pretty decent try. It makes such a rich background.

Cathedral windows

What I learned:

• Use solid fabrics for my practice sandwiches. Using ugly patterned fabrics isn’t a good idea because I can't see the quilting as well, if at all.
• Spray basting strips of left-over batting between the two layers of fabric is good enough, as long as the practice piece isn't used for anything else.
• It’s important to stop quilting at least one inch of the border, otherwise the design gets distorted. This is NOT the first time I’ve learned this - and probably not the last time I’ll forget it!
• Practicing like this has given me a lot of confidence. I’m now planning my next fully FMQ project.

I have linked this post to the following linky parties: Let's Bee Social, Free Motion Mavericks. Also celebrating 3 years of partying at Let's Bee Social! See what everyone is doing on Oh Scrap! 
My post was featured on Free Motion Mavericks! Check it out!