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!

Playing & Learning

It's been a whirlwind of quilty activity. It seems that I'm not just hooked on all things quilty, I'm addicted and I love it.  Since my e-learning career seems to be at a standstill (and maybe I need a holiday), I've decided to spend that extra energy on quilting. Wow, I didn't realise how much energy I had!

I have spent the last couple of weeks doing something related to quilting every day. Thanks to Craftsy, I've been practicing free motion quilting on my new-to-me Jag. After seven days in a row, I can safely say that it's all about practice. So far Leah Day has taught me to free motion stipples and paisleys. I made a whole bunch of small practice sandwiches using a huge bag of fabric that I bought for $10. It has all kinds of miss-dyed fabrics. I practiced those curvy “U”s, up, down and sideways. My stippling is coming along nicely.

Next came the paisleys. Leah makes it look so easy as she zips through them, while talking to us! I was having a lot of problems making teardrop shapes, let alone shadowing them and "travelling" across previously quilted lines. Finally one day at lunch time, I spent 20 minutes drawing teardrops and paisleys and my hands got it! My paisleys are not great but they are looking more like paisleys every day.

Then, because practicing free motion quilting isn't really "creating" anything, one evening I decided to challenge myself. I used my bag of scraps to make a landscape. I only dipped into my stash for a piece of stripy orange fabric that was perfect for the setting sun.

First version

Latest version

Once I had cut out and attached the pieces, of course I had to consult my other Craftsy course - Stupendous Stitching: Adventures in Surface Design with Carol Ann Waugh. That should be easy enough except that Carol Ann suggests that we create a stitch bible (I prefer stitch dictionary). Since I’m playing on a new machine, that made too much sense to bypass. I’m now on page 5 of the stitch dictionary. My machine has over 200 stitches and after 5 pages I’m at stitch 38. I did the math – that’s another 27 pages! I’m sure I’ll get it done....in the next few months!

Luckily the appliqué stitch on my machine is in the twenties – so I practiced that stitch on the outline of the trees and the grass. I then added some straight stitches on the trees. I also found another stitch that looks like waves, so they got added to the water. They don’t show up much but now I know how to make them.

Details of the tree trunks

Waves sewn in the water

Last night I spent the evening looking at my Quilting Arts magazines. I've always loved the various quilts but didn't have a clue about going about making them. It was amazing going through these magazines and noticing (and understanding) the types of free motion quilting. It’s like going through life without noticing the colour red – and suddenly seeing it!

I’ll never look at quilts in the same way. That’s what learning is all about!