Merrily we roll along

Just a quickie before I run off to work – out the door and into the nasty gusting north wind that’s rattling my garbage can outside and bringing more snow…

Still practicing my free motion. Not sure if I’m getting any better, but I’m having fun, which is rarely the case when I’m FMQing. Usually, when I have a top done and it’s time to quilt it, the thought always goes through my head before I can stop it: “Okay, time to ruin it.” Maybe next time that little voice will laugh and say: “Let’s have some fun!”

Still practising my all-over leaves, but Leah Day is hosting a different free motion challenge that compliments the one that SewCalGal is hosting. Leah is also one of the teachers that SewCalGal has lined up. Leah has some great tutorials on stippling. Stippling is what I’ve done on the few quilts I’ve made so far, but it’s always been random and sort of hit and miss. Leah adds method and somewhat of a pattern. Honestly, it’s harder to follow than the leaves – probably because you aren’t following a pattern. I even drew myself a grid on the fabric so I could be more consistent in height and width of the globs. My attempts are still pretty blocky because I’m not sure which direction I should be going in. More practice.

Leah also included a directional chart, which I’ve seen before elsewhere, for FMQing. I tried it with the leaves, using the grid I’d already drawn (1x1-inch squares). Not bad. I have one bare spot where I usually have several, and I managed to begin and end in almost the same spot.

I also went back to the first practice sandwich I did and filled in some of the spaces – just because it looked like it would be fun. Some pebbles, some echoing, some circles because my curves are still looking pretty lumpy. Also, I don’t often have the chance to practice stitching this small, but it sure comes in handy with a lot of the little projects I work on. We’re getting there!

Until next time,