Blink and you’re in trouble

Or, Holy crumbcake, Batman! I did my sample of stipple scales this morning for The Free Motion Quilting Project on Leah Day’s blog. She challenged us to do small, medium and large and take notice of how the technique changes. This isn’t my first sample, but it’s my best. Makes sense, getting better as you go along. If I did this again tomorrow, I’d hope for better results – although I’m not too sure.

I began with tiny quarter-inch stippling, then went to medium half-inch, and then to large one-inch. Can you say Oh My God?!Quarter inch is TINY, but I have to admit that the effect is kind of neat (if you don’t look too close). I had to stop every row and a half because my eyes were watering and my nose was running. My back is still aching! And I could point out all sorts of problems with my work, but we’ll leave it at that. Let’s just say, that was a tough slog.

The half inch was easier, but I should have waited a couple of hours. The trauma of quarter-inch stuff was still fresh and I’ll blame that on the crummy points on my stippling. I has having a hard time remembering which way was up. But I didn’t have to stop and rest or wipe my eyes.

The one-inch, of course, was the easiest, but I still managed to mess it up. I’m not usually that bad, but I know I need lots more practice. If I had done this on a quilt, I’d be tempted to pull it out and do it again. Between Leah Day and SewCalGal’s Free Motion Challenge, I’m going to be doing lots of practising this year!

Leah’s next challenge is to FMQ along a line. For February over at Sew Cal Gal, Diane Gaudynski will be teaching us feathers! It’s gonna be fun!

Until next time,