Week In Review 2013 - 03/08

I have been a free motion quilting fiend this past week. Often my projects are at different stages, so that I might be designing one quilt, piecing another, quilting a third and perhaps doing handwork on a fourth. However, this week all three of my projects involved free motion quilting at some point in their progress.

Was free motion quilting what I had in mind for the week ending March 8? Here is my plan matched up with what I actually did.


1) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the next lesson. - Done

Annette Kennedy gave a lecture on depth and dimension using her photographs and quilts as examples. There were no assignments for this lesson.

b) Begin the next lesson. - Done or not done. There was nothing to do.


2) Express Your Love

Work begins on the goddess's hair.
The design, called Express Your Love, is by Leah Day.

a) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next. - Done

Last week I said that Leah hadn't provided us with a lesson. I spoke to soon. She did demo a variation on Flame Stitch that she dubbed Stacked Flame Stitch. This week she shared how to do another filler design called Channels and Paths. I chose to do use both this patterns in my goddess's hair. Since I see myself as my goddess, I decided to use thread similar to my own gray, brown, white, dark brown, slightly streaked hair. Therefore, I did the Stacked Flame Stitch in a pale gray and the Channels and Paths is variegated brown, golden honey and white.

A closer look at the goddess's hair. 

b) Finish quilting Iris Still Life. - Done

This a whole cloth 16" square quilt. The fabric is a single
hand dyed fuchsia. What a difference varying  the thread
color and density of the quilting makes!

Last week I quilted the rays done in McTavishing.  This
week I decided to use a portion of the center image -
a single iris,  placed in alternate rays.  Note how this single
change helps to both draw your eye in and pull it out.

3) Reflection (Absolute deadline April 23, 2013)

The brown threads across the background are the
basting threads. They are removed as I come to them. I find
this method of basting results in the least distortion of the quilt
that is a natural result of quilting.

a) Add the first layer of batting needed to trapunto the geese and trim it. - Done

b) Add the second layer of batting and backing, in other words make the quilt sandwich. - Done

c) Start quilting the ice and water surrounding the geese. - Done

Close up showing the effect of the trapunto, reverse
applique and free motion quilting.

This week just might set a record. I don't believe I have ever completed 100% of what I planned on doing. Much of the credit is due to Leah. I have learned so much about free motion quilting over the past 15 months that I can do it for hours. It has become as second nature to me as piecing. Proof positive that practice makes a difference.

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts...

"Reflection" a.ka. the geese quilt, is a favorite among readers of the blog. It has generated a few questions about how I did the reverse appliqué. The difference between appliqué and reverse appliqué is that the first is pieced on the front/right side of the quilt, while the latter is pieced to the back side of the quilt and the front of the quilt is then cut away revealing the piece. Think of a picture frame or window. Since the front is cut away there are raw edges to deal with. My favorite method, and the one I used to here to cope with raw edges, is to satin stitch around the appliqué. I find it helpful to set my machine at a slightly longer length between stitches than recommended. This keeps the satin stitch from being so dense that it won't flow under the machine's pressure foot. I also change the width to about half the default setting. Ultimately, the key is to set the satin stitch in such a way that it covers the raw edge and doesn't detract from the design. Thread choice is key, too. I used a VERY pale lavender thread. White would have "popped."


Nothing like a solid week of work to leave me eager for more. Here is my plan for the week ending March 15, 2013:

1) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the next lesson.

b) Begin the next lesson.

2) Express Your Love

a) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

b) Finish quilting the hair.

c) Finish the Iris Still Life by binding it and adding a sleeve.

3) Reflection (Absolute deadline April 23, 2013)

a) Finish quilting the ice and water surrounding the geese.

b) Start work on the red branches.

Machine Quilting with Leah Day - Week 8

Am I the only quilter without a stash of UFO's to draw upon? When I was a novice quilter I collected UFOs almost as quickly as I piled up completed projects, maybe even faster. Why? For two reasons. Either I reached a point in the quilt where I became stuck because I didn't have the design skills or technical know how to proceed or something new distracted me and I was off working in a new direction. Two years ago we moved from Massachusetts to Wisconsin and it became the perfect time to elminate several decades worth of UFOs. The result was that only a few tops needing quilting made the move with me and I have subsequently quilted them as practice pieces to master my George.

Stippling a Pieced Quilt

Week 8 required practicing on a full quilt with seams. Once again I found myself starting from scratch. Without a UFO quilt I had to make one. I did. I purposefully designed a quilt with a variety of values, solids, patterns and colors just for the challenge of selecting a thread that could work in all areas. I am partial to Superior's King Tut series when it comes threads. This particular variegated one features primary colors. I thought about using a yellow thread, but didn't have a vibrant enough yellow to blend with the bright yellow squares and of course it would stand out in the blue border.

It took me a full day of quilting to stipple this 43" x 54" quilt. I didn't time myself, but a good guess would be six hours at the machine, including a bobbin change. I always clean and oil my George between bobbins. It is a good practice and a good excuse to get up and move around the machine for 10 minutes. Leah took three hours, but I used 1/2" stipple which is mid sized versus large. I really liked Leah's tip to go around seam junctures. It helped avoid hopping when you hit a seam at full speed.

Navigating Around Seam Junctures

Now that I remember before I begin, that it is best start in the middle of an over all project and that I can stipple in quadrants and rows within each quadrant I no longer quilt myself into corners. With each passing week I find myself gaining confidence and problem solving skills on planning out my continouous line quilting. Although it took 6 hours quilt this, it is the fastest I have ever breezed through something of this magnitude.