Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 39

"Matrix" - Front Side
Executed on an 18" x 18" Block

No more flowing lines - sort of. Leah has us moving on to handy quilting patterns  that quickly secure quilts that are meant to be used. I honestly can't recall the last time I quilted with this as my focus. Even when I quilt charity quilts I can't resist having fun and therefore opting to quilt some pattern that relates to the theme or fabric. However, just because Leah labels "Matrix" a utilitarian, fast overall pattern doesn't mean that is all that  it is good for. I can imagine Matrix done in white pearl cotton to create fishing nets, or a lighter weight thread for a butterfly net or my favorite thought a snood with beading at the junctures.

"Matrix" was the perfect design to follow flowing lines. It is formed by creating an undulating line from corner to corner of the area being filled. The first line is the guide for creating parallel lines across the rest of the area. Once that is completed a second undulating line perpendicular to the first line, starting and ending at the two other corners, is stitched. This line is the guide for lines perpendicular to the first set.  What is formed is a free flowing grid.

Detail of "Matrix" Practice Piece
Note how I used the piecing junctures as a guide to keep
my diagonal line on track.

Even following Leah's advice to readjust my hand position every 4" or so, I find I struggle not to jerk off line from time to time. I suspect this is not exclusively a free motion quilting learning issue. I have noticed similar issues with my handwriting as I age. No matter how assiduously I concentrate, flowing smooth lines are impossible for me to achieve when writing.

Actual photo of "Matrix" practice piece not enhanced by cropping.
Not the travel stitching along the outer perimeter of the block,
thus avoiding any need to cut and bury threads.

I made the conscientious decision NOT to follow along with Leah when it came to cutting the thread at the end of each line of stitching. My rationale was multiple fold and one that works best for me. First, my block was 18" x 18" and not a full sized quilt. This was one reason why my work wasn't constricted by the throat (the space to the right of the needle, between the needle and the machine.) Second, I opted to quilt this on my George that has a 20" throat versus my Bernina that only has an 8" throat.  I have near zero tolerance for cutting and therefore having to bury thread even with the aid of a cheater needle. Instead I ran off the edge of the quilt at the end of each line of stitching and sewed to where I needed to be next alone the outer perimeter where the travel stitching would be hidden by binding. Much easier and faster!

Back of "Matrix"

Detail of "Matrix's" Back

Once again, I am left with a feeling of close enough. I should be able to "fake" this pattern as needed.

Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 38

Lost Data - Front

Leah Day's assignment this week gave me another much needed pass at Jagged Lines. My struggles with last week's Jagged Lines assignment helped me zero in on my area of confusion (how to start and end the gaps.) When I watched Leah's video for Lost Data (Jagged Lines filled with Zippling) I paid particular attention to this trouble spot, pausing and rewinding the video multiple times until it sunk in. Then I practiced a few rounds with pen and paper.

Got it! One more free motion quilting pattern to add to my repertoire.

Detail from
Lost Data

Lost Data - Back

Detail from Lost Data - Back

The learning curve on Lost Data was typical of so many of life's challenges for me. It isn't that I am completely befuddled. Instead, I am missing one key component. The problem is discovering what that is and mastering it. Once it is learned the question becomes why was it so difficult in the first place? I choose not to dwell on that. Instead, I accept there will be many more moments of confusion in my life. I take heart in the knowledge that eventually I figure it out, all the more satisfied for having done so.

WIP - Shell Collection and Tree Serenade

This week I focused on two projects. The first was a redo of "Tree Serenade." The second project was work on my "Shell Collection" piece.

"Tree Serenade"
AFTER the Redo

"Tree Serenade"
BEFORE the Redo

I presented "Tree Serenade" to a private on-line critique group that I belong to. I asked the question "Is it finished?" Most felt that the white section kept it from being finished and was unsettling. The consensus was that it needed green, perhaps leaves to break it up. I spent a full studio day creating and placing leaves around the white (sky). The result was, frankly, horrible. The uneven edging just didn't jive with the rest of the straight line piecing. The following day I removed the leaves and changed out the binding, substituting green for the original white. This, at least provided an finished edge for the sky. I also, appliquéd a cardinal in the middle of the piece, nestling it in amongst the leaves. This helps draw the eye from white on the left and to the quilt's center.

Detail from "Tree Serenade"
Cardinal Nestling in the Leaves

 The flowing lines quilting patterns, that I have been practicing thanks to Leah Day's assignments, are perfect for my series of blocks for "Shell Collections." In the snail blocks, I modified the filler of the pattern to be spirals in order to reference the snails.

Two Snails Block
To Be Included in "Shell Collection"

Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 37

We have gone from Flowing Lines to Jagged Lines. I find when the lines flow, my work flows, but when the lines are jagged so is my work.

Whenever I am forced to confront a new pattern that doesn't come naturally to me, I begin by doodling it on paper. I did this for 10 - 15 minutes and still couldn't get the hang of Jagged Lines. Since this was an assignment that would be done on a practice sandwich never to be seen again I bit the bullet and moved to the sewing machine.

Front Side of Jagged Lines Practice Piece

Perhaps if this had been week 2 or 3 or I would have been happy with the results of Jagged Lines. Instead I found myself struggling with a sense of ineptitude. What is it about getting from point A to B with jagged lines that is so, so, SO much more difficult for me to plan for than doing the same thing with flowing lines? For now, I have opted to accept that it is.

Back Side of Jagged Lines Practice Piece

On the plus side, I feel my ability to execute straight lines and 90 degree angles has improved greatly since the early days of attempting circuit board. My lines are straight, my angles crisp and there are few hesitation knots on the back. Also, despite some navigation issues around trying to create gaps, I did well at turning the pattern along the 45 degree angle I marked at each border corner. Although I am not satisfied with the piece, I am pleased to note that I continue to improve. That is the point, after all.

Quilting Along With Leah Day - Week 36

I am loving the Flowing Line series of quilting patterns Leah has us working on this month. In this incarnation the eye shaped gaps are filled with Pivoting Paisley. This turned out to be the perfect pattern for my current WIP (work in progress) that involves a series of blocks of different sizes showcasing shells.

Full View of Scallop Shell Block
Quilted with Flowing Lines and Pivoting Paisley

So many of Leah's lessons have proven useful as I created this 15" H x 12" W block. For example how to execute a pattern in quadrants and then in rows or to work my way around a motif. The only time I have to break thread now is when I change colors or come to the end of a spool or bobbin. What a treat to not have a bunch of thread tails to tackle.

Detail of Scallop Shell Block

Then there are Leah's tips, such as the fact that she uses a Quilter's Dream mid loft poly batt. That is what I have been using for this series. The quilting stands out well enough that there was no need to photograph the backside. This piece has been soaked and blocked to remove the starch and water soluble marker. I did not iron it any time.

Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 35

Although Leah Day designed the pattern, Goldilocks to suggest tendrils of hair, I used it in my grandniece's quilt to suggest the tidal patterns on sand. So, when Goldilocks became our Week 35 assignment and I had plans for a quilt with a working title of Shell Collection, I knew I would work up a section of beach.

Front Side of Goldilocks Sample
to be used as a section of beach in
Shell Collection

I found Goldilocks rather straightforward to execute. I can now create flowing lines and stippling with ease. My only hangup was figuring out how many times to echo a line and where to place the next pod of stippling. In retrospect I might have a preferred a few more echoing lines and a few less stipple pods on this piece.

You may find it easier to view the Goldilocks pattern on the backside. However, since I matched the front thread on the back, the contrast between the cream colored backing thread and white backing muslin isn't that large. The backing is a solid color therefore there is no distracting pattern on the fabric the way there is on the front.

Backside of Goldilocks Sample

This was my first time using Quilter's Dream Polyester Batting. I've been using Hobbs 80/20 for years. It helps to preshrink Hobbs 80/20. Whether it is the batting or my new washing machine, preshrinking my Hobbs 80/20 batts has been less than satisfactory. Instead of shrinking and thickening the batt, it tends to stretch and have areas of sparsity. Quilter's Dream doesn't require and actually discourages preshrinking. It does quilt up nicely. However, I noticed some of the poof disappeared when I ironed my sample. The final test will be to see how it handles the soak and blocking phase.

UFO's of a Different Nature

Ever wonder what to do with class samples? When I first started quilting back in the Jurassic period (1985) I signed up for workshops, lots and lots of workshops. They were a great way of picking up techniques and getting tips. They were also a great way of accumulating half finished projects and samples. Now I rarely sign up for a workshop, but I did commit to doing the assignments given by Leah Day on her blog, The Free Motion Quilting Project. I've done all 35 to date. My stash of samples was mushrooming. What to do?

The answer came when Fiber Artists Coalition decided to create an exhibition titled Salvage and Selvage. All the work in the exhibition had to include recycled materials. Why not repurpose my free motioning quilting practice pieces, using the quilt as you go method and repurpose those samples? Hence Tree Serenade was created.

Tree Serenade
48" H x 40" W

If you have been following my blog you will recognize various pieces of the quilt, such as my "wonky" quilt, several pivoting paisley incarnations, a few branching out pieces, my sample of adding acrylic paint mixed with a bonding medium and the latest assignment based on flowing lines that became the tree. If you haven't followed the blog or just want to jog your memory, scroll through the previous posts and have fun matching them to the background pieces. Note how the quilt as you go method becomes an integral part of the design.

The only portion of the quilt that did not come from Leah's assignments are the leaf clusters. These were made by spray painting dryer sheets, bonding them to drop clothes used to catch paint in my wet studio, cutting out clusters, fusing them to quilt and further securing them with free motion quilting.

Detail from Tree Serenade
Note the leaf clusters made from painted dryer sheets.