Reily Quilt Finish

Well, it's been so long since I posted, I had to think about my password... but I guess it's just like a bicycle...

I finished up the Reily Quilt a couple of weeks ago and it has moved on to it's new home in Oregon.

I free motion quilted with stars and swirls and bound in yellow polka dots on a blue background.  The binding really had that shazam factor going. 

Front

Back

Sideways, you get the idea though.

I have a new project started and new fabric to share, back soon!

Stars and Moons FMQ

Well I FMQ'ed They're All Dalmatians and a couple of other projects, but I've never tried densely quilting a project before... I used two layers of batting, like I've seen on other blogs... and jumped right in.  Overall,  I'm not displeased, just need more practice.

The batting sure makes it pop!

Here's the back, it's a panel of the solar system.  My daughter looked at it and said, "Mom, use the dark thread on the back."  Good idea, why I didn't think of that??

Stitching with a morning cup!

Up early and stitching with my morning cup, the herd is coming right along...

Started Here

Added flowers for the green background.

A corner of an ear peeking out.

Outside Border

Outlining

I'm about 2/3 done, and aiming to finish the herd by tomorrow. 

Speaking of herds, my daughter's volleyball team travelled to another local high school for a match and look what was munching on the turf in front of the school, wild horses!  About 6 of them right there with lots of people just going about their business, I snapped this out the car window.  There was also 20 or so wild horses up on the hillside behind the school.  The school mascot you ask?   Mustangs, of course.

Those cows are staring at me!

Every day a new excuse, not to begin the quilting on the cow quilt...  seriously, I'm glad to have taken the time to practice away on this chistmas quilt.  I am gaining confidence and trying a few new designs. 

 Here's a block.

 Stars

Swirls 

A simple wave goes gives movement to the stripes.

Not really satisfied with the stitching, but love the overall look of a checkerboard.

A meandering geometric pattern.

A few things I have learned...

1.  Although I'm not yet satisfied with the stitching quality, overall, when looking at a completed block, it looks just fine.

2.  FMQ opens many creative doors, sometimes it's just tough to walk through them. 

3.  "Traveling" is a great thing in FMQ. (Not in basketball tho.)

4.  I need an open foot... mine is plastic and although it is clear, it's tough to see when quilting a small area... for instance the checkerboard pattern.  It's also tough to see behind the foot! 

5.  The old adage "practice makes perfect" applies to FMQ.

Off to close our cabin... winter is on it's way.



Nadin Comes to America

She is here!   All the way from the Philippines, 12 hours flying time... about an 23 hour trip total adding in the car ride home. Nadin, Mom and Dad all arrived safely on Monday.

Nadin! (Her quilt in the background.)

No sewing in the last couple of days, however, here's a few shots of my FMQ on the old Christmas quilt I have had sitting partially quilted for a couple of years.  I am slowly getting the hang of it and  happy that I had this to practice on.



A star and swirl pattern, good for beginners.

Working on consistent stitch length.

Also following fabric patterns. Sorry about the lint.

Hope your having a great week, we are enjoying beautiful fall weather.

FMQ

Too much to do, so little time... my mantra as of late!  Again I have been working on  FMQ and on my Cow Quilt.  I have finished the GREEEEEEEN background on the Cow Quilt and will take a picture this evening.  I took one with the iphone, however I'm not a great photographer and the iphone picture is even worse than my normal snapshots!

So for the time being, take a look at two little pot holders I have made while FMQ!  Basically, I am working on outlining and echoing.  I figure that should help with consistency before I attempt a larger project.  

For more pictures, check out our FMQ site Celebrating Big Girl Pants here! 

 

Happy stitching.

New Addition to the Sewing Room

I  have been considering a new machine for quite a while and finally busted out today!  My main requirements were the larger sewing area and the ability to FMQ, other than that I really didn't want alot of bells and whistles.  TaDaaaa!

So I am still on the lower end of the learning curve, but after a couple of hours of frustration I did actually FMQ for my first time... poof!

I see many hot pads in the near future, practice, practice, practice.

Enjoy your weekend.