Wednesday, March 28, 2012

WIP and QAL Wednesday!

Just when I thought that I was getting pretty good at FMQ, I found it was time for a little humility.  I found it quite challenging to go slow enough to stay on the lines and fast enough to have smooth curves. I also used high loft polyester batting, I think I might have been better off with a medium loft. Well, I guess that's why I'm linking up with Leah Day every week, to step out of my comfort zone and get better at FMQ. I still had lots of fun working on this.
Front

I really liked the look of going around the designs a couple of times.

Center of the design

I used both methods of creating feathers, travel back and bump bump.

The back
I used the same Isacord thread in the top and bobbin, same fabric front and back. I did stipple inside the hearts, since I broke thread to stitch the inner heart. I certainly now understand why breaking thread to stitch a different element is avoided at all cost, what a pain.

So my first question to Leah this week is about practicing. I know that you said to go slow to stay on the line, but I ended up just crawling. My lines, curves and stitch length got really wobbly. Is it better to practice with a little speed and work on precision or stay slow (and wobbly) and work to gain speed as you get more confident. (Am I asking a chicken and egg question?) My second question is about stitch length and travel stitching. If you travel stitch, it covers up your stitches, so that the single stitch looks totally different than the traveled stitches. If a piece has a lot of travel stitching, is it better to keep your stitches really small/short? What is an optimal stitch length for FMQ?

Thank you so much Leah for this wonderful QAL Wednesday and for pushing my skills!

I have a short list of other projects I worked on this week. I completed another row for Quokka Quilts QAYGFMQQAL.





And I also completed my Sew Cal Gal's March FMQ Challenge. Can you tell I grew up in the sixties and seventies???
Wait until you see what I did with this piece. I'll be showing that in tomorrow's post!
My stats this week are:
In-process: (11)
FLMQG solids challenge crib quilt (2 out of 9 Urban Nine Patch blocks done)
Purple heart wall hanging ( needs borders, backing, quilting and binding)
Expanding Possibilities quilt (basted, now to be quilted)
Storybook quilt # 1 -   Everything is together, just need a border and binding (QAYG )
Storybook quilt # 2 - All embroidery is done
Quokka Quilts QAYGFMQQAL quilt (18 blocks out of 30 quilted)
Sewing Machine Cover - FMQ complete, need binding and ties
Geneva Public Library quilt - join and quilt (maybe make a block or two to even it out)
iPad case (embroidered and started piecing and quilting)
Whole cloth quilt for QAL Wednesday
Sew Cal Gal's March FMQ Challenge - Embellishment (stay tuned)
New projects in the cue to start: (1)
New Wave quilt (not started)

Finished (0)

 

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and The Free Motion Quilting Project for QAL Wednesday




WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
Free Motion Quilt Along




Color Me Quilty!

Pat

19 comments:

  1. You did a lot. Good work. I did just Leah's.

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  2. Beautiful quilting! I quite often get the bout of humility when I get a bit cocky about paper piecing :)

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  3. I think your quilting is absolutely amazing, and love the thread colour! I haven't even tried micro stippling yet!

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  4. Good questions, I had the same difficulties with slow stitching. Your quilt is looking great, and I really like your retro FMQ challenge piece!

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  5. OMG! I wish I could quilt like that. amazing!!!

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  6. I Love the quilting on the batik piece. Organic is what i love best. I have had a whole cloth something in my mind, but usually the ones you see are victorian...ish. I want pebbles leaves shells flowers in mine, but want it to look like something not just like a practice piece with a jumble. Anxious to see what you do with this piece so am adding you to my blog list.

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  7. Wow! all your projects look great. The last one is just so beautiful.
    Is this your own design?

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  8. I don't know what you're talking about - I think it looks really good. I'm behind. I haven't started mine yet...one of these days.

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  9. Stunning - your fmq just gets better and better every week!

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  10. Some wonderful pieces here Pat. I particularly like the last two - thanks for showing us. And thanks for your comment on my blog earlier.

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  11. I agree that following lines is A LOT harder than no lines when FM quilting!

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  12. Your FMQ looks amazing. I'm going to have to practice, practice, practice! They are great questions to ask Leah.

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  13. I love seeing your FMQ progress! You are getting sooooo good at it. Good job!

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  14. Se ve muy bien con el doble punteado. Animo te queda un trabajo muy bonito.

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  15. Your quilting is beautiful. Can't wait to see what you're doing with the green piece. I love the deign!!

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  16. You are really going to town with your quilting! Love it. I have learned to not worry as much about stitch length as I used to because once you wash it you can't tell much anyway!

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  17. Beautiful job and I love your challenge FMQ - it's got that 60s-70s pizzazz!

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  18. I LOVE your FMQ flowers! I also have to ask, which feather method did you like better, the travel back or the bump bump?

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  19. Wow, you sure have a ton of "irons in the fire"! Your pieces are so nice. You seem to be able to keep up so well!

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