As you know Karen Azevedo is doing a traditional boutis for our challenge and I am doing the same chosen pattern on a vintage linen but I'm doing it free motion quilting. I love to do wholecloth miniatures so thought this was the perfect opportunity to do another one. I chose a beautiful drawn-thread work linen and tr

In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly p...

I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.

I am delighted to have Patsy Thompson as our December FMQ Expert, for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge. Whe...

Here are a few more designs... Some are a year old and others fairly new. It's always FUN to see what is in the Sketch Book! Maybe they will inspire you to stitch one of them into your next machine quilting project: I like to draw out wavy lines... then draw different textures in each wavy section. The designs can be used as background fillers or stitched into most any place on your quilt. Sometimes a simple design.....is the most effective. Falling Leaves Wandering Vine Vines are always a favorite of mine! Another great background filler. Swirls 'n Flames This can be done any any scale... from very tiny to very large. This fills an area very quickly! Textures String Beads When stitching this out... Draw straight chalk lines parallel to one another. Then stitch along the chalk line adding circles as you go. Then add designs between the lines of circles. When you see 55mph on my sketch book pages, it means I was drawing as we drove along in the car. When inspiration strikes....you just gotta draw it out! CLICK HERE to view my online sketch book CLICK HERE to view my free motion quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

I think we can all agree that as quilters we have this deeply implanted love of creating and being creative, and that creativity doesn’t just stop at piecing a quilt top. Doing the actu…

The week has flown and I have been sick most of it. I was teaching free motion quilting and applique to beginner groups in Toulouse and I l...

Improve your free motion quilting skills with these 3 key elements to successful FMQ! See what you have to practice most...

Hi fellow quilters... thanks for stopping by! Before we announce the winner of the Aurifil thread (so exciting) I wanted to share a neat new Free Motion Feather sampler that I quilted on my domestic machine this week. (Of course I used Aurifil thread ;) The center motif was inspired by an Instagram post from Mary of Addicted to Fabric a few weeks ago. After a little doodling on paper and fabric we unearthed the appropriately named "Feather Galaxy" motif. It's sew fun to stitch. ...Below is the back of one of my first attempts to actually stitch it out... Have I mentioned how much I love using Aurifil 50Wt Mako Cotton Thread for lint free - break free dense machine quilting ? NO ? You've gotta Love that thread!! Happily, this sweet motif will be included in upcoming FMQ Feather Workshops being held at Quilter's Corner Ithaca, NY later this summer. You can keep up on my class, lecture and workshop dates on my Facebook events page by clicking here. A Workshop Sampler was in order. I started with a selection of the beautiful Grunge Fabric by BASICGREY for Moda. Oh how I LOVE Grunge - Those Colors!! Just fabulous... If you haven't checked out Grunge you really should... I know you can find some online here. Be careful - it's addicting! Oh! Don't forget to add the 12Wt and 50Wt Aurifil threads (Insert Happy Dance Here !) I pieced a little 23" x 25" sample, starting with a 10" x 12" center, adding a 2.5" sashing and a 5" border. Very quick and simple (you know me and piecing - I would rather NOT ;) Add two layers of Quilter's Dream 100% Dream Wool and pin baste to prepare to quilt on a Janome Horizon. To start I used a walking foot and Aurifil 50Wt #2805 thread to Stitch in the Ditch - it stabilizes for quilting. After Stitching in Ditch, I used a 90/14 Needle, 12Wt Aurifil #5005 to top stitch a 1/4" around the seams. Oh you've got to LOVE the texture and sheen the 12Wt thread adds to the piece... I used 50Wt in the bobbin when top stitching with the 12Wt thread. It's important to use that 90/14 needle though. Next, the center panel was quilted using the "Feather Galaxy" motif (diagram below) and adding a neat swirl/feather vine in the sashing. I kinda made it up -- but I love the way it stitched out. Here's a finish / close-up of the feather vine and the lovely top stitching... Swoon! After I finished quilting I decided to add that extra line of top stitching with 12Wt Aurifil in Color #1147 I really liked the way it framed the center. On the outer border I did a gentle wave bump-back feather - it's always good to practice those feathers!! They come out differently each time. Next time I think a little Amish Swirl is in order! If you're interested in quilting the "Feather Galaxy" motif, here is the step by step diagram I prepared to walk you through it: Personally, I love to practice with pencil and paper before putting it on fabric. When I do quilt, I create small table runners or place-mats with my practice pieces. If you need a good laugh - checkout the quick YouTube video recorded right after the Facebook Free Motion Quilting Frenzy group started stitching this motif. My friend Doreen from TreadleMusic Blog was the first to stitch it once the diagram was out -- and me next. Click the image below to watch on YouTube - don't laugh!! Because I finished the binding while sitting in my car, I don't have an actual finished image (oops) -- but do have these two I took before leaving home: In the image below the binding is only pinned - still love the way it came out. I hope you enjoyed the FMQ Feathers Sampler and Feather Galaxy Motif. If you're in the area I'll be sharing Feathers I and II at Quilters Corner in August -- do get signed up! We'll have some fun! Now onto our Aurifil Thread winner from the Sew We Stitch Blog Hop This beautiful designer Thread Collection is being provided by Aurifil and includes 12 large spools of 12Wt Mako Cotton thread. This weight works perfectly for machine top stitching (above) and for all sorts of hand work -- from wool applique, to cross stitch, to beautiful embellishments. There were 258 entries on the Sew We Stitch - Meet and Greet post and Mr. Random.Org selected comment number 55!! Lucky 55! Congratulations go out to Kathryn -- what a coincidence that Kathryn went to college in Ithaca years back!! Kathryn, I've sent you an email - I look forward to hearing from you! Many thanks again to Aurifil thread for their generosity. What a wonderful bunch of individuals and a fantastic team at Aurifil. On my bucket list at Spring Market is to finally meet the folks that create this awesome thread! I leave you with an image of our granddaughter Angelina - just after finishing the piecing on her very first quilt. She choose grunge for her main blocks and setting triangles - is that cool or what ? This quilt will be showing locally next month at the Common Threads Guild Show in Endicott, NY. Do stop by if you're in the area! So proud of Angelina. Oh, and if you're interested there is one open Giveaway on my blog through end of day April 4th -- you can see it here. Have a blessed weekend all, Karen

Free-motion couching is a way to add color and texture to any project. You can stitch cords, yarns, ribbons and braids … More

I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!

This past week, I started and finished a fun new Wholecloth Quilt that yielded 36 fun, new free-motion quilting motifs. Not only am I thril...

You have to try this. It is so fun! I know it looks complicated. It isn't. It's basically an adaptation of all over spirals (bel...

Welcome to my Feather Practice #1 Would you like to learn how to quilt beautiful feathers like shown below? Many machine quilters, especially when new, struggle to learn how to quilt beautiful feat…

A scrap of fabric that I was practicing a new transfer technique on. I think it's gonna work.

Free quilt design - free motion quilting feathers.

A beginner's guide to using a free motion foot on your sewing machine to do free motion quilting.

This past week found me snugged up at the Hyatt in Rancho Cordova teaching my last extended designs workshop of the year. What a wonderful ...

Feathers... They are FUN to draw... They are so yummy to stitch out! I even stitch them into baby quilts... If you can draw a feather... You can stitch a feather into your quilts: Baby Girl Feather Quilt This is a very basic feather... I use the Question Mark Spine Here it is stitched out... Zinnia Raffle Quilt Practice, Practice, Practice.....on paper Then stitch out your feathers... You can get as good as YOU want to be! 4 Feather Styles Tutorial CLICK HERE Beginner Cat's Claw Feather Tutorial CLICK HERE Watch me draw out a feather CLICK HERE Feathers with a Tail Tutorial CLICK HERE CLICK HERE to view my online sketch book CLICK HERE to view my free motion quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

I am a week overdue for posting all the goodies from our September retreat which took place weekend-before-last. As crazy as things get on my home front I always look forward to these retreats. There is something so special about the setting and the building where these are held...everyone that comes, including myself, just takes a deep breath and relaxes. My day starts between 4:30-5:00 am when I get the coffee started, gifts on the tables, tidying up done...the cool part is that it is soooo quiet and I get to watch the sun rise over the mountains. I even wiggle in a little bit of sewing time before the "kids" arrive :) I couldn't run these retreats without lots of help...Beth, who is pictured on the right, comes with me to every single retreat and helps me with anything and everything. These simply wouldn't happen without her! She is pictured with another one of my favorite retreaters, Shirley Hagan :) Barbara Cavanagh is one of my "regulars"...I met her for the first time when she was one of my students at Empty Spools Seminars (Asilomar) and she has been coming to my retreats ever since. She is, of course, a special "Linen Lady" and brought a finished project to share...simply amazing! I love how she covered up a center design she didn't like with a beautiful ruched ribbon flower. I always encourage retreaters to bring guild opportunity quilts so they can sell tickets...this one was over the top! The Yuba City Quilt Guild created a wholecloth linen quilt for their opportunity quilt...breathtaking doesn't justify this quilt. It is trapunto'd, beaded, and quilted to death. The pictures just don't do it justice. ...sometimes there just isn't enuf wall space to lay out a large quilt...I love how this quilt was embellishing the bench by the window :) Beverly Mack was one of my students in Sisters last year and is doing AMAZING work...she came with the small wholecloth practice piece above and then started venturing into a small hankie sized piece to get her feet wet. I loved watching her work...:) I always give away one of my wholecloth framed miniatures at each retreat and this is the one for September. These only measure 5x5"...loved how this turned out :) And last, but not least, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. McCloud! One morning after announcements, one of my retreaters Linda Wilson, approached me with a gift and pulled this pink wool-sculptured head out of a bag...At the time he was "naked" and had about a foot long arm that was attached to the bottom of his head with a hand attached at the end. I couldn't stop laughing...almost had to change my pants. I always say "what happens in McCloud...stays in McCloud" and we had LOADS of fun with him! Later on another retreater presented him with a crocheted hat to keep his head warm...the next day the same retreater fashioned a silk shawl to wrap around his skinny neck/arm...and then Linda made him some ears. He made his way around the retreat room in various poses, performing different tasks and he now resides right here in my sewing room where he is constantly bringing a smile to my face! I will be featuring him from time to time in my travels....THANK YOU LINDA! I will be leaving tomorrow morning to teach my 5-day Designs Workshop in Rancho Cordova (outside of Sacramento) so will have more inspiration coming up for you. Hugs, Cindy :)

mauvaise manipulation et c'est publié avant la fin du thème du jour . Oups la maîtrise n'est pas encore au top!!! on continue... des fleurs des feuilles qui volent et petit à petit on se constitue un herbier on se lance dans le raffiné et on s'inspire...

More Leaf Designs from My Quilting Sketch Book... This leaf has no vein sections... instead each half of the leaf is filled in with 2 different curl patterns. This leaf has veins... each separate vein section is filled in with curls A combination of 2 different fill designs This leaf design looks more like a fern More Leaf Designs to Come... If you are taking the January 23rd Permission 2 Play Class... This is a sample of the type of Heart Collage you will be creating in class. Thread Shed Birdies: These sweet, little birds make their home on the Thread Shed During the day they perch on the vine that grows by the Thread Shed... At night they sleep in the ivy leaves that grow on the front side of the Thread Shed They are wonderful companions for me while I am working. CLICK HERE to view Sketch Book Leaves 1 CLICK HERE to view Leaf Designs 5 CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE to view my Machine Quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

I was thinking about what I can do to help all the beginners who are just taking up free-motion quilting right now. I decided to share a ...

This was my test piece for tension, but it has gone so well that I will bind it and finish it also. I know my partner likes the doodling, too. Preference? Symmetrical piece or this more freeform one? The other will go into a silent auction for a local non-profit. I'm not finished yet... Need to fill in those gaps and frame it. :)

Here are a few designs to fill in narrow areas like sashings or narrow borders: After you chalk out the wavy stem line on your fabric... Challenge yourself to find different designs to add to the stem line... These get addicting! Try it The Lilies in the back yard are in full bloom: Pink Star Lily Yellow Spotted Star Lily They have freckles... More Lilies....yet to bloom! The back yard isn't only full of flowers... It is full of yearling cattle... They are 15 months old now... They are good company for us! Life in the Hay Field: This hay field is about 5 miles down the road from home These are 6 foot round hay bales... 700 pounds each The bales will be picked up with a tractor and loaded on a trailer and hauled for winter storage in our barns. A few more hay fields to go... 8:30 pm.....Sunset in the Hay Field CLICK HERE to view my Thread Shed CLICK HERE to view My Tutorials CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

Swinging on a Star - Pantograph / E2E © 2011 Jessica Schick PAPER: A single row is 12 inches - printed with one row - 144 inches long DIGITAL (computerized quilting systems): Zip file includes: BQM, CQP, DXF, HQF, IQP, PAT, QLI, SSD, TXT, WMF and 4QB or PLT. Most designs also include a DWG, GPF, PDF, PNG and SVG. SELF PRINT: A single row is 9.75 inches - printed with one row.

I am FINALLY able to post a progress report on my newest star quilt. I work best on a tight deadline and I desperately want this piece ...

Tutorial on my blog

Use the Couching Inserts for the Adjustable ruler foot #72 along with any quilting ruler to create fun, decorative free-motion couching with rulerwork.

Melody Crust talks on her blog about the importance of selecting the right quilting pattern to make the most impact on your quilt top. Calling straight line quilting elegant, click HERE to learn mo…

Explore texasdoxiemama's 900 photos on Flickr!