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.
In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly p...
Free Motion Quilting Fun - lots of fun designs to quilt- great free motion quilting practice!
I'm finally "back in the saddle" again and able to start quilting. Boy does it feel good!!! My first priority was to get back on our boutis challenge and I'm excited to share some great progress this week! Since this fragile linen is so wiggly I wanted to make sure my straight lines stayed straight so I stitched thes
Landscape quilts are some of my favorite quilts to make. Simple, flowing lines are easy to applique, the sky is...
Free quilt design - free motion quilting feathers.
Time to quilt! It seems like my weekends are becoming more and more packed with fun activities with James and...
I am delighted to have Patsy Thompson as our December FMQ Expert, for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge. Whe...
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
It's hard to imagine a world without flowers. Their colours and form, as well as the memories flowers hold, have meaning and appeal for most of us. From their
These are samples of free motion quilt patterns that can be used in an all over design over the entire surface of a quilt. TAlso the patterns can be combined and used on individual blocks within a quilt. These samples also illustrate the effect of various fabric and thread color combinations
It's the last week of free motion quilting grid-based designs and I'm adding clamshells to my quilting sampler. Using a marked grid makes this design so much easier and uniform. Each clamshell is made by one curved line. The top part of the shape is made from the two clamshells above it. The line of stitching is a semi-circle going across two squares. essentially, four squares of the grid mark one entire clamshell shape. Here's a video: The basic clamshell is able to be used in many different sizes depending on the type of project you are quilting on. Clamshells can be easily dressed up with extra fills or lines. Have fun with variations! Wheee! If you are particularly talented, you can add in the variations as the clamshells are stitched, reducing back tracking. (I am not quite that talented.) Curvy lines going into the clamshell from the side. I didn't care for this one too much. Tear drops from the center top. These center top variations are easier to add as the clamshells are being stitched than some of the other variations. Spiky fan things. Clamshells with swag.... Above, I repeated the clam shell curve upside down before transitioning to a smaller clam shell. I went back and put a dot in the center of each square, essentially making a grid twice as small before I stitched this tiny size. Now here's some longer clamshells with tear drops in between each one. Let's just ignore the foul-up just to the right of center above, shall we? Added additional tear drops and swaggy curves. Clamshells are a wonderful, versatile design, but be careful when choosing their size. I had to go back in and do these variations, not just to show you but also because the plain clamshells weren't as dense as the rest of my quilting on my sampler. I don't stitch clamshells often, so I consulted a great book by Renae Haddadin, Fill'er Up Quilting Designs, to get some ideas on the variations. Great book! Participation in the link party portion of this blog series is way down. I bet a lot of folks are busy with summer time things, but still, if you have a blog and have done some of these grid-based designs or others, go ahead and link up to share your creativity. Some quick rules: Keep your post relevant to this quilt along please. Spammy posts will be deleted. Make sure you link up to the individual post, not your home page as nobody wants to have to search around for the post if they're a little late to the party. Reciprocate! Link back to this post somewhere in your post or use the clickable blog button in your sidebar. You've got to dance with the one who took you to the party, so make sure you link back. Don't be a wall-flower. (Talking to myself here too. In person I am so stinking shy!) Visit the other links, be sociable, and leave comments. Please make sure you leave me a way to contact you if you are a no-reply commenter, especially if you ask a question. Don't forget to bookmark this blog, follow, or sign it up in your favorite feed reader. Like the facebook page (I do post some short things on it pretty regularly), or even check out my Pinterest boards. I'll be visiting you too! Next week the design of the month is feathers!
A scrap of fabric that I was practicing a new transfer technique on. I think it's gonna work.
This the latest experiment, done on a fat quarter sized piece of fabric. I wasn't sure what I was going to try this week. I had a notion that I was going to do a design based on an unusual beer can, but when I visited Mary Ellen's blog and saw her wonderful pictures of her trip to Germany, the whole plan changed. She has a photo of a beautiful garden full of autumn flowers, so I decided to have a go at rudbeckias. First I did the flower in the centre, with the three flower heads coming from a central stalk. Next I put in a shorter flower on either side, each with two flower heads. When I do this pattern again I shall try and make the stems shorter and fit in more flowers. I didn't really plan what I was going to do at the top. I thought the pattern would work itself out and that I would be able to arrange the stems more easily, but I started confusing myself at the top. An advance sketch might have helped. Welcome to Susan, the latest follower - thank you for joining! Linking up again with Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday ... and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
2017 Topic 5: Blue and Ochre Martha Kisling Well hello everyone, Darcy here with a brand new topic and this week sees us returning to a colour scheme. This time we have the beautiful combination of blue and ochre for you. As with all our challenges the options are almost limitless, from huge variations in the colours, to mediums and substrates used to the amazing array of things you can make. What do the colours blue and ochre mean to you? there are lots of shades to choose from,. The blues of water and the sky, with variations of aqua and then ochre is a warm earthy yellow, that too has a range of shades from the palest sands through to deep mustards. How will you be inspired to use these colours? Look up, look down, look all around. Duomo, Siena Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 4: Doors,Windows and Architecture The winner is: Lin from Art from Herts Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] Blue is a very popular colour, a firm favourite with many, it is also a complex colour due to the many varieties. Dark blue can mean intelligence, bright blue is representative of cleanliness and strength and light blue is peace and serenity. The eye sees blue slightly differently to other colours, often blues will seem further away and smaller objects in other colours. It can be a very cold colour and is best used in conjunction with another colour. it worked superbly with orange, as that is the opposite colour on the colour wheel, which brings us to ochre. While ochre is from the yellow hue, it is one of the warmer shades of yellow, and does have some hints of red in there. This brings it a little closer to the oranges and so it fits really well with blue. As for blue and ochre paints, well ancient humans were not able to paint with blue, it is not a colour of the earth. Cave paintings were severely lacking in blue. the first real blue came from lapis lazuli, this is a semi precious stone and had to be mined. The Egyptians prized this colour, but it was rare and this drove alchemist to create new blues, so popular was blue that by roman times there were factories set up just to create blue pigments! Ochre colour gets its name from ochre clay, this is found the world over and comes in many shades, ranging from the palest, almost white through to deep reds, there are also green ochres. There were so many shades, ancient tribes would trade colours with each other to expand their palettes. Over time it has been mixed with saliva, water, eggs or animal fats to make paints. It is one of the oldest forms of painting and is found in many cave paintings. Let's have some fun exploring these two gorgeous colours. Your project will change dramatically depending how much you use of each colour. this sign is predominantly ochre/mustard, but with just a pop of blue it is brought to life . Stacey Pfahler This beautiful fabric makes great use of blue and ochre, and teams them with a subtle, soft grey and white. you could create this so easily with some Lin Brown, Sara Naumann or Urban Snapshot stamps. IKOPlus Think how you can interpret these images, could you take a plain white pot and make it your own using PaperArtsy Fresco paints. John Maltby If you are a quilter you will love the simplicity of this next one. How could a papercrafter create this? strips of patterned paper, layered painted papers, a bit of machine stitching and topped off by some stencilling? Sabi Westoby How about some hand embroidery instead, be inspired by these lush colours are perfect little flower heads. LoveMaude Staying with fabric, this is such a sweet wall piece, stretched fabric and a felt flower! You could of course make paper flowers, PaperArtsy has some great metal dies for cutting your own blooms. bedbuggs How cute is this handpainted piece of wall art, ideal for a kid's room. KatyB For more home decor how about swirling some Fresco paint around inside some old glass jars, don't these look so classy.. Ashley While you are upcycling, why not create a collection of frames in these fabulous shades. The SpeckledEgg Easter is almost upon us, the chocolate never lasts long, so why not go for a painted egg instead.. well maybe have the chocolate too! These are painted goose eggs from Romania. Bukovina How about some accent colours for a spring outfit, simple beads and other embellishments make for an interesting bracelet. Gomeow Cardmaking uses this colour scheme really well, especially when teamed with punchy and clean white. PaperCraftyKaren Another card, this time stamped like a masterboard and coloured with distress inks. Alex For something a bit different, try making some Dorset buttons. They ar fascinating and so easy to make, they make for beautiful embellishments. Anita Simmance Finally a stunning tag, painty layers, collage and stamping. Jolande Have a wonderful 2 weeks everyone, I hope you have fun with all the different shades of these gorgeous colours, please do show us what you have made. Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy We hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here? The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 9th April 2016, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. Challenge Guidelines The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. We encourage you to play with us and explore your personal creative style. Please mention which PA blog post inspired you and and why (link directly to that post). Please don't link to the home page of your blog because then no-one can track back to easily find the original post. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 9th April (London Time) Prize: The winner will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] NEW Challenge/ winner: Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
I've been home 24 hours and what a whirlwind it has been! I am completely exhausted and to my friends overseas I have some incredible news to share - but that will be in "Part Two"! The Australasian Quilt Convention has been sensational for a number of reasons, not least of all that this year the event celebrated 10 fabulous years! Judy and Gary from Expertise Events have contributed enormously to quilting in Australia bringing overseas tutors 'down under' to share in their skills. We arrived Wednesday morning to deliver our quilts and then after a brief tutor meeting we discovered our lovely accommodation…… For copyright reasons I can't share many quilts as I haven't asked permission from the quilt makers. I do want to share these though as I am sure these friends will be okay with that! Each year a prestigious award is handed out - the Rajah Award (which you will hear more about in Part Two!!)…….anyway last year's recipient was the talented Jenny Bowker and a display of her incredible quilts was on display and sadly due to illness she was unable to be there.…… Amongst the many other displays were quilts from some of the tutors. There were 14 tutors from around the world with many and varied talents….. Again I have only shown images of those that I am able…….Gloria Loughman A very special friend and first time teacher at AQC Faye Packham…….. Julie Haddrick…….and the self portrait is incredibly lifelike!……. And yours truly!………. Between classes I popped down to see more including the "Best of the Best" quilts from each state of Australia and and I was glad to find one very proud quilter Michele (also spelt with one "L"!), from the Northern Territory. She was thrilled to bits that her quilt was selected and she informed me her beautiful quilt was made entirely of silk………..thanks Michele….. I also came across this quilt from my first book and beautifully made by Patricia also from NT……. One of our talented girls from home, Helen Campbell…….love it Helen……... Elizabeth Camping is also from home and creates very original and innovative pieces………. And South Australia shines again with Ming's intricately quilted work………... There is also the Best of Show winning quilts on display and this was the one from Janet Treen of New South Wales who eventually won Best of Australia. Well done Janet…your quilt is stunning…….. I met a very excited Pamela Brockwell with her "Best of Show" entry from Victoria…. Jenny Bowker was the winner from the Australian Capital Territory……. Jocelyn Leath represented Western Australia…..a clever portrait done in manipulated cheesecloth…... Pam Hill from Queensland and her entry……... I have been very lucky to represent South Australia on four occasions and my quilt was glad to be unfolded and off the shelf! It will travel until the end of the year so farewell my friend…… and for some reason I seem to be missing Tasmania and Northern Territory but you can see them here on the Bernina Australia site. Every year Expertise Events sets a challenge to quilters with a set criteria and size. This year the theme was TEN in recognition of the 10th year of AQC. Some of them can be seen here on the AQC website but I did take the liberty of photographing one of our very own quilters from home as her piece is just stunning. Ming's work is impeccable and there are 10 hidden cats in this whole cloth quilt made from a recycled tablecloth…….. The venue never disappoints …. it is the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and has a stunning interior…... Faye was so excited to be teaching for the very first time and her skill is in piecing especially encouraging beginners…………... and this is one of her shining stars who happened to turn sweet 16 on day three of four days with Faye! Well down Faye on nurturing another future quilter…….and to Skye and your beautiful Mum…it was so lovely to meet you both. We all hope this is the beginning of a long journey of quilt making (and thanks for my beautiful scarf too xxx). Skye managed to produce these two…yes TWO quilts tops at this one event - WOW!….. Well I didn't take too many photos in class but I did have to take this one of Anne……she read her instructions well as it told her to have everything labelled with her name….but glasses as well Anne??? Loved having you and everyone else……bless you all xxx So I will try to remain calm and gather my thoughts as I am about to type one of the the most incredible things that has ever happened to me in Part Two……...
I hate to pick favs but this one is my Favorite of the Trio. Thread - Iris Mint Batting - Hobbs 80/20 Tools - A ton of templates w...
Crazypatch background, appliqué, free-motion, couching. This piece was displayed at the Seymour Art Gallery gift shop. 3” x 4 ¼” 7.5 x 10.5 cm 9" x 11" framed 23 x 28cm framed SOLD www.chursinoff.com/kirsten/
Oh how I love to quilt feathers. This was the perfect opportunity for me to load up a quilt with feathers. Look at the tiny 1/2 sq triangles in that one block. They were hand pieced into this top. All 36 into that one block. Wow. MH wanted either feathers or Baptist Fans, and since my BF is done with templates, not a board or a computer, I chose to free hand feathers and do curves in all the smaller triangles on this very large top.. The backing was a beautiful print, but the quilting still showed up nicely. There is a lucky guy out there getting gifted this amazing quilt. I hope he appreciates all the time that has been put into the making of this quilt. The colors and fabrics are gorgeous, one continuous background and then a variety of blues and greens. The greens are very random and really make this pop. If you want hand guided feathers on one of your quilts, please consider me for the quilting. I am quilting full time and can be contacted via my email. I hope you get some stitching time in this weekend, Sharon
I am thrilled to have Teri Lucas as our October FMQ Expert, for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge and delighted t...
I get so excited about my local guild’s show-it’s always fabulous! Enjoy a peek at this year’s Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild show: Best of Show, Inger Blood: “A Taste of Tie&…
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 ...
I'm finally "back in the saddle" again and able to start quilting. Boy does it feel good!!! My first priority was to get back on our boutis challenge and I'm excited to share some great progress this week! Since this fragile linen is so wiggly I wanted to make sure my straight lines stayed straight so I stitched thes
What is free motion embroidery? How long has it been around? What can you do with it? How can you get started? Read more here!
January Lesson: Beginners Guide to Free Motion Quilting January Roundup: Beginners Guide to Free Motion Quilting - Roundup February Lesson...
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...
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...
I've been home 24 hours and what a whirlwind it has been! I am completely exhausted and to my friends overseas I have some incredible news to share - but that will be in "Part Two"! The Australasian Quilt Convention has been sensational for a number of reasons, not least of all that this year the event celebrated 10 fabulous years! Judy and Gary from Expertise Events have contributed enormously to quilting in Australia bringing overseas tutors 'down under' to share in their skills. We arrived Wednesday morning to deliver our quilts and then after a brief tutor meeting we discovered our lovely accommodation…… For copyright reasons I can't share many quilts as I haven't asked permission from the quilt makers. I do want to share these though as I am sure these friends will be okay with that! Each year a prestigious award is handed out - the Rajah Award (which you will hear more about in Part Two!!)…….anyway last year's recipient was the talented Jenny Bowker and a display of her incredible quilts was on display and sadly due to illness she was unable to be there.…… Amongst the many other displays were quilts from some of the tutors. There were 14 tutors from around the world with many and varied talents….. Again I have only shown images of those that I am able…….Gloria Loughman A very special friend and first time teacher at AQC Faye Packham…….. Julie Haddrick…….and the self portrait is incredibly lifelike!……. And yours truly!………. Between classes I popped down to see more including the "Best of the Best" quilts from each state of Australia and and I was glad to find one very proud quilter Michele (also spelt with one "L"!), from the Northern Territory. She was thrilled to bits that her quilt was selected and she informed me her beautiful quilt was made entirely of silk………..thanks Michele….. I also came across this quilt from my first book and beautifully made by Patricia also from NT……. One of our talented girls from home, Helen Campbell…….love it Helen……... Elizabeth Camping is also from home and creates very original and innovative pieces………. And South Australia shines again with Ming's intricately quilted work………... There is also the Best of Show winning quilts on display and this was the one from Janet Treen of New South Wales who eventually won Best of Australia. Well done Janet…your quilt is stunning…….. I met a very excited Pamela Brockwell with her "Best of Show" entry from Victoria…. Jenny Bowker was the winner from the Australian Capital Territory……. Jocelyn Leath represented Western Australia…..a clever portrait done in manipulated cheesecloth…... Pam Hill from Queensland and her entry……... I have been very lucky to represent South Australia on four occasions and my quilt was glad to be unfolded and off the shelf! It will travel until the end of the year so farewell my friend…… and for some reason I seem to be missing Tasmania and Northern Territory but you can see them here on the Bernina Australia site. Every year Expertise Events sets a challenge to quilters with a set criteria and size. This year the theme was TEN in recognition of the 10th year of AQC. Some of them can be seen here on the AQC website but I did take the liberty of photographing one of our very own quilters from home as her piece is just stunning. Ming's work is impeccable and there are 10 hidden cats in this whole cloth quilt made from a recycled tablecloth…….. The venue never disappoints …. it is the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and has a stunning interior…... Faye was so excited to be teaching for the very first time and her skill is in piecing especially encouraging beginners…………... and this is one of her shining stars who happened to turn sweet 16 on day three of four days with Faye! Well down Faye on nurturing another future quilter…….and to Skye and your beautiful Mum…it was so lovely to meet you both. We all hope this is the beginning of a long journey of quilt making (and thanks for my beautiful scarf too xxx). Skye managed to produce these two…yes TWO quilts tops at this one event - WOW!….. Well I didn't take too many photos in class but I did have to take this one of Anne……she read her instructions well as it told her to have everything labelled with her name….but glasses as well Anne??? Loved having you and everyone else……bless you all xxx So I will try to remain calm and gather my thoughts as I am about to type one of the the most incredible things that has ever happened to me in Part Two……...
This design, from my book Shape by Shape, Collection 2, is all about the echoing, making it a really forgiving design. When in doubt, just add more echo lines. The dense quilting is perfect for drawin
Border Design with Celtic Bubbles Now that you have tried quilting this beautiful overlapping spiral design, I'll show you a fe...
