Free Motion Mavericks - Week 159 - Tractor Tracks

Slowly the landscape is taking shape.  I have worn a groove in the floor walking back and forth between the sewing machine and the computer screen checking the photo of the crop of rapeseed.   Getting the position of the tractor tracks through the crop was crucial for the perspective.  In theory, all I have to do now is the equivalent of colouring in, except that it is not quite so simple. 

Today I have had a day off because there are a few problems to overcome. 

The degree of puckering is a little irksome, but that will rectify itself as I fill in the gaps. 

How I am going to stitch the rapeseed in the foreground remains to be seen. 

What bothers me most is that I have put too much yellow in the thin strip of rapeseed in the centre.  I shall either have to stitch over it in a lighter shade, and/or intensify the yellow slightly on either side of it. 

Sometimes I think life would be far easier if I just learnt how to paint in watercolours, but that would rather defeat the whole object of the exercise.  So I keep on sewing.

Here goes for Week 159.

The project that caught my eye in Week 158 was Jocelyn's Sew Spooky hanging.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art.... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Sarah''s blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 158 - Perspective

Every subtle shade in variegated thread helps build up the picture.  The trouble I am having at the moment is that the weather is rainy and overcast and the light is dreadful.  Everything looks a dull yellow under the electric light.  At least I have been able to plot the main lines of the composition and am thinking ahead as to how I am going to stitch the bits in between.  It is slow work.

Here goes for Week 158.

The project that caught my eye in Week 157 was LeeAnna's Van Gogh inspired quilt..  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art.... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Sarah''s blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 157 - Anticipating Next May

Looking a bit dull so far, but next May my favourite field should be a sea of yellow.

I have chosen the photo I am going to use for the stitched landscape and have made a tracing to use as a pattern...

... and I have chosen the threads.

It is a bit daunting, so I shall only stitch a little at a time.  Let's hope I don't mess it up.

Here goes for Week 157.

The project that caught my eye in Week 156 was Andrée's black and white wall hanging.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art.... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 156 - Mulling It Over

X marks the spot...

It's not so fascinating at this time of year, but the view from this particular spot is intriguing.  It is something to do with the gentle undulations in the slope of the hill, the tractor tracks leading the eye to the trees, the angle of the sun.  In the past I have stood here and captured a dramatic sky, fresh green shoots, golden wheat and bright yellow rapeseed.

It's high time I stitched a landscape.

Here goes for week 156...

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art.... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 155 - Variation on a Theme

Repetition is no bad thing when you want to churn out a few little quilts, but I have to confess that I am getting a little bored and need to do something different soon.  It's all getting a little too deja vu at the moment.

Having said that, I particularly like the shades of blue in this quilt.

The green spots give a nice fresh look...

... there is a bit of entertaining detail in the binding...

...and the butterflies on the backing are an absolute delight.

Here goes for Week 155.

The project that caught my eye in Week 154 was Karen's mini quilt enhanced with fabric paints.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.


Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 154 - Binding and Backing

One of my favourite fabrics ever is running out.  I love these butterflies!  The fact that they are printed in monochrome doesn't detract from their beauty.  They are accurate representations of butterflies I recognise and often see (peacocks, red admirals, orange tips), and some I would love to see more often (for instance, the Camberwell beauty, of which I have only ever seen one, in Poland). 

Today I have been putting the binding on a cradle quilt, and earlier this week I stocked up on fabric so I have plenty of backing when I make more.  How long will it take me to get through nearly fifteen metres of backing fabric?  I'd better get cracking with some more quilt tops.

Here goes for Week 154.

The project that caught my eye in Week 153 was Olena's tie dyed sampler.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 153 - Strips, Stripes And Checks

If there is an element of deja vu to this cradle quilt, it is because I made a job lot of strips of squares some months ago and am just coming to the end of them.  This quilt is very similar to one I made earlier this year, even using the same beige check for the strips between the squares.  However, I have a rule.  No two quilts can be identical.

So for the border I used a tiny check...

...and for the binding a bold black and red stripe...

...with more of the beige check for the backing.   Somehow this quilt has a no nonsense feel to it, as though any baby that sleeps beneath will turn out to be sensible, hard working and practical.  Wouldn't that be nice.  

Here goes for Week 153.

The project that caught my eye in Week 152 was Louise's Fiery Tree quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week

Linking up with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 152 - Pink Scooters Cradle Quilt

Roses around the border put this quilt firmly in the girly category...

...and the colours of the scooters in the centre called out for shades of pink with browns and greys.

So in went a bit of teapots and jam pots on grey...

... and a bit of blue-grey batik...

...and even a tiny bit of khaki green next to some brown batik...

...and some reindeer on pinkish grey.

Pink binding holds the whole colour scheme together...

...and the reindeer put in an appearance on the back.

I loved working with these colours.  Somehow the finished effect was restful, perfect for a peaceful baby.

Here goes for Week 152.

The project that caught my eye in Week 151 was Dione's charity quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 151 - Elephants Cradle Quilt

Flowery elephants called to me when I was shopping a few weeks ago.  I couldn't resist this fabric.  It came in several different colour combinations, but this is the only version I felt I could happily play with.  

The background is a curious shade of not-quite-yellow.  I'm not really sure what I should call it, and I thought it might jar with the paler colours I wanted to use, but once I got home and started trying it against the other fabrics I realised how versatile this design is.

The pink elephant would have settled in perfectly well with a pinky purply girlie combination of colours...

...but this time I went with the blue.  And the spots.

Even the wheels on the trains carry on the spotty theme.  The other theme is tiny checks...

 ...with absolutely miniscule squares on the binding...

...and calming restful beige for the backing.

It was great fun getting back to quilting again after such a long break.  It made me glad that the hot weather is well and truly over.  Am I allowed to say that?  I think I am.  Treadling in a heat wave isn't for the faint hearted.


Here goes for Week 151.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 150 - Busy Behind The Scenes

Doing without a camera is difficult.  If it weren't for the weekly link up this would be such a boring pictureless blog!  

I haven't been idle, though.  I have four little cradle quilts quilted, one bound and the binding ready for the other three.  At least I will have something to show for myself when I get my camera back.  The problem I am having now is one of self control.  The temptation to buy more fabric isn't easy to stave off when you start making pieced tops after a few months' break.

Here goes for Week 150.

The project that caught my eye in Week 150 is Louise's Peas in a Pod.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 150 - Quilting Again

Normal service has resumed.  Today was the day I finally started quilting again after a gap of nearly four months.  I have started a mini production line.  Yesterday I made four sandwiches for cradle quilts, and quilted the first one this morning.  It is good to get back into the swing of things, especially after such an enjoyable break.

Still no photos, though.  In theory I could take photos with my husband's old mobile phone, but I'm far too attached to my camera.  It has the advantage of only taking one photo at a time.  I press the magic button on a mobile phone and take at least fifteen.  Too much technology.

Here goes for Week 150.

The project that caught my eye in Week 149 was Yanicka's fractured image cat, which is quilted with the three feathers pattern that she has demonstrated on a video here.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.