Free Motion Mavericks - Week 127 - March Hares Cradle Quilt

Exactly the same as last week's cradle quilt, except for the colours.  This isn't my usual colour scheme at all.

Blame the March hares, bouncing in a month early.  I found this fabric in a remainder bin a little while ago, hoping there would be enough to back a cradle quilt.  It was about three inches too short, so the next best use was as a border, but I have to admit that the pinky beigeness of it threw me slightly.  The whole thing has ended up looking a bit 1970s, which I remember all too well.

I enjoyed all the prints, though.  The doggy doing his cooking is a hoot.

And I love the coffee coloured floral print.

The backing is beige (just embracing the theme) with an angels song on the back.  Shame I don't know it, but if you recognise it please sing along.

Here goes for Week 127...

The project that caught my eye in Week 126 was LeeAnna's Valentine's 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 Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts
and 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.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 123 - A View of the Back

This week I have been concentrating on the Secret Project.  I am now quilting the eleventh and final panel, and eight of the panels are now joined onto their neighbours.  Suddenly the quilt seems immense.

The backing is all the same plain blue, and for the joining strips I have used this incredibly expensive blue floral cotton.

Shamrocks and oak leaves are a recurring theme in the quilting, and throwing the poppy seed heads into the mix has been fun.

Here goes for Week 123...

The project that caught my eye in Week 122 was Louise's beautiful houses 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.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 117 - Creation, Day Three

Now finished and in the annual 12 x 12 exhibition at Midsomer Quilting, which runs from the 2nd to the 19th December, is my interpretation of this year's challenge.  After spending months without any inspiration on how to tackle the theme of Mystery, Myth or Magic,  I decided to dive straight into the Book of Genesis for the biggest mystery of them all - Creation.

The third day looked the easiest one to try, but having stitched landscapes in the past, this time I had a few interesting dilemmas and limitations.

Firstly, how should I depict the sky, referred to in Genesis as the firmament, a great dome that separates the waters above and the waters below?  A rainbow seemed to be the best solution, giving a natural arch, and by breaching the cloud it puts some water above it.  The sky above the rainbow is a single shade of dark blue, whereas below it I gave myself a free rein to use atmospheric sunset shades above a misty sea.  I wasn't going to let the fact that the sun wasn't created until the fourth day prevent me from using these colours; after all, light was created on Day One.

Next, I had to think about the land and the newly created plants.  I decided to keep the hills relatively bare, with just a hint of green to suggest grass, and put the emphasis on a few plants in the foreground.  Having used a rainbow in the background, a symbol of God's covenant in the Old Testament, the choice of plants was obvious.  The wheat and the vine symbolise the New Covenant, and the red flowers are there for just for the sheer delight of adorning the scene.  They are the lilies of the field.

All the free motion quilting was worked in Gutermann's Sulky Cotton 30 in variegated colours, using my 1945 Singer 15K treadle.  To give a little relief to the trunk of the vine and the wheat stems, I used my 1888 Willcox and Gibbs Automatic.  This is a chain stitch machine, with the chain appearing underneath the work, so I had to sew from the back. 

Because there is only one thread, the colour of the variegated thread changes more frequently than along a line of stitching made with a lockstitch machine.  This gave an interesting effect in the colours of the bark.

For the ears of wheat I sewed on tiny straw coloured beads, and added stitches for the spikes on the grains.

I bought beads in a nice plummy shade for the grapes.  These little bunches took only a few minutes to sew on.

The lilies of the field are each made up of three tiny dark red beads, which make me wonder whether they are in flower or have already gone to seed. I honestly don't know, but does it matter?  Let the viewer decide.

So that's my interpretation of Day Three.  I have also made a second quilt for the exhibition, representing Day One, and which I shall show next week.  All I shall say at this stage is that is completely unlike this quilt.

Here goes for week 117...

A big vote of thanks to LeeAnna for interrupting her Thanksgiving weekend and linking up her beautiful quilt of autumn shades .   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

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
and Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 105 - Planning

Putting labels on panels - that's the sum total of my work quilting projects this week.  Not much, but an important step nonetheless.  These pieces have been stuffed in a bag in the sewing room for far too long.  It is time they were made into something, and it's not going to be anything special, perhaps just for slobbing around on the settee.

Here goes for week 105...

The project in Week 104 that caught my eye was JanineMarie's wedding gift quilt - absolutely gorgeous! If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

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 and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 94 - A New Project

It has to be a boring picture because I have just made a start on a secret project.  This quilt is going to take some time, because it will be made up of eleven panels, all approximately the size of a cot quilt.  The similarity with cot quilts ends there - these are seriously grown up colours.  I am breaking into my stash of discontinued Oakshott cottons and will be using plenty of the quilting designs featured in the free motion sampler quilt that I completed a couple of weeks ago. 

So far I have made the tops of two panels, and started the quilting on the first one.  I am a little afraid that making this quilt might drive me slightly nuts, especially as I can't show or say much on the blog, so I shall have to give myself some miniature projects to run alongside the main feature.  The blog might get terribly tedious otherwise.

Here goes for week 94...

 

The project in Week 93 that caught my eye was Connie's Chinese forget-me-not quilt, quilted on her vintage Singer 15-91 - a girl after my own heart!  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

 

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 and Russia have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.
 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 38 - Slow Progress

Better than no progress at all, I suppose.  Since last week I have done eight more leaves (well I can boast that averages more than one a day) and a few berries.

When I quilted the red and cream crib quilt I managed to repeat the pattern at regular intervals.  This time I have slightly lost the plot, and am approaching spaces wondering how I am going to fill them. I had also forgotten my tried and tested rule, that it is easier to travel down a stem than up.  I should write these thing down, in a blog post for instance.

This week's startling discovery is that I do better at FMQ when there isn't so much going on. Like turning the house upside down to have windows fitted, and then having a visitor.  My brother in law is with us for a stay.  He turned up last Sunday evening having driven here from Southern Poland. We were expecting him, but had no idea what day or what time.  He doesn't believe in phoning ahead - too middle class for him. Somehow I must have anticipated his arrival on the ether, because there was an extra portion of chicken left over from lunchtime ready for his supper.

I'm not complaining.  The sewing never stops, and I have made great progress on the latest 1940s blouse.  The men in the family quite happily supped beer and watched the trials of pattern drafting on the dining room table.  It's more sociable than free motion quilting.

Here goes for week 38...

Many thanks to Maartje, Hilary, Sophie, JanineMarie, Teresa, Irene, Dora and Andree for linking up last time.

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

Linking up to Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 37 - Making a Start

This is the sum total of my free motion quilting this week - one leaf and a few swirls.  I am making version 2 of the red and cream crib quilt I made a couple of weeks ago, but this time in shades of pink.

The pink is in shades reminiscent of raspberry ice cream, and this print has little curled leaves similar to the swirls I like quilting to fill in empty space between stems.  Before starting the free motion work, I quilted straight lines down the strip of squares to batten down the seam allowances, which have a habit of bumping up after quilting.

It has been a rather hectic week.  This was the state of my sewing corner last Friday when the window fitters were at work, with dust sheets covering the book shelf on the right, and the 15K treadle on the left.  All the hand machines are hiding behind the curtains beneath the counter, and when it came to cleaning up earlier this week, I ended up hauling them out to look them over.  I took out my 1927 Singer 99K to test it for straight line quilting, and it passed with flying colours. Perhaps the pressure on the foot is adjusted to the ideal level, but for some reason none of the other machines do such a good job.

So after a very unquilty week, I am looking forward to seeing everyone else's projects.

Here goes for week 37...

Many thanks to Quilt Musings, Maartje, Carole, Hilary, Katy, Julie, Myra, LeeAnna, Sophie and Andree for linking up last time.

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

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Angie's blog A Quilting Reader's Garden for WIPs Be Gone
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks Link Up - Week 16 - Stitching a Church

Today I started work on a landscape in the hope that I can make two near-identical pieces by the end of the month.

The focal point on the horizon is a church with a steeple.

The line of trees looks a bit messy and scribbly.  I was glad to get started on the straight lines in the middle distance.  It is much quicker work, and changing the thread to a different colour makes it more interesting.

So you can see just how quickly you can make progress, here is a little video.  I am still testing camera angles - I think this is the best yet.

So here goes for week 16...

Firstly, many thanks to  Maartje, Hilary and Gwyned for linking up last time  - a great collection of projects.  

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 bloggers from USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany and Holland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.


Welcome to Martha, the latest follower - thank you for joining!

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 15 - A Scrappy Cot Quilt

This is the latest cot quilt that I have made, very similar to the last one, which I made in February.  It was the ideal project to get me back into the sewing groove after being away.  I have plenty of strips and scraps stashed away in a tin, and I completed the top on Monday and Tuesday.  Yesterday I did the free motion quilting on the 15K treadle, and this evening (since taking this photo) I have finished the binding.

I always enjoy putting a scrappy top together, and like to have just a single piece of some fabrics. There is just one tiny piece of this pale blue and pink on white floral print...

... and a fairly big piece of this scrap left over from making Meg's dress.

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy doing the free motion quilting that much.  I prefer to work on plain colours so I can see where I have been.  This print gave me extra problems because the black lines curve in a similar way to the meandering pattern I was stitching.
               

So here goes for week 15...

Firstly, many thanks to  Carole, Hilary and Gwyned for linking up last time  - a great collection of projects.  

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 bloggers from USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany and Holland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 14 - Home Again!

Somehow I always end up doing leaves if I want to fill up space quickly.These leaves were done about a fortnight ago.

I was a bit doubtful about doing the leaves over the pieced strip because I thought they wouldn't show up very well, but with the variegated thread in strongly contrasting colours, I rather enjoyed doing them and quite like the finished effect.  I like the timelessness of this leaf design.

Just to demonstrate how timeless, here is a photo of a detail of the embroidery on some old liturgical vestments that I saw on display in Spain a few days ago.


                                                      

So here goes for week 14...

Firstly, many thanks to  Alison, Hilary, Gwyned, P., Dona and Zenia Rene for linking up last time  - a great collection of projects.  Also, special thanks to Zenia Rene for joining as a follower!

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 bloggers from USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany and Holland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday

Free Motion Mavericks Week 13 - Bindweed and the Rose

This week's experiment has been bindweed leaves, with a slightly exaggerated curl just to make life more interesting and to help fill in the space.  I didn't think I had done a particularly neat job because I kept changing the direction the leaves were pointing, and wasn't sure whether they should be large or small, so over the whole panel the design is inconsistent.  I like the colour of the thread though - the variegated blue shows up well against the yellow and tones in well with colours of the pieced strip on the left. 

The Jubilee Rose wall hanging is now finished and has already been delivered to its new owner.  I kept the binding narrow, in a plain mid brown reminiscent of light wood, to keep the emphasis on the rose.

                                                      

So here goes for week 13...

Firstly, many thanks to  Marly, Alison, Pat, Gwyned and Linda for linking up last week  - a great collection of projects.

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 bloggers from USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany and Holland 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 M-R Charbonneau's blog Quilt Matters for TGIFF

Free Motion Mavericks Week 12 - Meandering Round a Rose

This week's free motion quilting has been a meandering background to the Jubilee Rose that I have been working on.  It is going to be a wall hanging, so I only have the binding left to do.

I felt a bit out of practice after being on holiday.  Look closely and you will see where I had to do a bit of unpicking.  I had too dark a thread in the bobbin, and it was showing through - not a problem on patterned fabrics, but definitely not a good idea on ivory white.  Also, getting into the corners between the stems and leaves was a bit of a squeeze, especially because the leaves are slightly raised with an extra layer of wadding - the method I use is shown here.


                                                       

So here goes for week 12...

Firstly, many thanks to Gina, Carole, Gwyned, Diana, and Cynthia for linking up last week  - a great collection of projects.

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 bloggers from USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany and Holland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week!

Welcome to two new followers today, Matsa and Marly - thank you for joining!

Linking up today with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday