Free motion quilting ideas

Sometimes I get stuck for new ideas to try when free motion quilting. I have done quite a bit of stippling and meandering, curls and spirals, all of which I do as a continual line design. This means you don't start and stop, but work back and forward across the entire quilt, working your way down the quilt. However it is good to try new things and different styles will challenge you to improve your control of the machine.

I was asked to do some free motion quilting on this batik quilt that had areas of small piecing and then areas where fairly large triangles were used between the pieced blocks

The batik quilt I am working on, areas of small piecing, and large green triangles between these blocks.

I didn't feel that an all over quilting style would suit the batik green fabric , so thought I would try and follow the print of the fabric and hopefully enhance the batik effect.

This is quite a challenging task, especially with a batik as the pattern is very random, often small and quite spikey which can be hard to follow. 

Some ares of the design are clearly defined, others are quite soft and abstract.

Soft abstract designs can be a bit hard to follow but enjoy the challenge and give it a go, it will look great. Don't stress too much about following the outline exactly you will improve with practice, and the effect is created by the quilting following the effect of the print, not by carefully outlining it, the outline isn't clear on some areas anyway!

I have found that fairly slow is a good approach, but not too slow as your quilting can become a bit stilted or jerky if you go too slow. This quilting works better if you leave areas of background between the print unquilted as the quilting stands out more. The best way I have found to do this is to quilt as much as you can in one go, then when you need to start somewhere else, do a few stitches in the same spot to anchor the thread, then stop the machine, release the presser foot if needed and "jump" to the next spot. Start here by again stitching a few stitches on top of each other and off you go. This eliminates bringing up your bobbin thread each time you start which can be tedious. It will mean that you will have to clip your threads that lie between where you finished and started next, but this can wait until you are finished. Don't forget they will be on the back too!

This shows the back, and my "jump threads" that will need clipping at the end.

The line of stitching showing here is basting, not jump threads.

Here you can see some threads where I have jumped to another spot.

How much print detail you choose to stitch depends on you, how much time you want to put in to the quilting and personal taste. Don't feel you have to quilt everything. Too much may take over the print, you still want to see the fabric print behind the quilting. This is a really good exercise for improving fine control of your machine and following a design. I hope you have fun experimenting with this, enjoy, Pam

Ps the thread I am using is Wonderfil Tutti,a 50 wt variegated quilting thread which comes in a whole range of colours. They work really well with the colour variety in batik fabrics.

Four Great Events.

Hi everyone.

This time of the year is super busy.  In Australia we combine Christmas and New Year with our annual Summer Holidays, which can lead to some crazy parties - and forgetful moments.

Last night I was at the final planning meeting for the Fabric Frolic, and I realised that I have completely lost a week of planning time.  Now I have to really put my skates on and get things done!  And it is forecast to be 41+ degrees Celsius today (more than 100 f).

If you are reading this and you are in the Ringwood area next week we have 4 huge events.

First up our annual Shop Hop - which we call the Fabric Frolic - kicks off on Friday - yes that is just 2 days time!  The shop hop has it's own website www.fabric-frolic.moonfruit.com so take a look and join in the fun.  At last nights meeting there were just 4 spots left on the Moorabbin bus, however you can self drive and you have a huge 8 days to do that.

The next event is the Husqvarna Viking Epic Product Launch.

The launch will be held at our Long Arm Quilting Centre just up the road from the main shop at 42C Wantirna Road, on Tuesday 19 January, 1pm-4pm.

On Wednesday 20 January we will be launching the Premier + Embroidery Software System.  This launch is also at the Long Arm Quilting Centre just up the road from the main shop at 42C Wantirna Road,  1pm-4pm.

Letitia Moore from Blessington will be hosting these two launch parties, and naturally space is limited so please email the shop on info.ringwoodsewingcentre@gmail.com to book your spot.

Finally on Saturday 23 January we wrap up the Fabric Frolic with a fun day - Put on a Pinny and Cook up a Quilt Day.  on this great day you need to find your favourite apron (known locally as a Pinny) and pop it on when you visit any of the Fabric Frolic shops.  You will be rewarded with free pattern (s) and a chance to go into the draw for special prizes donated by the day's sponsor PK Fabrics.  All the details are on the Fabric Frolic website.

Happy Sewing (and keep cool)

Michelle

What to do when it is 40 degrees outside........QUILT

Hi all,
It has been so hot this week that I had to find something to take my mind off it.

I put the cooler on and descended into my quilting room to quilt.
Using the new Wonderfil Fabulux thread I finished the graffiti quilt I started a few weeks ago at the shop.

This form of quilting is great for those of you who have a long arm machine or who now have the Westalee ruler foot to use on your domestic machine and are venturing into the world of free motion quilting. It allows you to practise your control of the machine or the quilt, (depending on the model you have) when you are in free motion mode. You are also able to "let go" as any 'mistakes' are lost in the overall design.

The fabulux thread which is a 40WT randomly spaced multi thread is a dream to use. It has a wonderful sheen and it worked beautifully on my HQ Avante machine.  I can't wait for the range to become available as it has some fabulous colours.

It was a real surprise when we started quilting with it. Once the thread was quilted out it looked more intense and some colours which had not been evident on the cone became visible. It also looks spectacular on the black fabric.

Pop into the Long Arm Centre and have a look at the colour chart for this thread and I am sure you will be as impressed as I am.

 

It's all about quilting,
Jacqui