I am taking the Free Motion Quilt Challenge over at SewCalGal’s blog in the hopes of honing my machine quilting skills (And do they ever need honing!). I am excited about this challenge; SewCalGal is packed full of helpful tips and information. She has also gone to the effort of procuring a terrific lineup of expert free motion quilting teachers.
January’s teacher is Frances Moore. She has given us a leaf design to practice free motion quilting. Her video can be found here.
And yes, I’m posting at the end of the month. What can I say? Better late than never…I’ve been busy…life in the way…dog ate my homework?
I divided a fat quarter into thirds to practice this design.
I think I am practicing hearts, not leaves. LOL!
On the back, I like to write what needle size, tension, and thread I used for practice. I don’t remember what I’ve done, so I keep my practice pieces for reference. I’m the only one with this problem, right?
Leaves (in my case, hearts) with a spiral twist. Cute! They are more exciting to me; they dance! I do need to pay attention…there is one heart without a spiral in it (don’t strain your eyes…I didn’t capture it in the close-up).
The back looks better here!
Leaves on a stem. These could be lots of fun; I need to practice with these more, and change the shape. My brain wanted to make fat leaves, but they would look cool if I elongated them.
The back looks good here too.
I would’ve tried a size 16 needle (just for reference) but didn’t have one. Also, I am using Schmetz denim needles (for the curious need-to-know). After looking at the back, I much prefer WonderFil InvisiFil 100wt. or Aurifil 50wt. over Bottom Line with the heavy 30wt. YLI.
LC's Cottage 