Bobbin Quilting Motif Tutorial

Last week I posted about a Bobbin quilting motif that I designed for my Dancing Spools Quilt.

Here is a video tutorial on how to free motion quilt both a full and an empty bobbin.  A couple of things to keep in mind when quilting this design:

Try and start the designs on the left, and move toward the right whenever possible.  (That is, if you are right handed.  Lefties do just the opposite.)

Orient the spools in various directions in your space to add interest.

Connect the bobbins with a winding thread that loops and twists to fill the rest of the quilting space.  

Of course, you can make these bobbins as large, or as small as you like.  The ones in the video are are about 3/4."

If you try this quilting design, and have some other tips, please share them here.

Happy Quilting ♥

Free Motion Placemat Samplers

I've enjoyed Leah Day's Free Motion designs, and recently took her Craftsy class - Free Motion Fillers Volume I.  The class suggests that you make a quilt with different fillers in 50 blocks.  Since I prefer to work on smaller sized projects, I decided to make a set of placemats instead.  

My "plan" is to make 12 placemats, with 4 designs apiece, and then a table runner using the last of the 50 designs.  No promises here, just a plan.  

Anyway, here is the first of the place mats.  I tried Sharp Stippling, Zippling, Alien Fingers, and Circuit Board. 

Upper left - Alien Fingers, upper right - Zippling, lower left - Sharp Stippling (fail), lower right - Circuit Board

The hardest by far for me was the sharp stippling. In fact, I basically failed at it.  I am so used to regular stippling that my hands would just not stop making rounded shapes. Since my family is not going to know what the block should have looked like, I am going to leave it as is.  No one but me, (and now you) is going to know that I did it wrong.

My next class might have to be Leah's newest - Volume II of Free Motion Fillers . 

Happy Quilting ♥

W.I.P.

Currently I am working on a wall hanging using BOMs from my block of the month series.  This project has lagged behind into UFO territory for months now.  I've finished piecing the nine blocks, and stitched them into the configuration planned for the wall hanging.  Now the really fun part begins - free motion quilting!

The stitching is not perfect, perhaps I should have practiced the new stitches on a piece of scrap fabric first.  However, I am happy with the overall effect.  And once it is hanging on the wall behind my couch in the new family room, I doubt whether anyone will notice the imperfections.

What have you been working on lately?

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday, Freshly Pieced, and Sew Much Ado