I have lots of projects sat unfinished that are just waiting for a little something else, and I have been afraid to spoil all the work I have put in thus far by just going for it.
Well today I made a few inroads into Free Motion Quilting, the teacher Carol Parker was a lovely lady and gave us some great tips and advice and overall it was a great introduction into FMQ.
It was a lovely day, the first half was spent practising some basic techniques and the second half was spent making our little project.
We went prepared with layered sandwiches to practice on.
I have to say that I have tried doing this before but with a bit of guidance and some tips it was so much easier that when I was flying solo.
As you can see from my scribblings I still have a long way to go but the rest should be down to practice.
One thing I was not aware of was that you should never turn your fabric around whilst sewing, mark the top and work around the fabric always keeping the top at the top.
In the afternoon we made ourselves a larger piece which most of us thought we might turn into a cushion cover.
Overall this is my 'almost' finished piece, it needs more fill at the edges and finishing off but I was quite pleased with the 'almost' finished article. It is a bit angular where it should be curved and I didn't always stay on the lines I had drawn but for a first go it was easier than I thought.
I had no idea that there were templates for the larger patterns, I am just so naive and thought this was all done by sight! Maybe it is by some but, boy was I grateful for a stencil to follow.
The pattern we were to sew was first drawn onto the fabric using a stencil and the fill was freehand.
I do like the fact that this is a plain, mottled fabric and it is the stitching that makes the shapes and patterns rather than the fabric itself.
The other ladies in the class all did so very well and each and every one made something beautiful in a range of differing fabrics and patterns (mine is the dowdy beige one!).
Thanks ladies for another lovely day!
I am off to practice a bit more, as I have the bug now.
Back Soon x
17 comments:
Well dome , Looks gorgeous .
I'm going to link to your hexagon patchwork tutorial in my next post, hope that's ok :0)
Jacquie x
ooops, I meant Done not dome
Lovely work, looks so complicated to me! x
I've always thought everything was freehand. It never occurred to me stencils could be used. So much easier!
Looks great xx
Lovely, well done :) x
That's beautiful. I agree about being shown. A friend showed me recently how to progress with free motion and it was brilliant what I learnt in just five minutes from being shown.
Saw this done on Kirstie Allsopp, looks beautiful, would love to give it a go!
Victoria xx
Lovely! Looks like you had a great day. Can't wait to see the finished piece/s. xx
Oh i think your almost finished piece is lovely :-)
I am in complete envy, in fact more than that if there is a word!! Wish we had one of those classes I could go to. You look like a professional already.
What a great job with your practice FMQ. Sounds like a wonderful class.
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
What a great job with your practice FMQ. Sounds like a wonderful class.
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
Wow, beautiful! It looks so intricate I'm inspired to try it for myself :)
Do you mind if I feature this on my blog; linking back and maybe using a picture?
Thanks!
Alice
TheMakingBox.com
It looks great, love the design.
Gillx
How very lovely your stitching is! What an inspiration. Have a lovely day! Karen
Wow, you did so well, it looks fantastic! I didn't realise that stencils were used either, I didn't even realise the design was drawn on!!
Why are you not supposed to turn the work whilst quilting? Just interested...
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