Favorite Tutorials: Free Motion Quilting

A few posts back I showed you my recently finished Layer Cake quilt. This quilt was different from others I've made because it was my first attempt at Free Motion Quilting. (FMQ) I am NOT an expert, nor never plan to be, but I thought I'd pass along some of the tutorials I used and a few tips I learned along the way.

There are a gazillon tutorials out there on how to FMQ which is great because if one doesn't speak 'your language' - does that ever happen to you with a tutorial? - you can just try another one. I looked at dozens of tutorials and the ones I will mention here were my favorites.

My two three cents:

Cent #1: PRACTICE. Not once, or twice, but several or a dozen times before you try it on your beautiful quilt. I made and practiced on at least a dozen mini quilt sandwiches before I attempted my quilt. Just take pieces of batting and sandwich between two pieces of fabric, 12x12 is a great practice size. Once you have a handle on the practice squares, dive into that quilt!

Cent #2: Thread matters. I tried different types of thread when I practiced on my mini-quilt sandwiches. My favorite 'look' was achieved by using Gutterman's 100% cotton machine quilting thread. You can find this at any JoAnn's and with a coupon it isn't too pricey. Oh, Frannson's Freemotion Quilting tutorial, see below, gives great suggestions for thread.

Cent #3: In my opinion, you really don't get the feel of the whole process until you are doing your quilt. The feel is just completely different with a quilt compared to the little quilt sandwiches. So don't be surprised if it takes a little time, even with all your practicing, to get the feel down of doing a quilt. My first attempt at FMQ was not perfect, but no one will notice. :)

K...on to the pros...

Favorite Tutorials:

First off, if you need a good overview of quilt basics, check Elizabeth Hartman's series over at Oh, Fransson!. She writes wonderful tutorials and is very detailed in her explanations. 

Making a Quilt Sandwich by Oh, Frannson!

Basting by Lella Boutique
After she adds the borders to her quilt, she shows you how to baste your quilt sandwich with basting spray. (Have never tried this technique, but I will on my next quilt.)

Finish a Quilt by Cluck, Cluck Sew
Gives clarity to that vague statement of baste, quilt, and bind that we all read on quilt patterns. Gives it all to you from start to finish. Her tutorial is in a Google Doc located in her right-hand side bar under the heading 'My Buttons and Links.' Just look for the below picture.

Freemotion Qutiling by Oh, Franson!
Again, very detailed and great information. She has great info on thread selection.

Freehand Machine Quilting by Lella Boutique - After reading several tutorials about how to  FMQ, it was great to actually see the process 'in motion'. I found it helpful to see how to guide the quilt as you FMQ.




So there you go! This is one of the many reasons I love the internet, people are so willing to share their knowledge on various subjects. If you are looking to learn how to FMQ I hope these tutorials help you out. I know they helped me loads and I look forward to attempting another quilt soon. :)

Happy Tuesday!

LeAnne

Calling Fabric Lovers

....might be just about each and everyone of you who reads this blog....

So. Do I have anyone who LOVES the Henna Garden print by Sandi Henderson? I sure do.

Well, if you follow Sandi's blog, you've read that she is reprinting select colors and releasing them as a collection this fall. Wahoo. Here is the great part. She is allowing people to vote for their favorite colors and the results will be considered when she chooses which colors to reprint. You can vote for more than one color, and let me tell you I am having a hard time not wanting to pick ALL of the colors.  I will be voting for pumpkin, melon, red and pink, citrus yellow....okay maybe I will just have to vote for all. If you want to vote click here to vote.

Which ones will you vote for? Okay...off to vote and to start saving pennies so I can get a good stash.

Happy Monday!

LeAnne

Destash and Inventory Sale

If you haven't noticed, my shop has been totally on the back burner lately. A little thing called life has been in the numero uno position. However, I am gearing up for new items - including a new pattern - so I am clearing out old inventory and some personal supplies.

 

All inventory sale items should be listed by tomorrow and destash items will be listed over the next few weeks. (Hopefully sooner if Etsy's system can upload a picture faster than I can type this post.) So head on over to the shop to see all the items included in the Inventory and Destash Sale. (Click on the appropriate words to see the items sectioned off.) I have some super cute fat quarter and fat eighth bundles of vintage Christmas fabrics. I love them all bundled up with twine...gets me itching to start on some Christmas projects. See aren't they cute?

I also have some fun fabrics that I am sad to let go of, but I just keep on telling myself the stash is getting destashed...to make room for new fabric?....destash LeAnne....destash LeAnne...

If these all aren't up when you click through...remember I typed this entire post waiting for Etsy to upload one set of pictures.

So there you go! A little sale for this fun weekend. Stay cool...

LeAnne

Finished Project: A Piece of Cake Quilt

A finished quilt! I love how this one turned out and am proud at my first 'real' attempt at Free Motion Quilting. (More on that later.)

pattern: A Piece of Cake by Thimble Blossoms  fabric: Dream On by Urban Chiks

 for Moda

My quilting is not perfect by any means, but I am still very happy with it. This quilt came together amazingly fast, like one-and-a-half afternoons fast.  I would have been completely done sooner, like three months ago sooner, if I hadn't decided to do the quilting myself. I did a lot of reading and practicing before I attempted to Free Motion Quilt on this pretty little quilt.

The back was pieced with leftover layer cake squares which was nice because I didn't need as much backing material. I cut the backing so one piece was 28" x the length and one was 14" x length. Then I just sewed about 6 layer cake squares together then sewed those to the backing pieces. Easy peasy.

I also attempted bias binding on a quilt for the first time. Since I was using  stripe fabric for the binding, I wanted the stripes to be horizontal. Yikes. Usually cutting on the bias doesn't throw me but this time it did. Maybe it was the fact that I was cutting it out at 9:30 at night the day after a nasty nasty stomach bug. Ya. That was probably it. Also, the only difference from the pattern was the fact that I didn't add the borders.

So there you go! A quick and easy quilt. I wish I would have attempted a quilt like this for my first quilt, it would have made me fall in love with quilting much, much sooner.

Happy Thursday!

LeAnne

Am I the only one...

who has about 40 pages of treat/dessert/cheesecake(yum)/cookie recipes compared to only about 15 pages of main dishes in her cookbook? No? Oh good. Thanks for making me feel better. I only know this random fact right now because I am updating my family's recipe book. (I have a binder with all our family favorites in one place. I love it.) This project has been one of my 'non-sewing' projects as of late. Clearly I love treat/dessert/cheesecake(yum)/cookie recipes more than the sensible main dish recipes. Mmm...dinner tonight...Eclair Cake with a side of Chocolate Chip Cookies sounds just about right. Oh, if you want to be really tempted go check out my recipe board on Pinterest...but don't say I didn't warn you. It is almost a visual representation of my treat/dessert/cheesecake(yum)/cookie recipes to sensible dishes ratio.

Also, please tell me I'm not the only one who eats wants to eat dessert for dinner ... but only sometimes....

Happy Tuesday!

LeAnne

Finished Project: America Banner Using the Cricut

I know I've been saying this frequently, but I'm working on lots of different projects. All are in different stages of completedneess. Some involve sewing, some are Photoshop projects or other various home projects. I fully intend on sharing most as they get done, but in the meantime, please excuse my very infrequent blogging. (Actually, I don't think I've ever considered myself a 'frequent' blogger.)  I will try and share more of how I did the projects instead of 'here is this great thing I made!' A little more exciting don't cha think?  I sure do.

So here we go, not a tutorial by any means, but a little explanation of how I made this cute little 'America' banner using the Cricut. (I also made a Birthday banner using the same method and posted pictures here.)

I love making these banners because they are relatively quick. Cutting out the pieces on the Cricut takes the biggest chunk of time. However, just load and set to cut then you can go and finish more important things, like cleaning the bathroom. :) I used the Mini Monograms cartridge, the first and only cartridge I will ever get in addition to the ones that came with my Cricut. (It is a great one to get. I found mine for about $24.00 with no shipping on eBay.)  I cut the scalloped circles at 5" and the inner circles at 4.25". If you use 12x12 scrapbook paper you can fit four scalloped circles or four regular circles on each page. I  used the Smiley Monster font for the letters and cut using the Sure Cuts A lot program I purchased for my computer. (Sadly, you can no longer buy Sure Cuts A lot for the Cricut.) All the letters fit nicely on one 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper.  If you have a Silhouette, you can do the exact same thing as I am sure they have similar shapes. Then it is just a process of layering and gluing the circles and letters together and stringing with tulle. I also threw in some left over star garland from another project instead of buying ribbon. If you are hosting a Fourth of July event, this is easy enough to throw together for a quick decoration.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Fourth!  I hope we all take a moment to remember this great country we live in, and those who have served and are serving to protect our great nation.

Happy Fourth of July!

LeAnne