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machine quilting blog hop {week 8}

Posted on June 19, 2017June 18, 2017 by Kristin

We are coming into the homestretch of the Machine Quilting Blog Hop. This week we are practicing the motifs in the chapter called U-Turns from The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. The hardest motif for me this week is simply Loops. I practiced them all week on paper in boring meetings. They look easy–but there are a thousand ways this design can go wrong (or right, depending on your perspective). It’s hard to keep the spacing consistent, to keep them the same size, to space them out enough to echo them–a thousand ways!

domestic machine quilting

I won’t even show you my first attempts–but they eventually got better (that practice thing, ya know!). I did learn a few things throughout the week. I learned to space them out more and flatten them out–that gave me room to echo. Echoing had its own set of challenges. It was easy to get lost on which side of the line I was echoing. But it turned out that it sort of doesn’t matter. You need to aim for the base of the loop and try to get your stitches to all come together there at the intersection and then echo back out to the next loop. This improved the way they looked dramatically.

The next motif in this chapter was a really fun and easy–free motion wavy lines. I could do this one forever! You can just turn on some music and totally relax into stitching these wavy lines. I can’t wait to use this one on a whole quilt.

domestic machine quilting

We also revisited switchbacks, which comes in really handy in narrow borders. Also a very low-stress design.

domestic machine quilting

Lastly, Christa brings up the idea of using a printed fabric and merely outlining the motif. I didn’t have anything that worked exactly the way she described–but I did find this autumn leaves fabric and I free motioned around the leaves (in the black) and then did small scale stippling between the leaves to travel to the next leaf to outline. It was good practice in control (I’m sure it would have been a disaster seven weeks ago). I really ended up liking how leaving the leaves unquilted made them pop out in relief.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any updates on my quest for new sewing machine. I’m still ruminating and looking for an opportunity to drive 40 minutes away to test drive both the Juki TL-2010Q and the Babylock Jazz. I’d still love to hear your thoughts if you use either one of these machines. I have learned that the Juki has a bit of a cult following and even has a Facebook page for its devoted followers. That’s got to mean something, right?

As always, we love to see your work if you are sewing along! Make sure to tag your post #machinequiltingbloghop over on Instagram.

In case you missed any of the Machine Quilting Blog Hop series:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Don’t forget to stop by to check out all my friends on the hop!

HollyAnne at String and Story

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

how hand piecing can save your sanity

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Kristin

I had a bit of a hard morning and as I sat down this afternoon to do some hand piecing, I thought that I’d share a few thoughts with you on how to hand piece and why hand sewing has become so important to me.

Let me know if you’d like to learn more about hand piecing and I can put together some video tutorials.

machine quilting blog hop {week 7}

Posted on June 12, 2017June 10, 2017 by Kristin

Welcome back to the Machine Quilting Blog Hop.! This week’s chapter from The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting is called Exploding Star, but it is actually all about continuous spirals. I was super excited to try this design because I have admired it on many quilts. I assumed that it would be a little challenging–and all that turning is probably not fun on a large quilt, but all-in-all this was a fun design and I am so pleased with the result!

domestic machine quilting

This is a walking foot design (yay!) and since my walking foot is 3/8″–that’s how far apart my spiral lines are. I started with tracing a circle in the center of my quilt–I used the base of an Aurifil spool. I followed Christa’s instructions on how to trace a spiral out of that circle and I was on my way!

I’ll be honest–the inner spirals are a bit fiddly because you are turning the work so frequently. It’s a little hard to keep the spiral smooth. But once again, I realized that my stitching got wobbly when I started to go too fast. Slow down Kristin! I also found that lowering my stitch length to 2.0 helped on the tighter turns. Once you get to the larger spirals it’s much easier to keep the stitching smooth and straight. So you just have to endure the fiddly part at the beginning. And look–you hardly notice the wobbly bits once you focus on the whole spiral.

domestic machine quilting

After I quilted the large center spiral, I wasn’t quite ready to be done, so I went ahead and embellished with corner spirals. That was fun and I got a bit more practice with handling the touchy beginning part. The corners presented their own challenge since you have to manage the entire bulk of the quilt for part of the spiral and then barely hanging onto the edge for the rest of it. I really like how the overlapping spirals came out. I am going to keep my eyes open for the right quilt to use this motif. I’m really glad that the whole process of quilting spirals is demystified for me–it’s actually pretty easy!

domestic machine quilting

In other news, my search for a sewing machine that will help me fall in love with free-motion quilting is still in full swing. Last week, I fell a little bit in love with the Brother 1300PRW (also known as the Bablylock Soprano), but now I’ve ruled them out because they are a little out of my price range and I only gain 1″ of horizontal quilting space. And I want space! So, I checked out the Bablylock Jazz this week. I love what Babylock has done here–given us quilters 12″ of horizontal throat space (you heard me right–12 inches!) at a reasonable price. It is also a mechanical machine–like the Juki TL-2010Q. Which means that it’s a bit noisy, but it also has no pesky computer that may possibly fail one day. It felt really good, the stitches were perfect, and has also has 20 decorative stitches (no serpentine stitch though)–so it’s not just a straight stitch machine. Downsides: no automatic needle down, no thread cutter, no speed control. But I still liked it–it felt really good doing free motion and the dealer will throw in the Deluxe walking foot and a ruler foot all for $999. I think I need to go back to a different dealer that has both the Juki TL-2010Q and the Babylock Jazz on the floor and have a showdown. I’ll keep you posted.

We have had so much fun checking the hashtag and love seeing your quilting progress! Make sure to tag your post #machinequiltingbloghop over on Instagram.

Machine Quilting Blog Hop series:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Make sure you make all the stops on the blog hop:

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny

HollyAnne at String and Story

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

machine quilting blog hop {week 6}

Posted on June 5, 2017June 3, 2017 by Kristin

We are tackling the chapter called Cornered from The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting this week on the Machine Quilting Blog Hop. This chapter has some great information combining motifs and switching threads with the least amount of starts and stops. I really see the beauty of using blending threads to appreciate the texture that the quilting gives, without sweating trying to get it perfect (which it will never be).

First up was spiral flowers. This motif was so easy and fun! I see it on any kind of girly quilt from a baby quilt on up. It would also make a fabulous motif for a spring table runner. I practiced this for just a few minutes before moving on. It was good to start with a design that came easily to me and gave me confidence–because that was all about to change.

domestic machine quilting

The next design to tackle involved quilting continuous curves around a square. I have seen and appreciated this motif many times in other people’s quilts, but had never attempted it myself. Ahem. Let’s just say that it took a bit of practice. The first piece of advice I have if you want to try this motif is to keep those curves shallow. If the curves are too deep, then you start crossing over the lines when you do the diagonal curves. Christa explains how to approach this design to help you easily travel from square to square. She also teaches you how to do it in a corner, or triangle shape. After a frustrating start, I started to get the hang of it–however wobbly. I simply drew some lines on my practice piece with a Frixion pen to create some squares and kept practicing.

domestic machine quilting

Once I erased the lines with a hot iron, the effect was pretty good.

domestic machine quilting

I was pleased to see that even my wobbly start still looked pretty good with a blending thread. And on the back it is just pure texture. I love simple, square patchwork and this is a great design to complement a project constructed like that.

domestic machine quilting

So, whew! I made it through the tough design of the week, right? Well, what has Christa gone and done but mash up two of my nemesis designs: spirals and pebbles! It looks totally charming when she does it and I heard her call it “Swirls and Pearls” when I watched her demo at Quilt Market last fall (cute, huh?!). This one I really practiced. My pebbles were already getting rusty and I learned again that bigger is better when it comes to pebbles for me. Thank goodness for blending thread! Here is how I ended the week.

domestic machine quilting

Again, there are a couple other designs in this chapter that I didn’t photograph–lots of awesome inspiration. I learn every week that consistent practice makes progress (not perfection).

The only problem with doing all this free motion quilting is that it is making me want a new sewing machine! I actually dropped by a dealer this week because I’ve heard awesome things about the Juki TL-2010Q for free motion quilting. There is so much space! I came equipped with practice quilt sandwiches and patchwork squares to sew. At first I really liked it–it feels very different that my sewing machine. It’s very industrial and solid feeling. It’s a little on the noisy side, but I was digging it. But then a saleswoman walked by and said, “If you want a machine for free motion quilting–then you should try this one.” I was determined not to like it–it was more expensive and I was weirdly prejudiced against the Brother brand (turns out it ‘s the same machine as the Babylock Soprano). But, oh my!!! It free motioned like buttah!! The quilting foot is not a hopping foot–so it is so smooth and quiet. I was easily quilting with just my fingertips moving the piece around. It was amazing! It only has one more inch of horizontal space than my machine now–but it just feels so different! So–all that sort of threw me for a curve. I’m still thinking on it.

If you are quilting along, please let me know in the comments or on Instagram. Just tag your post #machinequiltingbloghop.

Machine Quilting Blog Hop series:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Make sure you make all the stops on the blog hop:

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

HollyAnne at String and Story

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny.

machine quilting blog hop {week 5}

Posted on May 29, 2017May 26, 2017 by Kristin

Here we are already at the halfway point of our 10-week quest to quilt our way through The Ultimate Guide o Machine Quilting by Christa Watson and Angela Walters. All the previous weeks are listed at the end of this post, if you want to catch up.

domestic machine quilting

This week the chapter is called Quatrefoil Applique and oh my, Christa provides a whole toolbox of motifs to fill all types of spaces. (I’m sticking to the Christa part of the book, because she is using a domestic machine, while Angela is handling long-arm designs.) This chapter is worth the price of the book, in my opinion. Christa provides about a dozen motifs to play with and practice. And practice I have! I will be the first to admit that some of these designs are a lot easier for me than others.

The ones that were most in my wheelhouse are variations on meanders. It was a great way to start off the week. Here is an example of loops, hearts, and flowers. I already do the loopy meander–but the hearts and stars are so charming–I can’t wait to work them into an actual quilt. They would be darling in a baby quilt or seasonal table runner.

domestic machine quilting

But then I had to go and stretch myself into designs that were not as easy for me. I can’t be the only person that thinks that spirals are hard, right?! Both Christa and Angela make them look so easy to do and they seem to stay so beautifully spaced. This is much harder than it looks! I’ve been doodling them for years, and they get better with practice, but, boy, they still need work. Have you ever heard the trick that you should have a glass of wine before you start free motion quilting–to loosen up a bit.? Well, I tried that over the weekend, and let me tell you two glasses in things just started to get worse! 🙂

I have learned something though–keep your eye on where you want to go, not where the needle is. This makes a huge difference! I can get mesmerized by the needle–but keeping my eye on the place I want to be as I spiral out has really helped.

domestic machine quilting

Another motif that I am loving from this chapter is called Echo Plumes. It is very easy to do and you get a fun build up of thread from traveling over the same lines that I think looks cool. I think this may be my new favorite design. It’s beautiful, pretty easy to do, and you can cover a large area pretty quickly.

domestic machine quilting

I don’t want to give away too much from the book, so the last design I want to show you is called Spiral Flowers. It’s another great way to fill up a large space and provides such great texture. I have a pink baby quilt that I need to quilt and I think this might be a perfect motif for it. Super easy and relaxing to do.

domestic machine quilting

One of the main takeaways for me in this chapter is to be creative when filling large spaces or even all-over designs. There is a whole world out there beyond the meander! And Christa also really showed me to not be afraid to take a design I have already mastered and think of a way to do a variation on it. Leah Day did exactly that over something like 400 designs over on her website. Keep on trying those variations until you find your signature motif!

Besides using up stash fabric, working on all these practice pieces as given me a way to use up a whole bunch of random bobbin thread. I don’t know about you, but I had at least a dozen bobbins wound halfway or less with random colors from past projects. And I often find myself scrambling to find an empty bobbin when I need one. So now, when I start my free motion practice, I just pop one in and use it until it’s gone. Since it’s practice, it doesn’t matter that I run it completely out. I finally win at bobbin chicken! Here’s a peek at the back of my practice piece this week, you can really see everything, warts and all! Thank goodness for blending threads!

domestic machine quilting

Five weeks in and I really feel like I am making progress on my free motions stitches. That consistent practice really makes a big difference. I hope that you are seeing some progress as well! Tell me about it in the comments.

The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting will only be on sale for a few more days on the Martingale website. It’s a great time to grab a copy! Don’t forget to share your stitches on Instagram: #machinequiltingbloghop.

Machine Quilting Blog Hop series:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Make sure you make all the stops on the blog hop–we all have such different perspectives!

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

HollyAnne at String and Story

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny.

fun interview with christa and angela

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Kristin

In honor of our Machining Quilting Blog Hop, HollyAnne over at String & Story did a super fun, joint interview with Christa Watson and Angela Walters, authors of The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. They reveal some tips, advice, and the motif that drives them up a wall. Pop over here to read it.

machine quilting blog hop {week 4}

Posted on May 22, 2017May 21, 2017 by Kristin

We are back for Week 4 of the Machine Quilting Blog Hop! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I explain it here and links to the other weeks are at the end of this post. But the short form is that some friends and I are blogging and quilting our way through The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting in an effort to improve our machine quilting skills.

If you happen to be following along–we are going to throw you a bit of a curve ball this week because we are skipping the next chapter, called Swirling Butterflies. It is a whole cloth design and I felt that it seemed more like a Master’s Degree in Quilting rather than Quilting 101, so we all agreed that we will leave that one for Week 10 (and frankly I am making no promises about that week either).

So we all happily moved on to the chapter called Fractured Squares. In many ways, the quilt designed for this chapter covers different ways of handling borders–which I always find challenging. The most common way that I handle this is actually to leave borders off of quilt–but that’s just me 🙂 But recently I sewed up two quilts with borders and I used one of the motifs (wavy lines) on both of them and now wish that I had tried out a few others from this chapter.

The good news (for me) is that that this chapter is all about the walking foot! This was a welcome relief to me–those pebbles from Week 2 are still tormenting me.

Enough with the chit chat! What did I practice this week? I know I told you it was all borders, but there is also a center motif that I enjoyed stitching. It is a really fun way to fill up a block. You can do this with a quilting ruler–but I just totally winged it with my walking foot with no marking (except for the outer rectangle) and I love the way it came out. There is obviously a lot of turning with this design–but if the quilt isn’t huge–it’s totally doable.

domestic machine quilting

Next came the border designs. I actually have some examples of some of these on real quilts, not just practice pieces. First up is the wavy stitch motif–done with a decorative stitch. On my Babylock, I stretch the default setting for this stitch out to 7.0/3.0 and I use it all the time. It give such a great texture to the quilt and is very relaxing to quilt. I usually quilt the lines about 1″ apart.

domestic machine quilting

And I really love the way they look when they overlap in the corners.

domestic machine quilting

Next is a cross hatch. This is pretty zen to quilt as well. There are a few ways to mark the lines for this–but my favorite is a hera marker. It leaves a crease easy enough to sew on, but eventually relaxes out and leaves no mark.

domestic machine quilting

The last border design is clever in its simplicity. It is just doing straight line quilting with different spacing between the lines. No picture really needed for this. Christa is very clever in how she shows you to do this with no marking. Really this book is so packed with instructions and tips–I’m so glad to be going through it in depth to really absorb all the information. What we are showing you here on the blog hop is just the tip of the iceberg.

Truthfully, I’ve not be as diligent as I’d hoped about putting in my 20 a day practicing quilting this week. Since this week was walking foot designs–that turned out okay–but I hope to get some more practice pieces prepped (so. many practice. pieces.) and sit down each night after dinner and practice. But I thought I would leave you this week with what what one of my practice pieces looks like before I retire it. It is well used.

domestic machine quilting

I found a great YouTube channel to check out called Man Sewing. He has a whole playlist of Free Motion Tips and Tutorials. You might want to check that out.

A quick reminder that–The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting is on sale all month long over on the Martingale website. It’s a great time to grab a copy! Don’t forget to share on Instagram: #machinequiltingbloghop.

Machine Quilting Blog Hop series:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

See how the others handled this weeks designs:

HollyAnne at String and Story

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

Or just click the image below to get all the links.

free quilted table runner tutorial at moda bakeshop

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Kristin

christmas table runner

Would you like to feel like you’ve got a jump on Christmas this year? Christmas fabric is just starting to come out and I whipped up a scrappy table runner over at the Moda Bakeshop using a jelly roll from Sweetwater’s upcoming line Hometown Christmas.

Super fast and easy and a jelly roll is enough to make a few of them (one for you and a couple to give away–see, it even gives you a head start on gifts!).

(Hint: It’s also perfect for any leftover jelly roll strips you have for an any-time-of-year addition to your table.)

sunday supper by sweetwater

made for baby :: cute sewn gifts :: book tour

Posted on May 16, 2017May 15, 2017 by Kristin

Welcome to my stop on the Made for Baby, Cute Sewn Gifts blog tour! I’m so excited to show you what I made from this sweet book!

But first let me take you back in time to when I first came across Adya’s work. It was actually my friend Minki, who mentioned to me one day over tea that she had found this person on Instagram that took the most amazing photos of the most amazing projects. I pulled my phone out right then and there and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship! The word “impeccable” comes to mind every time I look at Ayda’s projects. Her taste is exquisite and her workmanship is just perfection. So much so that I was thrilled when she took part on our own Sew Illustrated blog tour. I still go back and look at those pictures!

made for baby cute sewn gifts

I was excited and not at all surprised to find out that she was writing her own book–and the result is just as sweet and charming as can be. After pouring myself a cup of tea, I spent a delicious afternoon just paging through the book. First of all, Ayda took all the photos and they are gorgeous! I think that a craft book needs beautiful, inspirational photography–don’t you?

The book is filled with absolutely adorable quick things to sew for baby. And that is often when the sewing bug bites us, isn’t it? When there is a new baby arriving to sew for? I wish I could go back in time and sew up many of these charming pillows, toys, bibs, and quilts for my own children. But, now that I think of it–maybe it’s better to enjoy my teenage children and just sew these projects for other new mamas. The best of both worlds!

So, which project did I choose? The baby quilt of course! Oh, my what a fun make this was! It’s a simple patchwork quilt–but in true Ayda-style, she added many lovely little details that make it special.

First of all–that elephant! How cute is he?! A handful of blocks with raw-edge applique (or sewing illustration, as I like to call it) are the first detail that make this quilt so darling. Each motif is large enough that sewing them was easy-peasy.

baby quilt

raw edge applique baby quilt

Another detail is this sweet little pocket that you can tuck little toys (or binkies) into. And there are a smattering of little tags here and there for added charm and most importantly–for baby to find and play with.

baby quilt

I put my own spin on this project in a few small ways. First, as much as I adore the muted palette of the quilt shown in the book–I used a layer cake of the very bright and cheerful Wistful Winds by Doohikey Designs. I purchased this stack a few months ago–just because it was so adorable, with no plan in mind. I was happy to find the project that it was meant to be! I also left the borders off the quilt, which, of course, made it a bit smaller. But I think it is a perfect size for a car seat or stroller quilt–or as a playmat. Lastly, I machine quilted it with a combination of free motion loopy meanders in the larger center blocks and what is becoming my signature wavy line quilting along the outer squares. I love they way the wavy lines criss-cross in the corners.

This little quilt was lucky enough to go on a playdate over to Minki’s house and visit the adorable bunnies she made for her stop on the tour. Don’t they look sweet together? As a matter of fact–her daughter Claire is waiting ever so patiently for my turn on the tour to finish–since I promised this little quilt to her. Though she’s not actually a baby–I know that she will make good use of it playing with her collection of handmade dolls. So, actually it’s not just for babies!

baby quilt

This quilt was such a fun and quick project–perfect when you need that last minute gift to bless a new mama. I’m so glad to have this book on my shelf. I know that I will reach for it often.

baby quilt

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! Comment over on Ayda’s blog to enter. One winner (worldwide) will be chosen at the end of the tour. It could be you!

made for baby cute sewn gifts

And make sure that you pop by each of the stops on the tour–so many talented makers have created beautiful projects to share.

May.03	Ayda ALGIN	www.cafenohut.blogspot.com	@cafenohut
May.04	Jemima Flendt	www.blog.tiedwitharibbon.com	@tiedwitharibbon
May.05	Sarah Edgar	www.alittlehappyplace.blogspot.co.uk	@sarahedgarprettyfabrics
May.08	Lisa Cox	www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com	@aspoonfulsugar
May.09	Ange Hamilton	www.alittlepatchwork.wordpress.com	@alittlepatchwork
May.10	Lauren Wright	www.mollyandmama.com.au	@mollyandmama
May.11	Melissa LeRay	www.ohhowsweet.com	@ohhowsweetco
May.12	Minki Kim	www.minkikim.com	@zeriano
May.15	Faith Essenburg	www.SaranaAve.wordpress.com	@faithessenburg
May.16	Kristin Esser	www.kristinesser.com/	@kristin_esser
May.17	Lauren Guthrie	www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk/blog	@guthrieghani
May.18	Bridgette McNay	www.thefamilyhearth.com	@thefamilyhearth
May.19	Torie Jayne	www.toriejayne.com	@toriejayne
May.22	Constanca Cabral	www.constancacabral.com/blog	@constancacabral
May.23	Stacy Olson	www.stacyolsondesign.com	@stacyolsondesign
May.24	Caroline Husle	www.SewCaroline.com	@SewCaroline
May.29	Nadra Ridgeway	www.ellisandhiggs.com	@ellisandhiggs
May.30	Wynn Tan	www.zakkaArt.blogspot.com	@zakkaArt
May.31	Sedef Imer	www.downgrapevinelane.com	@downgrapevinelane
JUNE 01	Lauren Nash	www.transientart.com	@transientart
JUNE 02	Jennie Pickett	www.cloverandviolet.com	@cloverandviolet
JUNE 05	Amy Sinibaldi	www.nanaCompany.typepad.com	@amysinibaldi
JUNE 07	Kim Kruzich	www.retro-mama.blotspot.com	@retro_mama
JUNE 08	Elea Lutz	www.elealutzdesign.com	@elealutz
JUNE 09	Samantha Dorn	www.aquapaisleystudio.com/blog	@aqua_paisley
JUNE 12	Ayda ALGIN	www.cafenohut.blogspot.com	@cafenohut

machine quilting blog hop {week 3}

Posted on May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 by Kristin

Welcome to the Machine Quilting Blog Hop Week 3! Or, as I like to call it “Quilting with Friends”. It’s so good to hear from people in the comments, on Instagram, or on my Facebook page that are following along both in practice and in spirit. And I have loved reading about Jen, Vicki, and HollyAnne’s experiences along the way.

This week was fun! It started with some straight line quilting–which I was doing on a quilt anyway–so “check!” I really enjoy straight line quilting, or as I like to say, “straightish line” quilting. This design is one that I find myself cringing when I see the wobbles as I’m quilting–but when I stand back and look–those wobbles pretty much disappear. It is so easy to be critical when you are close-up, so stand back and give yourself a break. I was truly in my happy place quilting line after line, listening to the soundtrack from Les Miserable.

domestic machine quilting

Then it was on to a similar design, but using a decorative stitch. This is one that I do all the time right now: the elongated wavy stitch.

domestic machine quilting

I had never done it in a triangle shape before, so that was a bit challenging. You want to switch from the wavy stitch to a straight stitch to travel to the next starting point, so that you don’t have to keep breaking thread. I found it very inconvenient to keep switching stitches like that–especially because I need to modify the wavy stitch on my machine. I make it longer and wider than the default setting. This was a lot to mess with every time I switched back to the straight stitch to travel. So I actually dug out my sewing machine manual and looked up how to save stitches in memory. I saved the wavy stitch with the settings that I like, and I also saved the straight stitch. Then it was just a couple button clicks to move back and forth between the stitches. I felt like a genius!

domestic machine quilting

Next was irregular zig zags and then came irregular chevron shapes. The chevrons were so fun and easy to do! I love the way they came out. This is going to be a very useful design, I can already tell. I switched over to a bending thread, but I actually like the one with the high contrast thread better. The stitch length is all over the place–but I’m finding my rhythm. I could really use one of those Bernina stitch regulators–and the Bernina to go with it 🙂

domestic machine quilting

I am so glad that my new free motion foot finally come in from my dealer! (Queue angels singing!) I Iove this thing! I can see! I can finally see! Having this foot really made a difference in being able to see where I am, where I have been, and most importantly, where I am going. (I talked about my issues with my other darning foot last week. ) I practiced those darn pebbles again–and it is a lot easier–but they still need work.

open toe darning foot

Then on to small scale stippling. Stippling is the one free motion design that I feel I have the most experience with. When I was a new quilter I joined a guild that has a huge charity group. I used to take home 2-3 quilts each month just to practice stippling. But, I had never done it on such a small scale before. The stipples may not actually be micro-stipples, but they are pretty small for me.

domestic machine quilting

Lastly, was a fun triangle spiral–which I did once across the practice piece and then when back and filled in all the remaining spaces with more triangle spirals. I’m still working on keeping my stitch length consistent, but this was a fun design.

domestic machine quilting

After last week’s pebbling challenge, I felt that this week was pretty fun and easy–a good confidence booster. And it is a mix of both walking foot and free motion designs, which is a nice change up. I’m still practicing those pebbles though…

Don’t forget–The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting is on sale all month long over on the Martingale website. It’s a great time to grab a copy!

Are you seeing progress with your own stitches? We’d love to see! Don’t forget to share on Instagram: #machinequiltingbloghop

Check out what the others are doing:

Jen at Quiltin’Jenny

Vicki at My Creative Corner3

HollyAnne at String and Story

Or just click the image below to get all the links.