Last weekend my guild hosted a free motion quilting workshop. I'd bought a free motion foot back in December and used it exactly...oh, never...so this seemed like a good opportunity to learn. I have a tough time dedicating materials and time to practice pieces (I'm not sure why it feels wasteful, since it's the only way to learn, but it does) but this gave me an excuse. The class also gave me motivation to keep going instead of tinkering for a few moments and then jumping into an actual project. In other words? It was exactly what I needed.
Our fearless leader had us start by doodling sprials, patterns, and shapes on a whiteboard to get a feel for the travel and connecting shapes.
Then we jumped onto a small practice piece.
Once that was filled, we changed thread colors and went over it again.
Can you see the improvement between the two? I can. : )
I was concerned about taking the leap to a large quilt, so once I finished that, I moved to my large (baby quilt sized) practice piece. (My feet give some sense of scale.)
At this point, I started to tucker out, hence some of the much more open space and random jellyfish doodle amoung the hearts. Still, I free motion quilted! And loved it! It was much more intuitive than I thought it might be (I never really had a problem with moving the quilt under the needle, versus the mindset of moving a pen over paper.)
I can't wait to free motion quilt all the things!
I completely understand that wasteful feeling that comes along with learning on fabric. I get the same uneasiness. My solution is to grab old clothes of the appropriate fiber for practice sewing/crafts, especially if it involves basically ruining a large piece if done with the "nice" fabric. In fact, most of my old clothes at one point and some of my husband's worn-out shirts went to sewing project practice. But you know, there's only one way to learn, right?
ReplyDeleteThrift stores can be a great source for cheap fabric to ruin with practice. I find it helps my peace of mind if I'm not paying a lot for practice rounds AND someone's already discarded it.
My partner likes to do tailoring, so we've also bought scrappy remnants for a dollar at fabric stores, like scrap wool for practice, and slippery silks.
And I really like your red bird. Cute!
"I find it helps my peace of mind if I'm not paying a lot for practice rounds AND someone's already discarded it."
DeleteYes! What I used for this round was some cotton that I picked up years ago for very little ($1-$2 a yard) and now dislike sewing with because it is thin and has a poor print quality. The back is a panel piece with the holy family that is So. Not. My. Style. So it's good to use things that otherwise wouldn't get used. : )
I know one of my guild mates has great luck with thrift shops but I do not seem to have her touch. I either find nothing or things that are grossly over priced.
Thank you! I had seen the bird elsewhere and loved it, so I was excited to try it out!
The holy family? Oh my. *shakes head*
DeleteMaybe you can indulge my hopes and make a bird-themed quilt someday. I'd love to see where you take that design.
Nice! I would love a class like this! First - a sewing machine I can free-motion on ...
ReplyDeleteIf you can get a free motion foot and an extension table, you can free motion on it. One of our guild members was sewing on a brother with a teeny tiny throat. : )
DeleteYou need a machine where the feed dogs can be dropped. Then you are all good to go! Extension table optional, but nice.
DeleteAnd I FMQ with one of those itty bitty machines (Janome Gem). Size matters not. ~Yoda.
Have you had any luck covering the feed dogs? I've seen people do that on machines where they can't be dropped.
DeleteLove seeing all that free motion practice. And that bird is KILLING me!!
ReplyDelete