Carole's Hierarchy of Quilting Difficulty

Pantographs? Piece of cake.

Free hand fillers? Fast and Fun!

Teeny, tiny freehand fillers? Challenging, but manageable.

Teeny, tiny freehand fillers that are also symmetrical? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR freakin MIND?

So, that explains a lot...(insert google-eyes here!)



There is about an eighth of an inch between each line of stitching.


I am trying out Judi Madsen's style, using her designs. As I stitched today I wondered how on EARTH she quilts this intensively with four young children underfoot...UNbelievable!

This is a practice quilt, and it's working!


This was my quilting with ZERO practice...when I first jumped in:
First attempt = pretty rough.

Eleven hours of stitching later...I'm starting to develop a rhythm.


Still not perfect, but the spacing is much better, & lines are more fluid.

Speaking of Practice...

Tomorrow I am teaching a "Day & Night" workshop (an Eleanor Burns technique). I haven't used the technique in a while, so thought I should refresh my memory.

It is a precision block (I seem to be doing lots of precision work lately) that starts out as strip sets.

"Left" and "Right" strip sets.
This is one quarter of the block:

Can you see why it's called "Day and Night"?

And, this is the center of the finished block:

Guess I still know what I'm doing!

And, the back, of course!

"Swirling" the intersection reduces bulk in the center of the block.

Shaving cream, anyone?

Yesterday our fiber art group messed around (and I do mean messed!) making shaving cream prints.

We won't know how things actually look for a few more days. The paint needs time to cure, and then the shaving cream that didn't scrape off needs to be washed away.

Basically, we made a bed of shaving cream upon which to float paint. We then dragged various tools through the paint to create swirls and marbling.

Paint on top of shaving cream
Then we laid fabric over the top and gently patted it down so it would pick up the paint.

Fabric picking up paint

Goopy with shaving cream and excess paint!
I couldn't take a photo of myself scraping away the excess goo, so here's my Mom at work on one of her pieces.

We discovered that the cardboard "squeegee" works better in a more vertical position than in this photo.
This just smeared things...not the desired effect.

This one is Sue's. Even with the haze of cream, we know this one will be beautiful!
Sue used metallic on black.

Part of our challenge is to use at least one of our new fabrics to create something before we meet again...stay tuned!

Linking up with:
I Quilt Thursdays, at Pretty Bobbins
Whoop Whoop Friday, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Fabric Frenzy Friday, at Fort Worth Fabric Studio
Show off Saturday, at Sew Can She

Have a fabulous weekend!

Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole

Comments are welcome. Thanks so much for looking around!

Comments

  1. Your quilting looks fabulous! What an awesome 'practice' quilt! Oh and the 'Day and Night' block. . . wonderful!! Beautifully done - front and back!! :)

    The fabric painting is looking very cool - can't wait to see what you do with it!

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    1. Wow, thank you! I appreciate you saying such nice things about my work. :-) I'm not at all sure what I'll do with the painted fabric, but it should be fun figuring something out!

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  2. Your filler looks FANTASTIC! I'm curious what order you are doing the pattern in? Do you do an X and then the 'innie' arcs and then th'outtie' arcs?

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    1. Though I'm sure there is a much smarter way to do this, I start by quilting a diagonal grid across the area to be filled. Then I do the innie and outie arcs. When I get stuck in a corner I either sneak along a ditch to get where I need to be, or cut straight across on the diagonal grid line. Thanks so much for the compliment!

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  3. The last lap quilt I put dense quilting into took me 13.5 hours - OMG! I agree - I don't know how Judie does it. Your practice quilt is turning out to be awesome!

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    1. Thank you, Barb! She must quilt much faster than I do. Or, she doesn't sleep. Ever. This is eating up the hours, but I am starting to love how it looks. Hope that doesn't change when I do the fancy designs planned for the remaining blocks. Gulp.

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  4. The quilting is perfect. Gorgeous!!

    The shaving cream made me laugh...I can just imagine doing this with my son, and the ensuing mess! ;)

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    1. Thanks Lori, I tried to reply personally, but can't find your email address. Oh, you would have so much fun doing this with your son! Just lay out some shower curtains and wrap him in an apron, and you'd be good to go!

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  5. You know the old saying... Practice makes perfect! It will be beautiful when you are finished. Thanks for sharing. You for sure have a Whoop-Whoop from me. I don't think that looks easy at all but I love the pattern. I am # 73 on the Whoop -Whoop Linky. Stop by when you need a break from the intensity of your FMQ :). Janita

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Janita. By the end of this quilting project I should have better control of my machine, that's for sure! I like your frost bite project. That poor little guy! Whoop-whoop right back at you! Nice finish. :-)

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    2. You certainly got into the rhythm with that quilting design. It's beautiful. Shaving cream is just so much fun. It reminds me of hand painting, as a child. I have a Day and Night quilt on my list for the 2nd quarter of FAL. The technique was fun and I now need to quilt it.

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    3. Oooh, I'd love to see how you quilt your Day and Night, Jo. I have two samples, but haven't quilted them yet. (People like to see the seams when they are learning the technique.) One day I will, though, and I could use some inspiration.
      Don't you just love messy art? SO much fun! :-) Thanks for visiting again. I'm always glad to see you!

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  6. Your quilting is gorgeous! I am glad you found a rhythm! Looks like you had fun doing that shaving cream art! So fun!

    Thank you for linking up to Fabric Frenzy Friday!
    -Lindsey
    Fabric Frenzy Friday

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    1. I've just returned from class with Judi Madsen (THE Judi Madsen!!! lol), and her quilting is soooo smooth and precise. She has been using a long arm for ten years, and it shows. I have a bit more practicing to do (9 years worth, I guess), but am really pleased with my progress. Thanks so much for your lovely comments, Lindsey. :-)

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