A different approach to FMQ: mark making with thread

Earlier this month, I embarked on a weekend getaway to the Cumberland plateau for a free-motion quilting workshop with Memphis textile artist, Paula Kovarik. The workshop, At Play in the Garden of Stitch, was hosted by Shakerag Off Season. 

Responding to paint spatters on a drop cloth with free-motion quilting.

Free-motion quilting continuous lines. How many different lines can be made?

The workshop offered a refreshing shift in how I think about quilting. Instead of looking at the functional aspect of the quilting stitches—holding the three layers of a quilt together or creating background texture to support the patchwork composition—Paula’s approach to free-motion quilting was more like drawing and mark making. The sewing machine became a drawing tool to make lines, shapes, and colored fills, in addition to creating texture. 

Thread sketching in contrasting thread to create new focal points.

With that approach in mind, I now understand her preference for 40 wt, 3-ply thread. The thread has a more pronounced presence on the surface of the work. With a heavier thread, every line can hold its own. The stitches can read like sketched lines, and if the thread is of a contrasting color, it can shift the focus from the patchwork to the quilting. 

Quilting doodles with fills.

Since I rarely ever mark my quilt tops for quilting, Paula’s direction to respond intuitively to the fabric surface or previous stitched lines was a familiar and welcoming free-motion concept for me. A no-mark approach is something I have always loved about free-motion quilting! So it was easy to embrace the direction of this workshop. 

Quilting ideas for an existing piece

A valuable take-away that came out of this workshop was getting Paula’s feedback on a collaborative textile piece I started in another workshop last summer. Examining the piece through her lens of “thread as drawing” opened up new possibilities for how I might quilt it. We discussed ideas for how quilting lines could echo the circular format of the mandala composition—creating a subtle rhythm and supporting the radial layout of the piece. She also suggested to quilt over some of the appliqués—which would definitely make the quilting more manageable... and enjoyable for the quilter. 

Collaboration piece awaiting quilting.

The workshop was a playful weekend of experimentation and free-motion quilting. It was a reminder that quilting can be as much about mark making and exploration as it is about function and tradition.

The retreat facility

A view of the valley from the classroom.

The facility—where this workshop and an abstract painting workshop was held—is located on a tranquil, picturesque campus. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with several artist friends from past workshops—Michelle, who was my roommate for the weekend, Becky, Susan, Claire (our class assistant), Karen, and Paul. 

Friendships were renewed.

16 days into the Scrap-a-Day 100 Day Project

My second 100 Day Project for 2026 is a Scrap a Day project. This 100 Day Project started on February 22 and I’m adding a 1-1/4” square to a small, handmade journal to document ordinary, daily activities.

100 Day Project 2026: Scrap-a-Day

This is the front cover of my Scrap-a-Day journal (4-1/4” x 5-5/8”) beside the paper punch I use for punching out the daily squares. At some point, I’ll add a title to the cover.

100 Day Scrap-a-Day Journal. 4-1/4” x 5-5/8”.

With four scraps per page, here are the first 16 days.

Day 1: from a fabric header 

Day 2: I bought spools for thread and this is from the bag 

Day 3: sandwich from Donato’s Pizza, Bowling Green, KY

Day 4: second dinner from Donato’s

Days 1 - 4.

Day 5: the plate from hotel breakfast 

Day 6: stamp from today’s mail 

Day 7: label print-out; sending a USPS package 

Day 8: sticker from an “ugly” orange fruit

Day 9: label from a French Fat Quarter (approx 19” x 27”) 

Day10: Ray’s BBQ sauce label 

Day 11: packaging from Pilot roller ball pens (for a class) 

Day 12: Small Shells pasta box (dinner side item)

Days 5 - 12.

Day 13: from an email with a supply list for a workshop

Day 14: logo on a flyer for the workshop location

Day 15: marketing flyer for a painting workshop

Day 16: practice lettering on a scrap of paper 

Day 12 - 16.

Easy.

     Simple. 

          Do-able.

                            Marking time.

Create Daily Tracker: month three begins

March 1st marks the start of a new month on my Create Daily Tracker 2026. I’m currently immersed in two 100 Day Projects: The 100 Day Stitch Book and A Scrap a Day. 

Create Daily Tracker 2026.

The 100 Day Stitch Book is now at Day 45, with nine pages complete. I love incorporating fabric and yarn scraps with slow stitching. The pages fill slowly—but the steady act of commitment adds up and the compositions get more complex and interesting each day. 

Pages 7 and 8 of the 100 Day Stitch Book, 2026.

My Scrap a Day 100 Day Project began a week ago on February 22. I’m filling up a small pocket journal with daily found papers—punching out 1-1/4” squares. I’m looking forward to filling the pages with a variety of small images. 

Scrap a Day, 100 Day Project.

The new month starts the next section of the Create Daily Tracker—with new boxes to color, new stitch patterns, and collecting more paper scraps. I’m feeling energized to continue the daily practice and making progress.

A second 100 Day Project for 2026: A Daily Scrap

I’ve decided to do a second 100 Day Project to introduce a co-worker to this wonderful, creative, art practice. So, in addition to The 100 Day Stitch Book, this 100 Day Project—A Scrap a Day—will coincide with the global 100 Day Project that begins today, February 22. 

A Scrap-a-Day 100 Day Project for 2026 

For my second 100 Day Project for this year, I’ll be collecting one scrap per day from found objects: fast food wrappers, receipts, packaging, bits of paper, daily detritus—items usually tossed or recycled without a second thought. It will be fun and freeing to work with items that already exist. Trash will become texture. Packaging will become pattern. These fragments and tiny artifacts of daily life will be put into a small junk journal—an appropriate vessel, it seems, for a collection of the mundane. 

Junk journal for my 100 Day Project 2026: A Scrap a Day.

This junk journal is 4.25” x 5.625”, a good, pocket size for the project. It has 

• three signatures, 4” x 5.5” in size,
• a paper cover with a 1/2” spine,
• is pamphlet stitched. 

Three signatures pamphlet stitched to a cardboard journal cover.

I’ll be using a 1-1/4” square paper punch to fussy-cut the paper scraps. This square shape and the 1-1/4” size will be the unifying factor for the collection. But this will also be the challenge of the project—to capture a daily theme, idea, or event in that small format. I’ll see how it goes.

My new 100 Day Project junk journal and the 1-1/4” paper punch for the daily squares.

By using a junk journal for this project, the goal isn’t to make something polished. It’s building a record of days as they actually unfold. 

A sample of what the daily 1-1/4” square will look like on a page.

Do the 100 Day Project 

If you’ve ever thought about joining The 100 Day Project, this is your invitation! Pick something small—like this. Creativity doesn’t require new materials—just a little attention and commitment. Show up and let repetition do the work. 

One scrap at a time, I’ll be building a book of days. 

The history of the 100 Day Project 

Michael Bierut, once a professor at the Yale School of Art, started The 100 Day Project as a project for his graduate students with a simple but powerful idea: choose a creative act and repeat it every day for 100 days. No perfectionism. No overthinking. Just show up, do the work, and learn from the practice. 

Artists, designers, writers, and makers around the world have taken part each year, using the structure to build momentum, experiment, and reconnect with their creativity. Showing up daily can shift something in you. Even if the act feels small.