Fiber Antics by Veronica: Free-motion Quilting Magic at the Folk School

The first weekend in August, the quilting studio at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC was buzzing with creativity and the hum of sewing machines as ten enthusiastic students gathered for a weekend workshop in the art of free-motion quilting. This was my third time teaching this subject at the Folk School and each time was a fantastic experience.

The first evening we discussed basting the quilt sandwich,

On the first evening, we started with the fundamentals: discussing terminology, machine setup, needle and thread choices. Basting the quilt sandwich and a demonstration of the Kwik Klip tool is a reminder that a well-basted quilt is one of the keys to successful free-motion quilting.

Drawing motifs for muscle memory

The next day, the hands-on exercises commenced with drawing continuous line motifs in a sketchbook. If you can draw it—or doodle it—you can quilt it, right?

Gayle draws continuous line designs.

Cindy practicing FMQ shapes in her sketchbook.

I love that eveyone’s interpretation of a motif is slightly different and shows the personality of the quilter. Just like we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet but each person’s handwriting is unique.

Ruth drawing in her sketchbook.

Leslie (below) was quite adept at the continuous line patterns that involved the lower case “e” and “l” shapes as those letters are prominent in her name. We all like to draw the shapes we are most familiar, and those are a great place to start for free-motion quilting!

Leslie drawing in her sketchbook.

After practicing the basic shapes, the sketchbook pages slowly began to be filled with unique combinations of motifs, reflecting each student’s personality.

Combining different patterns to create something new.

From drawing to quilting

From the sketchbooks, we turned to quilting on fabric quilt sandwiches.

Melanie practices free-motion quilting.

Exploring free-motion possibilities with feed dogs disengaged, students strived to balance the speed of the sewing machine with the speed in which they guided the quilt sandwich under the needle.

Leslie (left) and Karen concentrate on moving the quilt sandwiches.

Jan practicing her free-motion quilting.

There were a few wobbly lines and hesitant curves at first, which is entirely expected and part of the learning process. But with each quilted line, curve, and swirl, confidence began to emerge.

Marsha practices continuous line motifs.

Becky stops to load a new bobbin.

Students began to embrace curved and geometric continuous line designs, how to travel across the surface connecting one motif to the next, and the meditative rhythm that makes free-motion quilting another opportunity to incorporate design and pattern into a quilt top.

Drawing, watching, doing

The quilting studio is equipped with a camera and large screen TV that facilitates live demonstrations of me doing free-motion at the sewing machine. Several students said they liked just watching me quilt various motifs—feathers, spirals, pebbles, etc—and traveling from one motif to the next in order to fill the space across the quilt top.

Large screen TV facilitates quilting demonstrations.

The studios at the Folk School are open in the evening should students like to work. Several students continued to practice in the quilting studio, and one student brought a small lap quilt top that we got basted.

My studio assistant, Geri (left) and Brittney. Brittney’s lap quilt is on the table.

I brought two scrappy charity quilt tops to work on after hours. I got both of these “kitty quilt tops” quilted and they are ready for binding.

The quilting studio with the sewing machines humming.

Recap

On the last day of my free-motion workshops, I ask students for their take-aways and “light bulb” moments. This helps me fine tune the class or the supply list for future workshops. Here are their comments:

I would have thrown the quilt at the wall after the first hour if I was trying to learn this on my own from a book. Having [an instructor] watching me, answering questions, and advising in real time was beneficial to my learning.
I learned that free-motion quilting is not a technique. It’s an art form.
Now I understand the process. And I have “names” for the different parts of this process.
Seeing your work was inspiring and provided more ideas [for quilting designs] than the basic meander pattern I thought I would be learning.
I realized I [the machine speed] had to go faster for the stitches to be consistent and the lines smooth.
Working on “bigger” motifs helped.
Many stated they realized the relationship between drawing in the sketchbook and working at the sewing machine.
Several students said they liked just watching me quilt various motifs—feathers, spirals, pebbles, etc—and maneuvering the quilt to fill the space with the designs.
Realizing that the quilting contributed to the design of the quilt, students wanted more discussion on choosing quilting patterns to complement the patchwork. They were interested in how to approach the machine quilting as a design element and not just a functional aspect.

Overall, students thought the pace of the class was good and there was a mix of different exercises, demonstrations, and the show and tell. I also got suggestions for future classes, and the possibility of a full week free-motion class.

Thanks for a great weekend!

Thank you to all the students who traveled the distance to the Folk School to spend the weekend with me in my Intro to Free-motion Quilting class! You were a fabulous group, asked great questions, and you all made excellent progress in just a weekend. Thanks again to my wonderful studio assistant, Geri, for all you do to document our experience—with camera and computer—and keep me on track.