Filling a defined shape with a quilting motif

Sometimes we want to fill a specific space on a quilt with a quilting motif. It could be an alternate block, a setting triangle, sashing or other defined space. Why not practice free-motion quilting and filling shapes using improv patchwork? 

Filling defined shapes and spaces with free-motion quilting.

This improv quilt is for Jesse The Wonder Cat and the kitties at The Cat Clinic. The improvisational patchwork actually has parts of a fabric handbag that never made it to the quilting stage, so I decided to repurpose the pieces for the kitties. Other improv blocks were incorporated to make the top to size.

The "handbag" kitty quilt, 30.5" x 25"

When I sit down to quilt these small format quilts, I decide on a technique or motif I need to practice. With the larger blocks and a variety of sizes of squares, rectangles and triangles, this quilt top was a good canvas for fillers and motifs in defined spaces.

Zig-zags and a feather in triangular shapes

Moving from section to section, I also got in practice for ditch stitching. You can see the outlines of the shapes (stitching in the ditch) more clearly from the back.

Ditch stitching (back view).

These kitty charity quilts have an abundance of potential for practicing free-motion quilting. And the kitties love them!

Enjoy the antics of the special kitties, Jesse the Wonder Cat, Silly Willie the Super Scooter, Good Golly Miss Dolly that reside at the Cat Clinic of Chattanooga. And if you're thinking about opening your heart to a furry friend this holiday season, there are many cats and dogs that need forever homes. Contact your local shelter to inquire.

No thinking free-motion quilting

Ever need to just move a quilt sandwich under the needle and let the rhythm of the motion lead you in the quilting dance? Whether you call it "practice," "free-form," "graffiti" or "therapy" quilting, sometimes ya just gotta do a quilt without having a pre-conceived design or plan.

No plan, no thinking... just free-motion quilting.

This is why I so enjoy making kitty/doggie quilts:

• they're a small format;
• they use up scraps and orphan blocks;
• a pattern is not required;
• they can be totally improv—in piecing and quilting;
• they're not a large investment in time... or materials;
• they can be completed totally by machine... including the binding!
• and you can just enjoy the process without stressing over matched intersections, perfect points and consistent stitches.

Improv free-motion quilting.

To me, it's like having a dance partner who is a good lead and can maneuver the dance floor with style and ease—a partner that makes the dancing interesting, a little unpredictable but smooth and enjoyable as you whirl to the music and glide around the dance floor. You know the steps... you know the cues... all you do is relinquish the lead to someone else and enjoy the dancing.

Here's my latest little quilt—no pattern and no plan. I had fun with several free-motion fillers—spirals, headbands, shells, loops, bubbles/pebbles, and curvy designs. The counterpoint was added with rulerwork and zig-zags in various places.

I have a small drawer where I keep left-over binding tails from binding other quilts. You know, the lengths of folded fabric strips that are trimmed off after the final join. This was my source for the scrappy (also quick and easy) binding on this quilt.

Piecing left-over binding scraps from other quilts.

With machine binding, just remember to first attach it to the quilt back instead of the front.

Scrappy binding totally done by machine.

Here it is...
   29" x 29"
   Scrappy.    Improv.    All by machine.   Finished.

Finished size: 29" x 29"

Thank you [curtsey] for a lovely dance.

Paris Rendezvous—quilting a fabric panel

Have you ever quilted a fabric panel? There are NO seam allowances to deal with, so the playing field—or rather the quilt top—is wide open for any kind of free-motion quilting, ruler work, thread painting or embellishment. I purchased this Eiffel Tower/Paris fabric panel by Timeless Treasures from Huntsville Sew and Vac with special embellishing in mind. To begin, it needs to be quilted.

Pin basting the Paris fabric panel. 

The chosen backing fabric is a tonal 108" wide backing. It looks woven, but it is a print. The beige color coordinated with the color palette of the Paris scene in the panel.

The tower was outline quilted first. See how the quilting shows on the neutral colored backing? That's what a light colored backing fabric with a subtle print will do—the quilting will show.

Eiffel Tower outline quilted (back view).

A few of the pink roses and leaves were also outline quilted. This provided definition to the flowers and gave the scene a sense of a foreground and background. The word "Paris" was outline quilted as well. The background fillers consisted of a concentric swirl motif with occasional pebble quilting to fill in the smaller spaces.

Free-motion quilting on "Paris Rendezvous."

Back view of free-motion quilting.

Here is the Paris panel sunlit by the morning sun. A forest green blender for the binding frames the composition.

Sunlit free-motion quilting on "Paris Rendezvous."

Many of my readers and ask about the threads I use in my free-motion quilting, so here are the thread and quilting stats.

Quilt stats:
Top thread: 50 wt. cotton; color: Tutti 36 (WonderFil Threads)
Bobbin: Bottom Line 60 wt. polyester; color 650 champagne (Superior Thread)
10 hours of free-motion quilting; 3 bobbins

The next stage is the embellishment that will highlight the Tower and surrounding roses. Stay tuned.

Point Taken: Peppered Cottons and FMQ ruler work—Part Three

After quilting my Point Taken quilt, I knew this quilt would benefit from blocking. See Part One for the fabric selection and Part Two for the quilting and ruler work on this quilt.

Point Taken: back view.

After submerging the quilt into room temperature water, it sat for several minutes to let the water absorb into the fabric and batting. The quilt was then removed, squeezed and rolled in a terry towel. The damp piece was laid out on a cushioned board, measured and maneuvered, and pinned in place until dry.

Wet blocking.

You just have to wait for it...

Point Taken: blocked and bound.

The blocking evened out the surface of the quilt and made the trimming easy.

The backing fabric is a quilting cotton, Primitive Basics by Blank Quilting (color: forest). This tonal blender shows off the FMQ and ruler work and the olive green color complements the colors of the patchwork of the quilt top. The binding is also a Peppered Cotton (color: begonia leaf).

Point Taken: back view.

Below are detail views of the completed quilt.

Point Taken: detail. The dimension of the prairie points can be seen here.

Point Taken: detail.

Point Taken: detail.

The finished quilt is 26" x 25.5". I would have liked a better [evenly lit] full view photo, but I was finishing the binding in a hotel room and not in my studio. I had to drop the quilt off at Mountain Creek Quilt Shop and thought Terri would prefer a quilted and bound quilt sample—rather than just a quilted one. So it goes...

Point Taken
Finished size: 26" x 25.5"

So that is the story of my latest completion. As I am often asked, the Quilt Stats are listed below. They tell the "other" side of the story. I hope Point Taken gets you inspired to get out your pretty threads, drop the feed dogs, and let the colors dance upon your patchwork. Let the music begin...

Point Taken
Finished size: 26" x 25.5"

Quilt stats
Finished size: 26" x 25.5"

Threads:
WonderFil Spaghetti, 12 wt. cotton
WonderFil 50 wt. cotton Tutti variegated and Konfetti solids
Aurifil 50 wt. cotton (solid colors)

Bobbin thread: 60 wt. Bottom Line #613 sage

13.75 hours free-motion quilting
3 bobbins

Free-motion quilting doubleheader in Huntsville

Free-motion quilting on display at
Huntsville Sew and Vac, Huntsville, AL

The quilts and samples were hung...

two classrooms were ready...

the feed dogs were dropped...

and the anticipation and excitement leading up to a 2-day adventure in free-motion quilting at Huntsville Sew and Vac [Huntsville, AL] was rewarded with a classroom of Huntsville area quilters eager to learn and full of questions and ideas (and, by the way, the weather was perfect—pleasant and mild).

Day 1 was my class, Intro to Free-motion Quilting on a domestic sewing machine. This is my most requested class and Donna, the shop owner, has invited me to teach this class for 3 years now. We introduce beginners to free-motion quilting and prime them for more advanced techniques that I offer in several other classes. A good number of the students in this class had dabbled in free-motion (or were return students from previous years), so were also in my Defining Contours class the following day. Yep, they signed up for a doubleheader!

"Defining Contours," my new free-motion quilting class.

Day 2 was even more fun for me since Defining Contours is a new class offering. Students came to class with an "inspiration word" which we then highlighted through several free-motion quilting techniques—machine trapunto, micro fillers and ruler work.

Machine trapunto, "Imagine."

One of my favorite parts of this class was hearing students tell the story behind the word they chose for their project. When I teach, I like to build in opportunities for personalization and student's self-expression into my classes. We talked about creating meaning in our words by using our own handwriting—not computer technology—to create an original composition.

Free-motion quilting in "Defining Contours" class.

Inspiration words that students chose were "Imagine," "Create," "Grace," "Faith," and "Joy," among others.

Free-motion quilting in "Defining Contours" class.

The class kits, provided by Huntsville Sew and Vac, included fabrics from the Blue Bird collection (by Jennifer Brinley) and Peppered Cottons (by Pepper Cory) from StudioE Fabrics. Peppered Cottons is a wonderful fabric for showcasing the micro fillers and ruler work on this project. Blue Bird provided a lovely frame around the word and also offered bird and flower motifs for additional trapunto—if the student desired.

Free-motion quilting in "Defining Contours" class.

The painting and basting classroom was filled with laughter and chatter as students prepared their quilts for quilting.

Trimming, and basting.

The larger classroom provided plenty of wall space to hang examples of how a colorwashed effect can be achieved through the choice of thread color. Students used 100 wt. InvisaFil thread by WonderFil for their Defining Contours project. For the ruler work portion of the class, students were introduced to the Sew Very Smooth rulers with the "Tacky Technology" strip which helps prevent the ruler from slipping during the stitching process.

The classroom at Huntsville Sew and Vac with examples of
free-motion quilting and threadwork.

All of the students got their trapunto work complete and were on their way to defining the contours of their inspiration words with micro fillers and ruler work. Free-motion quilting micro fillers is not a fast process, but the results are so worth it! There is an investment of time with these techniques but if you like free-motion quilting, you will enjoy this journey.

So, that is a wrap of my doubleheader free-motion quilting classes this past weekend in Huntsville, Alabama. Judging from the round of applause at the end of the second day, I think everyone hit one out of the park! I can't wait to see photos of the class projects. (Please send them to me, Huntsville quilters!)

Tucking in the sewing machine for a good night's rest.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the new places we went for dinner while in Huntsville. The first night was at the Po Boy Factory, just down the street from Huntsville Sew and Vac. After a full afternoon and evening of hanging quilts and preparing the classroom, it was dark outside and we were all tired so I didn't take any pictures. However, I can recommend the shrimp basket and deep-fried pickles... and the homemade bread pudding is gooey, melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

Homemade pizza and wine for dinner.

The second night was homemade, build-your-own, artisan pizzas at Chez Spivey. Chef Reggie does a fabulous job with the pizza oven! Thanks again to Donna Cagle, Sherri and all the staff at Huntsville Sew and Vac for their hospitality and to the Huntsville quilters who joined me for a two-day adventure in free-motion quilting. May your bobbins always be full!