Back in the saddle with free-motion quilting

 Gee whiz… it’s been waaay too long since I sat down at the machine and dropped the feed dogs!

Free-motion quilting a charity quilt.

Free-motion quilting charity quilts

My guild had its annual charity quilt-making workshop this weekend where a group spray-baste station was set up. I brought in two quilt tops to be basted. 

Today, I sat down to do the free-motion quilting, and the first cuddle quilt was quilted in about 50 minutes. It was fun, effortless and totally intuitive. Free-motion quilting on a kid-size charity quilt is a good way to get back into the free-motion quilting saddle.

Free-motion quilting a charity quilt.

Free-motion quilted cuddle quilt.

The next quilt top under the needle was a kitty quilt that was made with improv blocks and leftovers from the quilt above. I chose a variegated 50 wt cotton thread from WonderFil Specialty Threads in shades of purple and lavender. 

50 wt. variegated cotton thread for quilting.

The quilt back for this quilt was a red flannel. So I gathered several partially-filled bobbins with red thread from my bobbin donut.

Using up several partially-filled bobbins.

With a new free-motion bobbin case for my Janome M7, the tension balanced easily and despite the contrast in color between the top lavender variegated and the red bobbin thread, there was no show through. The batting had a poly/cotton content—giving it a bit more loft and allowing the quilting stitches to sink into the fabric. This kitty quilt was quilted in about 30 minutes… a bit longer than usual because of the multiple bobbin changes.  

Flannel back of the kitty quilt.

Free-motion quilting on scrappy kitty quilt. Trimmed to about 25” x 29”.

I have one more cuddle quilt top to quilt and bind for the guild. I hope it goes as smooth as these.

Logging in free-motion quilting time in my Create Daily Tracker

As seen in my Create Daily tracker for 2022, I don’t get much time for free-motion quilting. After all, I kinda need to be at home… in my studio… where my sewing machine is. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I quilt the second cuddle quilt.

Sadly, I’ve only logged in 4 days of free-motion quilting this year.
Something needs to change!

Machine pieced. Free-motion machine quilted. Next step: machine binding on these two charity quilts and quilting one more quilt top.

It's a quilt top finishing weekend

An email reminder about my guild's annual charity sew-in popped into my Inbox this week. It prompted me to search the studio for any blocks or tops that could be readied for next weekend's group-baste session (an extremely expeditious way to get quilt tops basted).

Two completed Cuddle Quilt tops ready for basting.

The search for tops and blocks

One top made with orphan blocks and the disappearing cutting technique that was finished this January was ready for basting. 

A stack of retired fabric samples from a Poppie Cotton fabric collection (Hopscotch and Freckles) was transformed into this second Cuddle Quilt top.

Cuddle Quilt top ready for basting. 35" x 43"

One for the kids, and one for the kitties

Combining the remaining Poppy Cotton fabric swatches, a handful of improv blocks, and other scraps, I got a second, smaller, quilt top for a kitty quilt.

Improv scrap blocks in a kitty quilt top.

Improv scrap blocks.

This scrappy little kitty quilt top went together quickly.

Kitty quilt top combining fabric swatches and scrap blocks.
29" x 25.5"

And a UFO 

And this quilt top that was patiently waiting on the design wall got its borders attached! The blocks are from my 2021 100 Days 100 Blocks Kinship Sampler quilt-along for which I used my favorite Australian aboriginal prints from M&S Textiles Australia.

Twenty-five blocks from the 2021 Kinship Ssampler with M&S Textiles Australia.
58" x 58"

I'm targeting this sampler quilt to satisfy my second "UFO finish" prompt for Make Nine 2022. I just have to pick a backing fabric and then clear off the tables in the workroom for pin basting.

Color blocking a shirt with Paintbrush Studio flat fat stacks

Color blocked garments combine one or more fabrics that are usually contrasting, bold, or unexpected, in a single garment to make a statement. Color blocking is a cool trend and can make use of interesting sewing techniques. Have you tried this technique? 

I just completed a creative experiment to make a "faux" color blocked shirt using a flat fat stack from Paintbrush Studio.

Color blocked Siena Shirt using Indian Summer cotton fabrics.

So, what’s a flat fat stack?

Paintbrush Studio Fabrics offers "flat fat stacks" with their quilting cotton collections. A flat fat stack is a selection of fat-quarter-size (18” x 22”) prints that are printed side-by-side on a single, continuous piece of fabric. It’s like buying a fat quarter bundle only the fat quarters aren't individual pieces—they come on a long piece of fabric. I used a flat fat stack from the Indian Summer collection by Sumana Ghosh-Witherspoon for this shirt. It had 12 fat quarter prints—or 3 yards of fabric. 

The Siena Shirt pattern

My shirt pattern was the Siena Shirt from The Sewing Workshop. It’s a pattern I’ve used numerous times so I was familiar with the pattern pieces and the construction.

The Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

Pattern layout and construction

Laying out the pattern pieces was similar to the pattern's diagrams except the fabric was laid out in a single layer—no pieces were cut on the fold or in a double layer. Left and right front pieces were cut from different areas of the fabric to achieve the color blocked look. Same with the back pieces.

Pattern pieces laid out on a single fabric layer.

The collar, collar stand, sleeves, and back yoke were cut from different areas of the fabric and prints, too. The Siena Shirt worked well for this initial experiment because there were several smaller pattern pieces that could fit easily on a fat quarter piece of fabric.

The Siena Shirt made good use of the variety of prints in the flat fat stack.

During construction, I was careful to line up the prints across the front and side front seams and the back and side back seams. I didn’t have to match anything at the side seams.

Matching the print at the front seams.

The button band also looks color blocked. After button auditioning, the dark red ones made the cut.

Auditioning buttons for the front button band.

My 6th Make Nine finish for 2022

I’m fulfilling the “Something New in ’22” prompt for my Make Nine Challenge with this project. The extra thought and time involved with laying out the pattern pieces and matching the prints was worth the challenge and experimentation. 

Make Nine 2022 tracker, July 31, 2022.

Using the continuous yardage format of the flat fat stack eliminated the piecing that's generally required for color blocking... but achieved the same visual effect. The asymmetry is very much like color blocking seen in garments with this fashion trend. Because the various fabric prints were from a fabric collection, the designs and aesthetic were cohesive... which made choosing the fabric(s) easy.

"Faux color blocked" Siena Shirt. It goes with everything!

My husband’s comment about my new shirt: “It goes with everything.”

That's a "win!"

I’m in! The 100 Days 100 Blocks 2022 starts August 1

Are you ready for the 100 Days 100 Blocks 2022 sew-along? It’s my 5th year participating!

100 Days 100 Blocks 2022: fabric bundles [P&B Textiles] and block tracker

I’ve got:

• three lusciously squishy P&B Textiles fat quarter bundles, 
• my Block-Loc rulers for half-square triangles and flying geese units, 
• the Kinship Sampler pattern on my iPad, and
• the 100 Days 100 Blocks event tracker printed.

I’m ready to go!

Specs and prep for the Kinship Sampler 2022

This year, I’ll be using fabrics from the playful Whimsy basics line from P&B Textiles. Whimsy sports a variety of small texture-like patterns and a full color gamut of warm, cool and neutral hues. 

My Personal Challenge will be experimenting with combining these rainbow hues with black tone-on-tone fabrics—P&B's Onyx basics—rather than using white or light colors for contrast. This will be a new exploration for me in this year’s sew-along. Where's the "spice in life" if you don't mix it up a bit??

I've begun pulling and cutting fabrics for the first few blocks in preparation for the August 1 start date. The sew-along goes through November 8, 2022 and uses the Kinship Sampler pattern (available from Gnome Angel). 

Fabric pull: cool colors from the Whimsy collection and black tone-on-tone fat quarters from Onyx collection [P&B Textiles]. Bloc-Loc rulers for flying geese and half-square triangle units.

The Kinship Sampler is a fun, skill-builder project

There are 50 square blocks that finish at 8”x8” and 50 rectangle blocks 4” x 8” in the Kinship Sampler quilt. Here's why I like it:

• The sampler is appropriate for confident beginners but the two block sizes keep it interesting for advanced quilters.
• Angie at Gnome Angel describes the blocks as "borrowing from the traditional and reflecting the contemporary."
• It’s great practice for perfecting your 1/4” seam.
• You can make it scrappy or plan a controlled color scheme.
• The pattern has suggestions for block layouts, or you can see what others have done using the #100blocks100days or #kinshipsampler hashtags for previous years.
• Doing the 100 Days 100 Blocks sew-along with others is always motivating, encouraging and inspiring. Everyone uses different fabrics and we cheer each other on!

Watch my daily block posts on Instagram [@veronica.fiberantics] and on Facebook.