Some Free Motion Quilting Hints and Tips from Yours Truly

Recently a friend of mine -- we'll call her "Maggie" -- stopped by and asked for my help in quilting some projects for an upcoming charity auction that she helps to organize.  Maggie told me that she's been practicing her free motion quilting but she doesn't think it's good enough.

This self-assessment made me very sad.  Maggie is a great person with a lot of energy who gives so much to our community through her volunteer endeavors.  It's not right that she should feel like her work isn't good enough.

I have taught a lot of people the basics of free motion quilting over the years and one of the most important things that I tell them is "Don't be so hard on yourself."  Because everyone makes mistakes, especially in free motion quilting.  Hey. sometimes those mistakes turn into brand new quilting designs.

I asked Maggie if she's tried machine quilting an actual project yet and she said no, that she's still just quilting practice squares.  I gently suggested that she try quilting an actual piece so that she can feel that she is accomplishing something because machine quilting something that you plan to throw away is no way to build confidence!  Yes, you must crawl before you can walk, but if you never take that first wobbly step you'll be crawling forever.

I offered to meet with her on a Saturday or Sunday and work with her on her free motion quilting skills.  I'm not sure she'll take me up on my offer, though.  We'll see.

Maggie inspired me to write this blog post.

Here are my top 5 tips for Beginning Free Motion Quilting:

1.  Put the pedal to the metal!  Put your foot the whole way down on your pedal -- you need the needle to go up and down really fast in order to help you make even regular stitches.  PLEASE remember that how you move the fabric while quilting and how fast the needle goes up and down are not connected in any way.  Just because the needle is going up and down fast doesn't mean you have to move the quilt sandwich fast.

2.  Quilt a REAL project.  Sure, quilt a few practice squares, but then move on to a real project.  I totally recommend a quilt panel.  Slap a border around the panel of your choice, layer it with your backing and batting, take a deep breath and QUILT.  So the panel quilt is really ugly when you get done.  So what?  Toss it, give it to your dog, cut it up into pot holders -- it doesn't really matter.  You didn't have much time or money in the quilt to begin with, so you are probably not personally connected to it.  Just promise me that you aren't going to try quilting your grandmother's antique Wedding Ring quilt until you feel comfortable with your skills to do so.

3.  RELAX!  Yeah, I know this is a tough one, but you've got to relax while you are free motion quilting.  Keep your jaw loose and you shoulders down.  You might have to do this consciously for a while until it becomes second nature, but keeping your body relaxed will also help to keep your mind relaxed.

4.  Be kind to yourself.  You are a beginning free motion machine quilter.  Your quilting is not going to be perfect right out of the gate.  You are going to make mistakes.  Free motion quilting is not something you can expect to be perfect at.

5.  Practice, practice, practice!  I can't say this enough.  I can't tell you how many times I see a FMQ student some time after our class and they admit that after they went home, they didn't do any more machine quilting.  How can you expect to get good at FMQ (or anything for that matter) if you don't practice it?  The more practice you put in, the faster you'll get to the level you want to be.  Put in the time and you will be amazed at how quickly your skills improve.

There you have it -- my top 5 tips. 

Why Every Quilter Should Have a Library Card

Do you have a library card?

I think every quilter (and every person for that matter) should have a library card.  

In addition to my quilting career, I work part-time as a librarian at my small hometown library.   So many people have come into our beautiful library and have said something like "Libraries are a thing of the past -- everything's digital these days."   

Really? 

Who said so?  Was this something you read on the Internet?  And of course, everything you read on the Internet must be true, right?

My friend, Missi, got me thinking about this concept when she was describing a recent book, THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean. 

Libraries are more than books, more than information -- libraries are a place.  

Okay, so how can having a library card enhance being a quilter? 

1. BOOKS! (This one is a no-brainer)   Libraries have books.  Whether you like fiction, ebooks, reference books, children's books, etc.  Libraries have 'em.  Looking for quilt books?  Visit your local library!

2.  Along with #1, check your local library to find out if they have interlibrary loan services.  In a nutshell,  if your library doesn't have a book that you want, they may be able to borrow it from another library just for you.  Talk about personal service.

3.  Periodicals.  Local newspapers (check out the local quilt shows!) and maybe magazines. (What!  Your library doesn't have any quilting magazines?  Then why don't you ask about donating a subscription???)

4.  Classes, Programs, and Workshops.   For you, for kids and teens -- for everyone!  Check out the offerings at your local library, you might find a class on knitting or quilting or painting, computer classes,  Friday bag lunch and a movie, story times for kids, American Sign Language, etc.  By the way, most library programs are FREE (please ask though). 

5.  Access to computers, fax machine/printer, etc.  There might be use restrictions, so you will need to check at your individual library.  This is a real lifesaver when your computer crashes or your printer is not cooperating.

6.  Digital Resources.  This one will depend on individual libraries.  It might be ebooks that you can borrow or access to Ancestry Library Edition.  My favorite digital resource right now is Universal Class.  There aren't any quilt classes on Universal Class (yet), but there are classes for tons of other topics.  Maybe you want to learn quantum physics?

7. Social Hang Out. Yes, libraries really are social hubs.  Gather your quilting friends and your go-to hand quilting project and head to your nearest library.  I bet they have a place that you can sit, sew, and socialize.  This is great when it's hot and you can enjoy the air conditioning.

8.  Meeting Place.  Need to find a space for a quilt guild meeting?  Check with your library -- they might just have a community room or meeting space that you can borrow for a low fee or perhaps even no fee.

9. More Digital Resources -- Okay, I am adding this one on at the end because I just discovered it.  My sister bought my family an Amazon Firestick for Christmas.  Who knew that I could access aps like Hoopla and Kanopy which are digital resources through my library card.  Hello movies!  Good bye stack of quilts that need the binding hand-sewn!

Sew -- what are you waiting for? Go get your  library card if you don't already have one.  Then visit your local library and see what it can do for you.

 

A Much-Needed Break, or Heading to the Flea Market!

As I mentioned previously, I'm at a bit of a standstill with my cleaning, organizing, and purging project in my sewing studio.  I have grouped and organized things in baskets, but now I don't have anywhere to put the baskets so they are currently living all over my horizontal surfaces.

My father is getting started with my electrical project and I just broke down and ordered my storage cube units -- I need somewhere for my baskets to live.  Keep your fingers crossed that the electricity goe sin soon so I can get back to my project.

 So recently, I took a break from all of my cleaning and organizing and took a little trip to Lisa's General Store (which used to be called Lisa's Indoor Flea Market) located in Greenville, PA.

Over the years, I've found some awesome deals -- my most recent one being my sewing stand.

It had a broken and repaired foot, but I didn't mind because I have always wanted one of these stands (usually called a Martha Washington sewing stand).  Go HERE to read my post about this stand.

One of my best finds was a 1900's vintage indigo and white Double Irish Chain quilt with some very nice hand-quilting designs.  It was just sitting there, waiting for me.

Anyway, though, if you are following my Reclaiming My Studio series, you will be pleased to know that I didn't buy a thing at Lisa's.  REALLY!  Not one single thing.

Instead, I just window-shopped.  I did see lots of sewing and quilting related items, though, and thought I'd capture them on my phone so I could share them with you.


I saw a few sewing tables.  The first one was similar to mine, but it had 4 turned legs and three drawers.  And it had a light wood finish.

 

This sewing table is a real beauty!  I just love the dark wood.  It's earlier than mine and the one above (which are more Depression-era pieces).  This Empire style piece probably dates to the early 1900's or so.

  

Of course there were some vintage quilts and quilt tops, but nothing that really tempted me.  Now had they been a stack of quilt blocks, that would have been an entirely different story.

I thought the booth owner was very clever to drape this simple little quilt on the vintage buggy.  Wouldn't that look great in your home or sewing room?  I would of course fill the buggy with more quilts or maybe vintage pin cushions.....  Anyone have an 18" doll to display in the buggy?

One of my favorite things to look for are sewing boxes and baskets.  There are so many different ones, I'm always interested to see them.  This basket had a very nice embroidered inset in the top of the lid.  Pretty, sin't it?  I wonder if it came that way or if a previous owner decided to beautify her humble sewing basket.

These little rectangular boxes are very common -- you've probably seen them before if you don't have one of your own.

Isn't this a lovely old sewing basket?  The booth owner made it look very inviting with the addition of the spools of old thread.

And here is a fin patchwork teddy bear.  He's not old, but he is really cute.  I don't think the patchwork came from a quilt, but rather I think the pieces were sewn together for the bear.

 Well, I hope you enjoyed window shopping with me.  Maybe you'll head out on your own flea market or antique shop adventure....

Reclaiming my Studio Part 6 -- The Gnomes Have It

Well, I’ve hit a real slow down this week.  I’ve been wanting to sew instead of clean.  Oh no!  Now what?

This past week, I’ve been playing with the cutest row quilt that I recently designed.  Of course, once I had the design, I wanted to select fabrics.  Then once I had selected the fabrics, of course, I wanted to sew, right?  Wouldn’t you?

I fell in love with all of the gnome stuff at Christmas time and found the cutest gnome block on Pinterest.  That inspired me to design an entire row quilt of jolly little tubby gnomes.



Here is my gnome row :

Aren’t they the cutest????  My row has five gnomes, each with his own combination of a red hat and a green body.  They will be the centerpiece of my row quilt.

I know, I know.  Sewing isn’t really cleaning, is it?  

But wait, it is!  HONEST!

I am making this gnome quilt using only my stash, so I am downsizing my collection of fabric!

Yes, I will get back to cleaning for real, I promise, but in the meantime, I am going to enjoy the process of sewing and making something fun.  

Stay tuned to see how my row quilt turns out.

Reclaiming My Studio Part 5 -- Electricity

The obvious reason for cleaning, purging, and organizing my studio was obviously the great mess that I've created in the last year and a half.  But there is a secondary reason, too.

For Christmas, my Dad gave me electricity.  Sounds strange, huh?  He literally wrapped up a box of electrical guts and junk.  Bear with me, please. 

This was probably one of the most unusual gifts that I had ever received, but it was one that I was very excited about.  You see, I have to be creative when connecting my sewing machine and iron to electricity.  It usually includes several extension cords and strips.  My Dad is going to install electrical outlets in the middle of my sewing space where there is a post (which helps hold up the house), then I won't have to worry anymore (sometimes I blow a breaker when there's too much plugged in at the same time).

The new electrical outlets will really make a big difference in my studio -- having easy access to electricity will make it easier for me to create my new sewing and cutting table with a bajillion cubes underneath for organizing my baskets and bins.  And with better electricity, I can add more lighting which will make sewing easier and more comfortable.

I can't wait....

Reclaiming My Studio Part 4 -- Stop Giving Me Stuff!

NEW PROBLEM ALERT!

Now people are giving me MORE STUFF.  Good Grief!

Last week a couple friends and I got together at our favorite Mexican restaurant and finally exchanged our Christmas gifts.

ARGH!  Leslie gave me a stack of Vintage Orphan Quilt Blocks that she had found at the Salvation Army.

Isn't that awesome??????

NO IT"S TERRIBLE!  How am I going to purge my studio when people keep giving me more stuff to stash in my ever-shrinking sewing space?

Of course, I would never say "no."  Would you?

The blocks are wonderful.  Well-constructed with lots of really great vintage fabrics.  A few of them are earlier, perhaps 1890-1910, but the rest are Depression-era goodies.

Sigh...........I guess I'll have to buy some more bins and totes.

2019 New Year's Goal -- Reclaiming My Studio Part 3............Scraps

Yay!  Tricia 1...................Scraps 0.

I had posted about my scraps on Instagram earlier this month  and a kind follower suggested that I join the 2019 Scrap Buster Challenge by Border Creek Station.

It sounded intriguing so I checked it out and I joined the fun!  This was just the thing for my basket of 1930's squares (see below) -- I just needed to add a white solid.  Easy Peasy!

The goal for the Scrap Buster Challenge is to make at least 52 blocks in 2019, which averages out to 1 block a week.  This sounded very manageable to me -- I know I can do this.  Besides, I can always work ahead so when a week is too crazy for me to sew, I can skip a week when needed.  AND it will use up some of my scrap fabric.  Win-win!

Here is my first Scrap Challenge Block.  It's not perfect, but I'm okay with that.  I gave up the idea of quilting perfection long ago.

I was so inspired by my first block that I made 3 more blocks the second week. I  posted my 4 humble blocks on the Scrap Challenge FB page and one of the other participants pointed out that I had sewn one of the HST blocks in each of the three blocks wrong.  She kindly said something about being curious to see how my variation turns out.  GULP!  I totally missed that.  Hmmm.  Time to "unsew" some seams and fix the 3 blocks.

Here are my repaired blocks.  As you can see, I decided not to do a ton of "unsewing" and used the wrongly-pieced HSTs to make 3 more blocks!  Now I have 7.  45 blocks to go.

It's not too late you you to join in the fun.  Just hop over to the Border Creek Station website for more information.  Bring a friend.

With my quilt studio bursting at the seams will fabric, I have decided that 2019 is going to be my YEAR OF SCRAP QUILTS.

So, not only am I going to blog about my Studio Cleaning Adventure, but now I'm going to add scrap quilts to the mix.  The good thing is that I should always have something to blog about.  The bad thing is that you are going to get tired of reading about my studio and my scrap quilts. 

Did you miss the first part of my Reclaiming my Studio series?  Click HERE.