Quilting Practice

I have been wanting to improve my free motion skills ever since I got my quilting machine.  It would be really nice to be able to quilt something besides pantographs, meandering, and straight lines!  I spent most of an afternoon watching videos from The Free Motions Quilting Project.  I chose 6 patterns I liked and followed the directions.  First you practice on paper, then on your machine.  BTW - you can do this on a sewing machine too.  That is how she does it in the videos.  I just used some cheap fabric and left over batting to practice.

Here is the whole quilting sample

  Lollipop Chain

Checkerboard

This started as Shadow Waves, but I didn't like it so I added some pebbles.

Echo Shell

 

Desert Sand

The directions for all these squares can be found here.  I tried the Bright Star too, but it was hard to hit the center.  Marking the quilt would make that easier.

Since I was just practicing, I thought I'd try a feather or two. A class on setting up and using our Gammill was included with our purchase.  In this class the teacher showed us how to make a feather. She made it look so easy.  I thought it was intimidating so I was afraid to try one!  Goes to show that we shouldn't be afraid to try new things!  I am no artist and I can't draw at all, but the feather is like drawing hearts.  

  

I did one with an echo and one without.  Swirls were new for me too.  They need some practice!  My hand is a bit shaky still.

I am comfortable with mid size meandering, but tried the smaller version.  Not as bad as I thought it would be!  I would encourage everyone to give free motion quilting a try.  It was fun to see what I could do!  Now it's your turn.  I'd love to see which pattern you choose.  Leave me a comment if you try it!