Well - maybe not my FIRST Feather -
But at least it's the first one that actually LOOKED like a feather -
And THAT - to me - is worth the WOO HOO!! - ;))
I'll show you in a minute -
But first I want to show you why I'm SO EXCITED!! - ;))
As I may have mentioned before -
I'm what you could call "directionally - challenged" -
Probably from being Left-Handed -
And having to mentally "reverse" stuff all of the time - ;))
Anyway -
When it comes to Feathers -
I can think of FOUR different ways to approach them - ;))
Here's a photo of one of my stencils -
Simply (R) Quilting Stencils by Plaid -
Feather Border #28742 - Design Width: 5-1/2"
Really nice stencil - BUT where do I start? -
Do I -
#1 - Start at the bottom and go to the top and work my way down -
Alternating from one side to the other? -
#2 - Start at the bottom and go to the top and work my way down -
Going down one side and then up the other? -
#3 - Start at the top and go to the bottom and work my way up -
Going up one side and then down the other? -
#4 - Start at the top and go to the bottom and work my way up -
Alternating from one side to the other? -
One book/teacher will show one way -
Another book/teacher will show a different way -
And then I feel like Vinnie Barbarino on "Welcome Back Kotter" -
"I'm SO confused!" - ;))
Yeah - I know - I am REALLY dating myself -
And for those of you who have NO idea what I'm talking about -
You could probably Google it - haha - ;))
Anyway -
Here's MY FIRST FEATHER -
TA DAH!! - ;))
And if you want to know where I started -
I'm not telling -
But I WILL tell ya - again -
I'm LOVING this class!! - ;))
EDIT UPDATE - And - just so you know -
I didn't use the stencil to do that feather - I "winged it" - the stencil was just for the "directionally-challenged" demonstration of how confusing feathers have always been for me - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
DESIGN WALL MONDAY -
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. -
At Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===
HAPPY LEAP YEAR EXTRA DAY!! - ;))
On my wall today -
Three more FMQ practice blocks -
To play with this week - ;))
I finished up the spirals on the one I showed you the other day
And the other two blocks -
My "square spirals" are kinda wonky -
And I obviously have trouble with straight lines -
But I'm learning a whole new set of complex skills -
So I'm going easy on myself - ;))
I still have several more lessons -
And all of the blocks on the wall to do -
After I play with these - ;))
I talked about this class - HERE -
===
PLEASE NOTE - If you are interested - you could go directly to the Craftsy site and sign up there - but if you sign up using the link on Gene's blog - he is an "affiliate" - and he will get compensated - so why not help out a fellow quilter/blogger/friend - ;))
===
I wholeheartedly recommend this class -
To ANYONE who wants to learn how to Free-Motion-Quilt -
Or ANYONE who wants a refresher course on the basics -
Or ANYONE who wants to get into a "zen" mode - and just PLAY - ;))
NO stress -
NO judging yourself or your skills -
Just the basics -
And LOTS of practice - ;))
===
P.S.
After I drafted and scheduled the above post to go "live" this morning -
I played around a little more and made some "pebbles" - ;))
I LOOOOOOVE "pebbles" -
Not that I'm any good at them YET -
But I wanted to show you the back of my practice piece -
Take a look at this TEXTURE -
Don't you just want to pet it? - ;))
And - unless you get up real close -
You can hardly see all of my "boo-boos" -
That - for now - I'm calling "design choices" - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
Yesterday I mentioned that -
I figure these will be my beginning "baseline" blocks -
The BEFORE blocks -
So that YEARS from now -
I can compare them to some AFTER blocks -
And - hopefully - see some improvement - ;))
I remembered the improvement in my HAND QUILTING after I had been at it for a few years - and there WAS a BIG difference - between BEFORE and AFTER - ;))
I found a few photos photos of some HAND QUILTING that I did years ago -
To show you what I mean - ;))
BEFORE-
These photos of my Hand-Made Sampler Quilt - 1988 -
Are from my 9/9/15 post - Slight Diversion - HERE -
I dug the quilt out and the stitches on that blue door are 5 stitches to the inch -
AFTER -
These photos of my Watercolor Wreath - 1996 -
Are from my 8/12/11 post QJ - WATERCOLOR WREATH - HERE -
The stitches on the feather are 9 stitches to the inch -
So I KNOW from experience that I will improve with practice -
Maybe that's why I'm not really worried about my "boo-boos" right now -
I KNOW that if I just keep at it -
I WILL get better -
I just have to keep at it -
So I may as well relax and have FUN with it -
And ENJOY (my word for this year) the process - ;))
And when I finish this class -
I have two more to work/play through -
Then I can tackle that pile of tops that need to be quilted - ;))
And like the teacher says -
They don't have to be perfect -
They just have to be quilted - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
I gotta tell ya -
I'm having WAY too much fun playing with my blocks - ;))
I signed up for a Craftsy class by Christina Cameli -
Called "Free Motion Quilting Essentials" -
Gene mentions it on his blog - HERE -
He's an "affiliate" - so if you sign up through his blog -
I think he may get compensation of some sort -
And I don't mind promoting my friends - ;))
Gene's working on the "Advanced" class -
Me? - I'm in the "Beginner" class -
(BOB says I'm in "Pre-school" - and she may be right - ;))
Anyway - I got the blocks all made -
Got my machine all set up and the tension adjusted -
And I finished up the first batch of blocks -
Here's a close up of the bottom "loops" in the second block -
My crappy lighting makes it look more lavender than purple -
But it IS the same block - ;))
And don't laugh -
But this is supposed to be a "ribbon candy wiggle" - ;))
And - of course - there was the obligatory -
Get the backing folded over onto itself so you make a mess -
And have to spend some time "un-sewing" it for a "do-over" - ;))
I'm working on spirals here -
And I have those dumb things going every which way - ;))
I have a lot more blocks yet to do -
And I know that I have a LOOOOONG way to go before I get HALF as good as any of you out there -
But - you know what? -
I figure these will be my beginning "baseline" blocks -
The BEFORE blocks -
So that YEARS from now -
I can compare them to some AFTER blocks -
And - hopefully - see some improvement - ;))
In the meantime -
I'm having WAY too much fun playing with my blocks - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
DESIGN WALL MONDAY -
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. -
At Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===
On my wall today (kinda) -
Three FMQ practice blocks - ;))
I decided to pull the YELLOW out of all the pretty colors - HERE -
And save it for the sashing when I sew the blocks together at the end -
And to use YELLOW thread for the quilting -
To tie it all together -
And because it shows up nicely on all of the pretty colors - ;))
In these photos the RED looks really ORANGE -
Obviously my lighting is not the best sometimes -
Because the colors are really very bright and clear primary colors -
Like in the photo at the top of this page -
But they show that I did GO for it -
And got as far as the Wiggles in Lesson 2 - ;))
I plan to work my way through the rest of the lesson this week -
And then to take my time -
Working my way through one lesson each week -
Since life tends to get in the way -
And the "tax stuff" still needs to get done - ;))
After I tend to "business" -
I want to RELAX - ENJOY the process - and BREATHE - ;))
My Free-Motion Quilting skills definitely need improvement -
But we'll see how far I can go in the weeks ahead - ;))
One thing is for sure -
It can't get any worse -
Right??? - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
Funny thing -
BOB can't sew and blog at the same time - ;))
Today I had to cut the backing pieces -
And the batting pieces -
And iron/fuse them all together with the practice blocks -
And then I realized that I was not using the same batting as on my test piece yesterday -
SOOOO - I had to retest that -
And FINALLY -
Got myself all SET up -
To FMQ some Wiggles -
And I DID do some Wiggles -
But I need something to post for tomorrow's Design Wall Monday post -
And the practice blocks WERE on my Design Wall -
So I'll show you my Wiggles tomorrow -
If you promise not to laugh - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
I have the blocks - and the batting - and the backing muslin -
READY -
So after BOB stopped laughing -
I got as far as getting the batting out of the package -
And then got sidetracked with the incoming mail -
And printer problems -
UGH!! - ;((
SOOOOOOOOOOOO -
I had to hit the Pause button for today -
And then -
TOMORROW -
I plan to check my tension -
And get that SET -
Re-watch the first couple of lessons -
And then GO for it!! - ;))
EDIT UPDATE - 8:45PM -
I decided to use yellow thread on the practice blocks -
And I'm not sure if you can really see in these photos -
But I think I got the tension SET - ;))
It looks pretty much like previous attempts - ;))
So now I'm READY -
And TOMORROW - I can re-watch the lessons and GO!! - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
This morning BOB got a GREAT comment that cracked her up -
I laughed SO hard -
Gene knows me SO well - ;))
If you missed it -
Go back to yesterday's post and check it out -
It was just the kick in the pants that BOB needed - ;))
In response -
I finished up the second batch of practice blocks -
And then the third -
Which - when added to the first batch -
Gives me some pretty colors to PLAY with -
Just like a new box of crayons - ;))
Now that I have the blocks - and the batting - and the backing muslin -
READY -
Tomorrow I plan to check my tension -
And get that SET -
Re-watch the first couple of lessons -
And then GO for it!! - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
Last time I showed you some pretty colors - ;))
The other day I got those all cut up to make some practice blocks -
And then I got the first batch sewn together -
With some bits left over -
Which should make a bunch of little hourglass blocks -
Cute, huh? - ;))
The plan is -
To finish making the blocks -
Find some fusible batting -
Find some muslin for the backing -
Get them all together -
Then PLAY!! - ;))
But since BOB's previous attempts to learn how to FMQ -
Didn't work out so well -
I think she may be stalling - ;))
Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -
