Free Motion Quilting

I realize it has been almost a week since I last posted, however, I was working on my free motion quilting "skills". Remember, in my last post I stated that I was having problems with the tension? Well, this has been fixed and I am happy to say the Mary Jane at Play Quilt is complete. I used a pattern of bows with hearts and moved from one design to the next with a swirl of sorts pattern. I must say, now that the kinks are worked out, using the hoop method that Ms. Harriet talks about in her Heirloom to Quilting book, and lots of practice - I do enjoy this process. Here are a few tips you may want to take in mind as you are learning (mine is still a continued work in process):

1. If you have a busy pattern, such as I did with this particular quilt, the design may not be as noticeable as with plain or muted fabrics.
2. When stretching your quilt make sure it is tight with no puckers on either side. As moving your quilt around in the free motion style the quilt can slip. Constantly check the backside for no puckers.
3. You must be relaxed while doing this process. If your shoulders are tense, then it will show in the stitches on the quilt. Just breathe and allow the creative process to flow through you.
4. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT expect perfection the first time or second or third...when you do free motion quilting. It is a work in process - just allow yourself to learn with each piece you complete.
5. Keep your foot pedal at a constant speed. This will also make a difference in your stitches.
6. Yes, it is OK to use pre draw designs on your quilt. This actually helps with the learning process and how to move the quilt around.
7. Remember, everyone learns at a different pace. And what works for me may not work for you. Take everything you read to the process mode and adapt your own method. There is no right or wrong way to allow your creative juices to flow.

Here are pictures of the Mary Jane quilt and as for me, I am very proud of this one - I did not allow Free Motion Quilting to beat me down. Practice, more practice, and more practice will always get you to the finish.

These two pics show the design draw on the quilt top using a Mark-B-Gone marker that washes out when washing the quilt after completion.

This is the back side of the quilt showing the design much better than on the front side. However, it is a learning process and next time I will not put this much design work on a heavily printed fabric. I will save it for the plain fabric and straight line quilt of some sort the blocks.

The completed project: