Friday, October 28, 2011

FMQ Friday

Round 2 of the FMQ...I didn't get a chance to post my progress last week, so I've combined them into one long one, so prepare yourself...

I am really enjoying playing around with free motion quilting. I've always wanted to be good at it, but never really wanted to take the time to practice. Now I actually find myself looking forward to it. Weird, right?

Last Week's:
This week I made one small change but it made a huge difference for me. Ready for it? I slowed down my machine! I know, every one of you has already done it, but since I cannot seem to get my foot off that pedal I decided to try it. My machine has three speed settings and I found that medium was my optimal speed.

So, this week's pattern was "Slate Tile" from the Free Motion Quilting Project:


I was positive that I would be awful at this pattern. Curvy, swirly designs just seem so much easier, but honestly, I think I did better on this one than the curvy patterns I've tried before.

Here is my first attempt:
and the second...
 I did much better on the rows where I moved from the left side of the fabric to the right. For some reason when I was going the other direction I was very inconsistent about the way I made the square and retraced the same lines more than once. Weird.

Now for this week's pattern...

Bright Star
Seems pretty simple, right?

Maybe not. Really, it wasn't too bad, but I keep stopping before I get to the edge of the box and my traveling stitches leave a little to be desired.
No idea what was going on over there on the right....

On these first two, I left my feed dogs up after reading some people say that works better for them. I didn't have any problems doing it this way, but it seemed a little smoother with them down. Not sure it made too much of a difference, but on the third try I put them down...
Maybe a little better??

Now, if you want to see some professional FMQ-ers, check out Cindy's link-up at FMQ Fridays on Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

20 comments:

  1. Impressed! A darn sight better than my feeble attempts. My machine hates free motion, feed dogs up or down. Now tempted to give it a try on my portable. well done - I think your efforts are jolly good.

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  2. These are looking great! Wonder if you're better going L to R as that's the way we write so it feels more natural...looking forward to seeing your stomach lining next week ;o)

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  3. Really impressed with all your efforts, A* to you!

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  4. Looking brilliant, and labelling them too!!

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  5. i'm so impressed! the idea of FMQ terrifies me.

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  6. oh wow - I am impressed! Finding the right speed for you makes alot of difference. I especially like your last pic - you are doing great!

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  7. Your tiles look great and your just stars got better and better. Fab fmq :)

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  8. beautiful! the third star attempt looks really great. I love your tiles, and my fav thing is definitely how you FMQ words at the top! brilliant :D

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  9. You`re doing just great and look at the progress you made in 3 stars! Fabulous.

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  10. I think both patterns look great.

    I didn't mind stitching the slate tiles, but did't like stitching bright star. Bring on the curves.

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  11. I don't think I need to go anywhere else to see professional FMQ. You're doing such a great job with the patterns and definately improving! Keep it up!

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  12. Wow! I'm very impressed! Good on you!

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  13. Great work there and definite improvement - but drawing the pattern beforehand helped me immensely! Very impressive neat centre in all your stars!

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  14. Get you and your fancy writing on your attempts, swoon! Your tiles look great and so does your star! Well done you!

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  15. you are doing great - the lines on the stars are meeting nicely in the middle and you did a good job on tiles too!

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  16. Toni,
    This is my first visit to your blog & wanted to say, the layout is so pretty. Thanks for sharing your Bright Star progression. The 3rd one looks super. Also, you got me curious about Winter Stitching with Fairy Face Designs. Keep up the fmq!
    Jodi B

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  17. You really improved with each try! They look great - esp your third bright star. Your tiles look great. I think may of us are comfortable with one direction over another. Your favoring left to right is totally normal! Great, great job!

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  18. The tiles both look fantastic! Your third bright star is really, really good! I think feed dogs down for you ;) xx

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  19. looking very good indeed. Feed dogs down works well for you!

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