The last quilt top I finished (finished as in the top only, not finished as in actually quilted!) was my Revisited With a Plan top. Thankfully it finally came together. In the process, I ended up with bits and pieces of stripes, blocks, circles and scraps. I'm the type who has to use up each spare part and piece right away. Maybe I think the world will stop spinning or sun won't rise, but I cannot put it aside for a later time.
Like the quilt top, this table runner was totally on the 'fly'. Once I had a basic idea it grew from there and blossomed into a full fledged finished piece!
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| 12 3/4" x 35 1/2" |
The back of this is black. Normally I would never consider white thread on black, or black thread on white. Really there isn't much choice, you have to do one or the other (or colors). It's going to show regardless. I figured what the hell and went with white thread inside the circles.
Trying to build my free motion quilting skills, I went with it. Somewhere I read on a blog not to drop your feed dogs when you FMQ. Anyone ever heard that? Or tried it? I had my practice sandwich and decided to give it a try. To my amazement it was so much more controlled! The stitches were ten times more consistent than dropping those dogs! I really was shocked! Granted this was one time, so maybe the next time won't be so successful!
I have to say, I love the white thread on black! Especially in this nest photo!
Then I went back in to my comfort zone. Black thread. Organic wavy lines, pebbles. It was still an eye opening process up to the comfort zone part!
I never tire of learning new things! Not dropping my dogs for FMQ was new and exciting. I hope it wasn't a fluke, or I dreamt I read it somewhere or I'm the last one on earth that knew about it!
What have you learned lately that made your jaw drop in amazement?!
LINKING:
I think wall hanging is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Its really so much fun to learn something new, isn't it?!
DeleteYou didn't dream the 'don't drop the feed dogs tip' - I have also read that and now always keep my feeddogs engaged.I think it works better on some machines than others though.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me feel better Heather! Sometimes I think I'm going crazy!
DeleteAwesome!! There are so many things to love about this little mini! It flows beautifully and the back is very cool with the white thread!
ReplyDeleteI never drop my feed dogs. Ever. I agree with Heather, I have heard that with some machines it doesn't work as well but my Janome prefers them up :) Leah Day recommends leaving them up. Since she was the first FMQer I encountered and it worked well. I tried both ways in practice but have never done a quilt with the feed dogs dropped.
It's amazing what you can come up with using a few scraps and left overs!
DeleteNot dropping the feed dogs is going to make all the difference in my FMQ I think.
Probably the thing I love most about quilting is that there is always something new to learn or try. Your piece (as table runner or wall hanging) is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThere never seems to be a shortage of new and improved when it comes to quilting, that's for sure!
DeleteThe design is striking! I too follow Leah Day's words of wisdom. In some machines, the timing performs better with the feed dogs up(not all) so she said , "Try it and see." You can set the stitch length to zero or neutral so that they go up and down but not forward and backward. I do that, and then I don't cover them.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever feel like you are the last to find something out…that's me and 'don't drop the feed dogs'! I'm anxious to try it again!
DeleteLooks wonderful! Glad you had such a +ve success. I still struggle with fmq, even with leaving my feed dogs upon my Janome! Need to keep practicing! Linda
ReplyDeleteI still need a lot of practice too!
DeleteI totally remember those food coloring bottles! I have never tried not dropping the feed dogs, I don't see how the fabric can move. Guess I have not tried it. What machine do you use? I have Bernina 820 and my free motion foot automatically drops the feed dogs. Stitches beautifully so long as I don't use the stitch regulator attachment. Anyway, your quilting look perfect here. Love the back too!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that the fabric still moved too! But it did and made all the difference. I have a Janome 6600 ~ I love it, even more now!
DeleteCan I just add... I have been meaning to say for quite some time that your blogger profile picture with your toes and the fabric is just the coolest thing ever! I love it - so creative and sleek.
ReplyDeleteThank you...it's fun to play with fabric, cameras and dare I say feet?!
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