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Thursday, August 23, 2007

More Practise



Today I tried some border type FM quilting. I really enjoyed doing the leaves and I am quite happy with the way they turned out. The great thing about leaves is that they are never all the same size so if they are a bit wonky, they just look more natural. The spirals were getting better as I worked on them. It's hard to get them even but to me they look better if they are more even. Then I did a fern which maybe is a bit too dense with stitching but would be nice in certain areas of a quilt. I also tried one more feather but by the time I started it I was getting a bit tired and I can see that this job goes better when you are not tired. Finally, I couched some yarn around the edges just to see how the couching foot of my machine works. I learned a couple of things. First, don't forget to change the thread to match the couching yarn. Second, sew around the edge first to prevent stretching. I put a second row of couching inside the first one because some of the backing was not caught under the first row. I am going to throw it in the wash to see what happens to the couching when it's washed. Maybe it will sit a bit flatter.
On this one I sewed around the pattern on the fabric. It was good practise but pretty boring. I don't think I'd have the patience to do this on any larger piece of fabric, let alone a whole quilt.

12 comments:

meggie said...

Wow Joyce, that looks so good. I will have to give that a try. I keep procrastinating, & wondering why. It is almost as if I am marking time for some reason, but I cant think of any real reason!

Toni said...

Joyce that FM seems easy for you looks really good...enjoy your practice..Toni

Libby said...

Looks great - the practice is really paying off *s*

Colleen said...

I'm impressed, Joyce. Keep it up! You're on your way to a confident FM quilter.

Unknown said...

The FM practice looks good. You are inspiring me to give it a try.

Fiona said...

Looking very nice indeed - the leaves are my favourite

Lily Mulholland said...

Well done Joyce! I like your fern a lot too. The couching is interesting...haven't been game to try!

Judy said...

I love how your fm quilting is coming along! That couching is nice too.

KC Quilter said...

Joyce, your FM quilting is really coming along nicely!!! I need to do so-o-o much more practice. Mine does not look as good as yours, that's for sure.

Lynda said...

Great quilting! Very pleased to see you think (like me) that leaves look more realistic if they're slightly different in shape. it's not as if we couldn't get them identical if we wanted to .......... :)

Jenni said...

You're doing really well with your quilting Joyce. Love the feathers.

Kate North said...

I like the leaves in particular, Joyce - I may have to try those.