Monday, April 25, 2011

FMQ Day 4/Mary Ann ND

25 Apr 11
Baby Lock Quest Plus
Open Toe Quilting Foot
Warm & Natural batt
Floriani color PF 073
Sulky bobbin thread in white
Flat throat plate, stitch A 04, tension 2.0
Pattern:  2" borders #@1622 1995 Stensource, Int'l. Inc.
http://stensource.com/closed.htm  (Resuming operations on May 2, 2011)




My goodness!  So wonky!
Going back toward the left is difficult for this right-handed gal.


I free-motioned the word Merry, but the second 'r' is not what I'd like it to be...



The e's and l's are nice, easy loops to create without stencils...


I'm going to need to practice a LOT more...
some days are better than others
or maybe some stencils are harder to reproduce then others?
Feathers feel more comfortable than figure eights right now.
Would you say that figure eights are challenging?
The clear, open-toe foot that came with my Baby Lock Quest Plus 
made it easier to see, but I still had trouble moving up to the left around the figure eight.

Practice, Practice, Practice!
I used to practice piano four hours a day for many years and play pretty well.
I wonder how much fabric, batting and thread it's going to take to become proficient? 
I hate to think of the cost....
time for a stop at the local thrift store, I believe!

My husband also donated a bunch of shirts to me.

What do you use for practice materials?

I'd be pretty dog-gone nervous to quilt on a quilt at this point and feel I should put it off still until I get better.
I have two little fleece quilts - one for the dog and one a baby quilt - maybe by the end of these fourteen days I'll be brave enough and/or proficient enough to give it a good ol' college try?!?





3 comments:

What Comes Next? said...

It does take a lot of practice, but I really think it is worthwhile. I tend to like to practice right on a quilt as I then get used to the feel of moving it around and how I need to manouever it. Two-three years ago when I decided I was going to teach myself how to do FMQ, I made a lot of donation quilts - usually about 36"square, simply pieced, just to practice on. A friend also makes a lot of dog quilts and donates them to her local animal shelter - they are always in need and no one is critical of what the quilting looks like!

Mary Ann said...

This is a great idea! Thank you very much for reminding me. Our Humane Society is in need of cat and dog blankets and I could donate them to be used.

Joan said...

It is certainly practice practise practise. I have lots of samples here, whihc I refer to often ...I bind some of them and ust them to put hot things on, or some can fit into a plastic sleeve and go into a folder so you can memorise them...I often forget some of the things I have done...and I also have a box fill of samples.