Days 6, 7, & 8

I’ve been having so much fun! I find myself rushing home everyday to get to spend more time with my sewing machine. Day 7 I could only spare an hour, but I managed to quilt 5 wreaths and 2 feathers! Wow, I am getting so much faster. I am also doing much better on my backtracking. Quilting the feathers feels more natural too! I can’t believe the progress I’ve made after just 1 week!

Here’s my picture from last night. I left the paper on because I was rushed for time and I just wanted to quilt.

I can’t believe the rate I’m going through bobbins. I think because of all the backtracking I am doing and also because I have the stitch length set so low. I like it that low so I can tear the paper easily.

Last night (Day 8) I got home and was so exhausted. I still managed to quilt 3 feather sprays, but that was a struggle!

This is how my quilt clips have lasted! I get tired of rolling it up or rolling it out and just leave them off. What a lazy girl!

Jen Day 3

Yesterday I quilted 3 more feather sprays and 1 more wreath. I don't know why, but feather sprays are much easier to quilt than feather wreaths. Maybe because I have spent a little bit of time doodling feather sprays on paper.

I dreamt I was FMQ last night. I was graceful and flow-y and quilted like a ballerina. Not like the hunch-backed ogre I feel like when I FMQ. I've been working on trying to relax my shoulders. I find that wine helps.

Jen Day 2

I was so excited about quilting yesterday that I left work an hour early to get more time in! I took pictures of my quilt all prepped for quilting:

There's my kitchen chip-clips holding my rolled quilt together. And there's my paper pinned to the top of my quilt. I pin in small, manageable sections so the paper doesn't get all wrinkled from me wrestling it through the machine.

I quilted a wreath and two feathers. Then I unrolled the quilt and counted how many wreaths I need to do. 64 full wreaths. One billion feather sprays. Oh my. Now I hate my quilt again.

I have quite the Love/Hate Relationship with this quilt.

Jennifer's Project

Hello everyone! I’m Jennifer from The Quilty Home. I joined the FMQ Challenge because I want to learn how to quilt beautiful feathers and flowers and swirls. My experience is quite limited, although my courage is limitless! For this challenge I will be practicing on my Rehab Quilt. Go here to read the story of this quilt.

I will be piecing on my Bernina Activa 220, using a FM foot and my walking foot. I will be choosing designs from the book 501 Quilting Motifs. I will be doing several designs. I am determined to get my practice in!
This week I have been working on piecing the back. I am using an old red sheet with some of the leftover black fabric thrown in. I am debating whether I should unpick a row and piece it in the back. I think that would look nice and make it just a little bit smaller for quilting. This guy is a monster! I bought some Warm and White batting (on sale at JoAnns) and will baste it this weekend.

I haven’t even thought about thread. Oh my.

I am so excited about this challenge! Reading everyone’s posts has made me even more excited. I can’t wait to quilt up this monster UFO. It might take 15 minutes a day for a 6 months; it’s so big!