Monday, October 25, 2010

FMQA - Spirals

I have been a bit behind on the free motion quilt along (FMQA), but I played catch up today.  

While I was on vacation, I did practice doodling spirals and other things in my notebook.

Turns out inspiration was right outside my hotel room door.  Check out the carpeting in the hallway!

Unfortunately, I didn't notice this until we were checking out of the room.  Or maybe I did, subliminally?  I had doodled this night before.

Kay Lynne of Kay'z Quiltz had posted a fun tutorial for making free-motion posies.  I finally had a chance to try it today.  I was doing five petals at first, but then I realized it worked better with six.  Fun!

I call this one, "What the H?"

My bobbin ran out halfway through making a flower.  After I wound and replaced it, I took a stitch or two and heard a bad metallic clunk, and then my machine wouldn't sew anymore.  The bobbin had fallen out of the case!  

"What the H?" is about what I said at that moment.  (There may also have been another letter in there as well, as in Frustrated.)  I had to reposition the bobbin three times and re-thread the top thread again too.  Then it was making a clacking noise, which is never good, so I dripped some oil in the holes and carried on.  It finally straightened itself out, for the most part.

You can see where things went downhill in my quilting during this time, starting from one of the daisies on the left and proceeding into a bunch of half-baked spirals to the right.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Finally, I made another row of spirals, just so I could finish on a good note.

Musically, I enjoyed Schubert and Mozart this afternoon. These young pianists do a fabulous rendition of Sonata in D for Two Pianos, which is one of my favorite Mozart pieces of all time.  Enjoy!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cool! If I finish anything, I'm going to have you quilt it for me. I'd pay you, of course. :-D

Elizabeth said...

P., you are an FMQ rock star! I love what you've done and every time I read your progress updates, I think that I really need to get in gear.

Thanks for the lovely Mozart. I love piano music.

xo -El

Shay said...

I'm sitting here really wanting to kick your skinny arse. I know I should be glad that you're acheiving but all I can think about is that I'm not. I'm FM challenged to the max.

Actually I dont really want to kick your heinie. I'm super glad you're a FM rockstar. And your FM when you do it on a quilt is going to look fantastic because your practice quilt already does.

Maybe if I doodled it would help?

John'aLee said...

I doodle in my sketchbook just like you. I started doing it after I took a class from Renee Haddadin.(sp?) I never thought about sharing it until I saw yours!
Thanks for the inspiration!

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

I applaud your diligence in doodling! I hate it and avoid it and then complain when my quilting doesn't work:( In spite of the bobbin trouble, your quilting looks good! I like your "What the H" design, too:)

Ah, Mozart! As a piano major in college, I did a Mozart sonata as part my senior recital and still love it! The two youngsters didn't even break a sweat. Thanks for the treat!

Miri said...

This quilting is looking terrific! I love the flowers and the curly leaves-beautiful!

Michelle said...

Wow P., you're really coming along with the FMQ. I'm amazed at all the different designs you've tried. The posies are so cool. I want to try those!

I've had trouble with the bobbin falling out with my Juki too. The thing is particular. Did you realize that when you stick the bobbin in the case, the bobbin is supposed to release thread in a clock-wise direction (the bobbin spins clock-wise). I didn't until my mom pointed it out. I've been wondering if that was part of my problem.