Free Motion Quilt Challenge - February

I'm skidding in under the wire on this one.  Nothing like procrastinating until the last hours of the final day of the month, but I was determined not to miss the linkup at SewCalGal (like I did last month).

I did practice drawing the free-motion feathers earlier, both last Tuesday and this Tuesday afternoon.  That is a day I typically spend a lot of time on the phone (on hold) with insurance companies.  Doodling ensues.

Except I had only skimmed the instructional post so I basically practiced them all wrong last week (no wonder it wasn't really working).  Before going to work this Tuesday, I actually read the post word for word, and man, what a difference that made!  Go figure, huh?

So this evening, I slapped a quilt sandwich together, but unfortunately chose a couple of fabrics that don't really help to show the quilting.  I think you can still get the gist from the pictures though.  I armed myself with a cup of decaf, a "Beethoven for Relaxation" CD, my "bi-fogeys," and quilting (aka football receiver) gloves.  I used the Sulky thread that was already on my machine, with a cotton thread in the bobbin. 

What I had trouble with most was the echo quilting.  Not sure why.  It helped to remember to look at the area I was heading to and not directly at what was under the needle.  It reminded me of the day I got behind the wheel of a car for the first time and Mom directed me to get on the highway, where she noticed I was looking at the road right in front of the car.  "You have to look down the road at where you're going."  Really?  Oh, okay, I get it.

Sure, my stitch length is all over the map and my lines are wobbly, but really, for a first crack ever at feathers, I didn't think it went all that bad.  I was expecting more of a train wreck, really.  

I'm a little disappointed that didn't happen (kidding).  It must be Beethoven's fault.