Wednesday, December 2, 2015

how to fix free motion blahs

I am doing some intense quilting on a quilt with busy fabrics... first of all, what a waste of time!  Why don't I just do something simple since nothing shows up on this fabric anyway.  But it's for a friend, and she wanted something wowie on her top.  She did give me carte blanche with this (you're going to wonder about that soon!)




so here is part of the quilt.  All that work and it's just blah....  So what to do?  


What if I put in a tight tight scribble fill around  those star points instead of a looser fill.  It really popped that star after I filled it in.  of course, it took a while...


And whoops, I did a ton of "Nemeshing" around this flower.  Can't see it?  neither can I!  I could see it fine while I was quilting it and looking closely.  Oh will I never learn??  So what to do?


How about a little tsukineko paint dabbed onto the feathers with a fantastik?  I think it worked perfectly.  But you see why I needed to have carte blanche - to do whatever I wanted.  Can you believe I painted on a friend's quilt?  Me neither?  It had to be done though :)

In my defense, this was a quilt top that she had for many years and never got around to quilting it herself.  She said to "work my magic" on it.  Hope she doesn't regret that!



I have a finish too!  

This is a dupioni silk quilt top that my friend had embroidered.  It too, sat around in a closet for years.  I am going to surprise her with this finished quilt at our Christmas party.  (It may not be a surprise if she sees this...)  


FYI, I quilted in the red with a pink metallic thread.  It quilted beautifully one day, but the next day it tangled and broke and snarled, arggg!  I changed needles, even tried a different sewing machine, fiddled around forever to no avail.  Then I looked out the window and realized that the weather had changed dramatically.  A front came in and I had the heater on, when the day before we actually had the AC on.  So I got out my Sewer's Aid silicone lubricant and smeared it on the thread spool.  Wow, I finished the quilting without anymore trouble.  I bet I will remember that trick next time, I hope you will too!  Later, Karen

 "Keep your sense of humor, my friend; if you don't have a sense of humor it just isn't funny anymore." - Wavy Gravy




8 comments:

  1. I think you friend is going to be thrilled with how you highlighted the quilting with tsukineko ink. It brought that section of the quilt alive.

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  2. Hello Karen,

    What a bold approach to the quilting! I am sure your friend will be delighted. The star looks fantastic, and colouring around the flowers was a stroke of genius.

    Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks - you are this week's featured quilter!

    Love, Muv

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    1. wow, thanks for that. Thrilled to be featured. Love the Mavericks!

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  3. Here from MUV's post. Wow you are a master at FMQ. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

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  4. I too came because of FM mavericks. WOW what a great idea to use those inks. this is something I will remember if I ever need to do it, Thank you

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  5. I am giving it to her tomorrow.. Hope you are right and that she will like it too. I can't believe I painted on someone else's quilt! Some nerve, huh?

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  6. Both of these quilts are awe inspiring Karen! I'm thrilled just looking at them and your friends will be over the moon! Carte blanche was a very wise request from our friend because it was magic you sewed!

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