FMQ Fun…..again!!

This week I am working thru the “Favorite Fillers” week in Angela Walters “Filler FMQ Challenge”.

A number of these have appeared in previous challenges so most of it was simply practice rather than trying to learn new designs.

First of all, isn’t this a luscious color of thread…..

It was so much fun to quilt with!!

The first design is the leafy meander. When I used this design previously, I kept getting stuck in corners so I first drew it out on a whiteboard to see if I could remember how to avoid that…..

Stitching the design was easy……

….and I was very happy to end up on the other side of the block (without planning it)…..

Next was the Paisley Meander…..

Again, I have done this enough before to feel okay about it.

A bit into this block, I realized that I was having some tension issues…..

Doesn’t that give you a sinking feeling in your stomach??

I checked the back and realized that I needed to loosen my top tension a bit. That quickly fixed the problem.

I have actually struggled with tension on this project but I think the problem is related to the fabric that I used on the back. Since this was a practice piece, I used a “faux” batik that had been given to me. It looked okay but I don’t think that the quality was quite up-to-scratch!!

LESSON LEARNED!!

The next design was new to me!! You start by quilting a pod…..

….and then fill the pod….with peas in this case…..

Another pod just held a line running thru it……

I used a swirl to fill around the pods…..

This was a small area for this design but I do want to try it again in a much larger area!!

Next were clamshells.

I had done clamshells with a ruler before, but had never tried them free-hand.

It was a LOT of fun to bounce from top to top!!!

But the real fun came when we started stacking them on top of one another to make a pyramid….

Then the open areas were filled with elongated swirls, with another set of clamshells on top.

I am not super happy with the swirls and really struggled to make them flat so that I could add the second set of clamshells.

Again, I think that this pattern needs more room to grow into.

Wouldn’t it be amazing in a sky or BIG background?

At this stage, my brain was “quilted out” so I took a breather. Come back tomorrow for more of Angela’s “Favorite Fillers”!!