Let’s try more geometrics

Let’s start with an apology….for those of you who follow this blog, you probably got 2 or 3 notifications this morning!! There was a glitch in the post. I tried twice to correct it and then decided that I had to start from scratch!! In re-doing the post, I found a photo that had an error!! So….sorry for all of the emails!!

Yesterday I shared two of my favorite designs in this week’s FMQ challenge from Angela Walters. Today, I have two that I DIDN’T like and two that I DID!!

Let’s start with the NO designs….

The first one was a triangle design where some are filled in…..

My problem was that I could NOT figure out where to go next so that I didn’t get myself stuck. Plus, I was not that excited about the design even when I was looking at the one that Angela had quilted herself!

The second design started with a closed-in shape that will filled in with various filler designs….

This might be fun if I was filling a huge area but it didn’t appeal to me.

IF I did try it, I would probably pre-mark my sections so that I knew where I was headed next.

But there were two that I did like…..

Interestingly, the first one was triangles (again) but these seemed easier to place….

….although I see now that there is one parallelogram hiding with the triangles.

I chose to use a ruler for these lines and I really do like the look. It takes quite a bit of time to work so I would only use it in smaller areas.

The last design is my favorite from this set. It is worked in the same manner as the “Back and Forth” design that looks like this…..

The difference is that the lines are further apart and the turns are angled rather than curved.

This was another design that Angela didn’t demonstrate, so I had to decide for myself how I was going to quilt it. Since it is similar to the above pattern, I worked it in the same manner, starting with a column of “columns”……

…..and then filling in the other side working my way back down the column…..

I really do like this design and think that it would be great in areas where I wanted straight lines, but maybe not COMPLETELY straight lines!!!

I also used a ruler for these lines which made it easier to keep the lines straight and meeting with the previous column.

So that is it for the geometric designs challenge.

Now I am a full two weeks behind but I am not going to try to catch up. Instead, I am going to take my time and try to learn as much as I can!!

Help….I need a good name

Doesn’t it feel good to finish a project that has been years in the process??

YES, I finished this quilt last week…..

For those who may not remember, it was inspired by this photo….

I used “Electric Quilt” to design two blocks…..

I then played with them to come up with this design…..

When I received a bunch of gorgeous blue and green hand-dyed fabrics, I knew that it was time to start piecing!! The top has been ready for 18 months but it took this long to figure out how to quilt it!!

After readers gave tons of ideas, I decided on straight lines following the basic design of the triangles. That is a LOT of straight lines!! Let’s just say that I am now perfectly comfortable using a straight ruler for quilting!!

BUT WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY????

I enjoy looking at each quilt and thinking about how I could make it better the next time, and for this quilt, there are TOO many lines of quilting. I like my general idea of having the large triangles run into each other…..

BUT, I should have had the spacing of the in-between lines be further apart!!

Live and learn!!

Having said that, I do like the look of the quilting, especially from this angle…..

I have written the pattern for this quilt but need a name before I can publish it.

PLEASE HELP……WHAT WOULD YOU NAME IT???

FMQ with a longer ruler

I like to quilt using a smaller ruler most of the time, but I have learned that there are times that a longer ruler works better.

However, there are a few tricks to using this longer ruler!!

Let me back up……

I have finally decided how to quilt the “woodpile” quilt top that I presented last week. You guys had fantastic ideas and I decided that I would turn the three small triangles into one BIG triangle…..

I still have NO idea what I am going to do after I finish all of these triangles, but that is another story.

BUT, as I was happily quilting away, I found myself feeling hungry and wishing for a hamburger. Then I realized that I was quilting the “Whataburger” Hamburger chain logo…..

Yes, everytime we visit Texas, there is at least ONE Whataburger photo!!

Okay…back on track now.

I did a short video to give a few tips for using these longer rulers……

Do you have long rulers that you have found helpful? Please let me know which ones they were!!

I’ve Got Mail!!

Today I had a package in the mailbox and was excited to see that it was from Angela Walters which meant that I HAD NEW RULERS!!!!

She has just released three rulers for high-shank machines and I think that they are going to be SO much fun.

Here is what I did in just a few minutes…..

The first one is “Dot” and she looks like this…..

….and she can EASILY do this……

OH MY!!!!

Secondly, I played with “Smiley”……

This is one of the nicest arc rulers that I have seen. I just played for a few minutes and came up with several designs, but especially liked these nested petal shapes…..

Finally, came Petunia…..

She is a petite ruler that fits in the palm of my hand, but look what I did…..

Isn’t that fun!!!

So, you guys keep reading but I am heading upstairs to quilt!!!

Blocks 7 and 8…..

Blocks 7 and 8 are “in the bag” so to speak!! Only four more to go in our TWELVE WAYS TO QUILT A SAWTOOTH STAR challenge!!

The first one had lots and lots of straight lines…..

…including a Square Spiral design in the center.

Block 8 was all about the curve….working with a Fleur-de-lis type of design…..

Have a look at the video and then give these fun designs a try….either by quilting or by drawing it out!!!

I have already started thinking about Blocks 9 and 10!!

One of them is going to be a mixture of straight and curvy lines and may end up being a challenge to quilt…..stay tuned!!

If you need more information about this challenge, please check out my website….

Are you in a rut with your machine quilting? Sure, you know HOW to do FMQ and you have 4 or 5 patterns that you do well. BUT, you are bored with those designs and need a push to try some new things. If so, please join “MOVE-IT…. a Free-Motion Quilting Boot Camp”!! I will take you on a FREE 10-week journey to learn new designs and become more comfortable with just MOVING IT!! You can sign up by clicking HERE