Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Experiments in the Quilting World


Sometimes the best things come from  no planning.  Lesson: life does not have to be over planned all the time.  When it comes to my quilting (and piecing) I always have some sort of plan in place.  I have an extremely hard time just letting things flow.  I need direction.

A few months ago after I discovered Marti at 52 Quilts and her Susie's Magic Binding (my new favorite binding) my local guild asked if I would do a demo this month to explain how the method works.  They were in love with the new binding on my quilts.  Now a few things you should know about Tish...she is NOT a public speaker.  You stick me in front of people (even if I know almost all of them) and make me speak I will shake like a leaf.  I have even passed out before (sad I know)...can't control it, it just happens.  So I wanted my presentation to go as smooth and quick as possible.  My plan was to demo the binding on my Indian Summer wall hanging from my TBT post from March. (you can read about this poor neglected quilt here)


The goal was to have the binding mostly sewed on (I showed how to make the strips separately to save time) so I could show how to turn a corner and connect the tails.  Ah, connecting the tails...this seems to be something that either:

 A) I get correct and lined up the very first time
 B) takes a million times and wine to accomplish.

Since drinking at the guild meeting and having a melt down probably wasn't the best plan, I decided maybe I should have another small quilt with tails connected in case I couldn't get it right the first time.  So on Saturday (two days before the demo) I decided to give something a try I hadn't before.  Flow quilting or Wild Quilting.

After seeing Beth at Cooking Up Quilts amazing whole cloth baby quilt (check it out) a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to give this type of quilting a go.  So I decided it was time to watch Christina Cameli's Wild Quilting class I had purchased from Craftsy.



In this class Christina talks about showboats, those bigger elements you add in your quilting and how to highlight them (embrace the echo).  I decided that I would have one large showboat that would be a big billowing feather (thank you Patsy Thompson and Ultimate Free-Motion Feathers).  Then I would organically fill the area around my feather with pebbles and sprinkle in some paisleys and what turned into this seaweed looking shape.


I started with a yard cut of plain blue green fabric.  I knew that my finished piece would not be this big, but I wanted to let the quilt tell me where it was going and give it plenty of room to grow.  So I lightly marked a spine for my feather, got my Aurifil #2021 (natural white) and let the plumes bloom.  Do plumes bloom?


After adding the echo, it was time to throw down some pebbles and see how this played out.


After two paisley combos and some surprise double pebbles (can you spot them?) I had to stop.  No really I ran out of bobbin.  But also I was feeling a bit over whelmed about where to go next.  I was totally over thinking things and worrying about the roundness of my pebbles so....


I opened a bottle of sweet sunshine and relaxed a bit.  In no time at all I had found my groove again and that's when I added the suppose to be pea pods/but turned into seaweed shapes.


I called this the halfway point slept on it and picked back up Sunday morning.  The second stitching went much faster because I understood better how I was moving around the quilt.  After a bit of trimming my first wild quilting piece was complete!  I have to say I was on cloud 9.  I did it!   I want to do more!!


This is just a small sample of things that Christina goes over in the class.  My next goal is to play around with layering and combining the technique with showboats.  It also makes me realize the importance of documenting all the quilting motifs you know how to do.  I want to quilt or record (doodles) in a notebook of all the different things I know how to quilt; ribbon candy, pebbles, paisley, etc, so that when I get stuck I have something to glance at and find inspiration.

So how did the demo go?  I think it went really well.  Sandra (mmm! quilts) was sending me positive vibes and assuring me I wouldn't let my goober side show.  I did start out shaking a bit (goober side), but after a few minuets of talking it stopped and my love for what I was doing shinned through.  I got my tails connected (pretty darn close) and was able to get Indian summer bound in front of the group.  I handed out little slips of paper directing the ladies to Aunt Marti's blog so they could view her tutorial and video after they got home.  Success.  So without further ado...Indian Summer as it should have been.



I'm glad I waited all these years, this binding is what it needed.

And how about one more picture of my flow piece?


I'm seriously considering creating a slightly bigger piece to enter into the machine quilting division of our local quilt show, but I have a few things I need to accomplish before that can happen.  I'm all revved up and ready to quilt again.  So on that note, it's time for me to go.  Let's go quilt!!



For more information on Christina Cameli's Wild Quilting and Patsy Thompson's Ultimate Free Motion Feathers click on the pictures below.



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21 comments:

Cheryl said...

Very cool whole cloth. I bought the wild quilting class too and am saving it for watching during a spring break road trip.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I think it is so awesome that you were able to get into your love for the topic while talking, Tish - and hooray for Sandra sending you good vibes. The binding on both quilts is awesome, and I really love the Flow Quilting / Wild Quilting whole cloth mini you made. :)

Jayne said...

I can't get enough of this Tish! You have so inspired me to try feathers and just FMQ in general. I thought I had a feathers class from Craftsy, but I didn't! Darn it! It will be my next purchase! Congrats on teaching the binding. Public speaking freaks me out as well! I've never passed out, but it scares the bejeebers out of me!

Lisa J. said...

Your quilting is awesome and just keeps getting more awesome. I'm glad you managed to get through the public speaking. I'm finding it easier to talk in front of my guild now after years of practise but I still manage to forget at least half of what I want to say.

Anonymous said...

This binding was the perfect finish for your Indian Summer quilt! Your quilting is just gorgeous. I might have to sign up for that class!

Sandra Walker said...

Indian Summer looks splendid. It's a rescue quilt!! ;-) I'm so glad your presentation went so well, called it didn't I? And that Wild Quilting - ADORE!! You rocked it, and you are the pebbling queen, wow woman. Oh yes, wine. FMQ pre-requisite fo' sho' :-) That is a great idea to make a booklet...I can see a fabric minis of FMQ motifs booklet, have seen a couple in QBL...shall we start another QAL of our own??!

Lorna McMahon said...

What great news all the way around! I am in love with your whole cloth piece, Tish. Just gorgeous! So glad to hear your presentation went so well. It is nerve wracking to speak in front of a crowd.... But when you are talking about your favourite thing? That makes it so much easier! Congratulations!

JanineMarie said...

Yea for you for taking on that demo. It was win, win, win--your presentation, the perfect finish for your Indian Summer quilt, and the wild quilting and binding on the sweet little whole cloth quilt. (Maybe that's four wins, yeah?) (And yea for Sandra's vibes, too!) I think flow or wild quilting is the ultimate free motion quilting. You've given me something to strive for (if it's okay to strive for something that is really letting go. You know what I mean?)

Stitchin At Home said...

Oh I love the wild quilting!!!! I just bought that class myself, haven't had time to watch it yet but I will ASAP especially after seeing your wonderful piece. Congrats on the presentation at your guild. Way to go girl!

Julie said...

Just fabulous! I'm off to look at that class now, too. Thanks for sharing your wild ride, and I was glad to hear the presentation came off smoothly. You are a beautiful quilter, Tish.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Standing Ovation! You did an amazing job. Definitely make one to enter the quilt show.

Leanne Parsons said...

How great that you were able to do the presentation well! Congratulations! The binding is perfect. I've admired many quilts done with that technique, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

Vicki in MN said...

Trish I love your 'Wild Quilting! Sending you an email :-)

Marlene said...

Love your Wild Quilting piece and the Magic binding really looks great on it. Yeah for bottles of Sweet Sunshine to get into the flow!!! Definitely make another one for the quilt show. So glad your teaching went well and the finished quilt looks great with it's binding treatment.

Bernie Kringel said...

Awesome! The quilting is gorgeous and I am so glad you got through your presentation and even got to enjoy it a bit. Go Tish!

Paige said...

Oh my goodness, beautiful quilting! I want to try that binding method, looks great!

Preeti said...

Your work is so very neat, Tish. You did such an amazing job. It is gorgeous. Presentations are easy when you know your topic. And you know it so well :-)
Hugs,
Preeti.
http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

Susan said...

Very beautiful! I need to give this technique a try. Thanks again for linking up at Midweek Makers!
Susan @ quiltfabrication

Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge said...

Oooh. I love that flow quilting. It's amazing. I'll be checking out those resources for sure! And I'm so glad that your TBT Indian Summer finally got bound! And without any liquid sunshine! ☺ Thanks for linking up with TGIFF @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge!

Lisa in Port Hope said...

Two great quilts to show off i have juat purchased that class and I'm looking forward to watching it even more now!

Muv said...

Hello Tish,

I love the way you have told the whole story about quilting the wholecloth, including the thinking breaks and stopping for the day. Not only have you shown us some beautiful quilting, but you have demonstrated how a piece of work evolves and the time it takes.
Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv

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