Practice Practice Practice

I have been enjoying reading all the entries in the Quilt Along over at http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

and suddenly started feeling just the tiniest bit guilty...because I was only READING.  As part of my effort to get organized, I emptied one of my boxes (to store Miss S's sewing gear) and came upon my heap of abandoned projects.  I realized that if I was ever going to get any better (at quilting or being organized and productive!) now was the time.  So I slapped a border on this free-form piece and decided to PRACTICE.

So here we are.  The practice from this week was stippling and I am apparently incapable of doing anything on a large scale (which isn't all that surprising considering boxpleat's roots as a doll "concern.")  This is still a pretty small piece and the stippling is a good bit smaller than the recommended 1/2 inch (closer to 1/4 inch) scale but it is continuous and gave me a good opportunity to consider both Leah Day's preferred method of lines (which I didn't really use but thought about a great deal as I charted my way over the space) and my technique and speed.  I found that I tend to quilt in a fan shape with my lines actually more like arcs until I get within range on the corners of the project.

I am pleased to note that I never boxed myself into a corner and that it is indeed continuous but it did remind me of how much I need to work on my ergonomics.  I also realized that I need to work on my speed since I like the feel of it better at a higher rate but get chicken...and then get less fluid.  This piece also had some very high seam intersections that gave me a bit of trouble.  I wouldn't have those problems on a regular quilt top, but it was also something to think about as it pulled me up short several times.  (The problem areas were readily solved by adjusting my presser foot pressure.)

This piece was constructed in the "string" method, with strips added to a backing.  Unlike a traditional string piece I then cut up and remastered my strips until I had enough breaks in the line.  I would rotary cut across a section and recombine it at a different angle. 

This is part of the reason why I ended up with big seam joins in a few areas, but it does lend itself to a nice random modern look with hard edges.  The palette is also pretty "manly" so I told N it was for his office.  You see, the secret to successful practice is to make it something you don't have to stare down every day. hahah.  I am not sure that stippling is the BEST quilt line for such an angular looking piece but it was just about the right amount of practice for one day.


On a final note, I would like to observe two things: I meant to quilt it in a variegated gold and off white thread....which I completely forgot to load on the machine AND well, both N and I like the back best. hah. k. (Sorry for the almost year long gap in any word from me, but dang it is hard to blog.  I also didn't figure out my new camera...it was speaking Korean! soon enough to get the incorrect date stamp off my pics.  sigh!)