Sewing Stories ~ Machine Quilting

Some of you may remember the quilt I was making in this post. Well earlier this year I finally got a border on it and have just started free motion quilting on it. My first thought was "Yay, I can't wait to do this!". Then I practised a bit on some sample quilt sandwiches and I was less enthusiastic. Once I had adjusted my new darning foot as shown in this brill video, it worked like a dream.

I had originally wanted to do a stippling design on the white material in a green-purple colour changing thread but as the success of my practises were hit and miss, I decided to go for white thread on the white and black thread on the black. I have taken so much time on the design of the quilt that I didn't want anything to detract from it.

So after a lot of humming and haa-ing about what design to do where, I just did it today!! Boy, those little samples don't prepare you for quilting on a full sized double quilt! I'm finding it difficult to move the area I'm working on around, unless it's nearer the edge of the quilt. Once it gets going it's good although it also doesn't help that my machine doesn't stop in the needle down position.

Never-the-less, so far I've done black on black - you can't see the stitches ie the mistakes! And on the panels of colour up the side of the quilt, the black looks okay in a simple wavy line with a few loops in. I'll carry on in small bursts and post some pictures soon!

Thanks for reading,
Gillian x