How to Free Motion Quilt Common Traditional Blocks
"How do I know how to quilt it?" "I'm so unsure of what to quilt where." "If I make a quilting plan, will I over quilt it?" These common questions plague many of you who are curious about free motion quilting. Join me for the next several weeks for inspiration and encouragement.
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You're invited! All summer, we here at String & Story have been stash busting. The delightful "side effect" is tops that need to be quilted. I'm passionate about doing and teaching free motion quilting, so I hope you'll join me over the next 6 weeks or so as I quilt my Moda Bakeshop Choose Your Own Adventure QAL top and in the process share with you some tips and tricks for making a quilting plan and quilting on your home machine.
Finally, if you are totally new to free motion quilting or if you aren't sure how to grow and develop your skills, I'd love to share my Top Three Tips for Successful Free Motion Quilting! Click here, and I’ll pop it straight over to your inbox!
Video
Getting Started With Free Motion Quilting
Wondering if you can quilt along if you are brand spanking new to free motion quilting? YES! Since we will start quilting next week (August 16th), I'd like to encourage you to spend the meanwhile finishing up your Choose Your Own Adventure QAL top (like me-- 1.25 pieced borders to go!) and working through my online mini course, Intro to Free Motion Quilting.
Sometimes I think Free Motion Quilting is put up on a pedestal as something only "Professionals" can do. Frankly, that's just the fear talking. I believe any quilter can learn how to free motion quilt with confidence! All it takes is patience and some practice.
Why Quilt Along with Me?
The best way to learn something new is with a strong cheering section in your life. Knowing that there are others encouraging you and excited to see your progress might be just the "oomph" you need to get started and stick with it. Be sure to join the Quilting Rockstars Facebook Group, too, for a place to share pictures and ask questions as we go along. Your Choose Your Own Adventure QAL top is GORGEOUS-- too gorgeous to vanish into a WIP or "to be quilted" pile. Now just imagine the pride and satisfaction you'll feel when you quilt it yourself. Not only will you have a finished quilt by the beginning of October, but it'll be 100% made by YOU. WOW!
What If I Didn't Piece the Choose Your Own Adventure QAL?
No worries, you'll still find this series super helpful! The cool thing about the Choose Your Own Adventure QAL is that it's made up of traditional blocks. That means the quilting plans we talk about in this series will translate well to other quilts. Plus, all quilt blocks are made of the same basic units: squares, rectangles, triangles, negative space, etc., so this journey will be inspirational for any quilt top in your "to be quilted" pile. Baste one and join us!
Schedule
Each week, I will blog on Tuesday. I'll include three different suggested quilting plans in three different levels. The Intro level will use the four motifs from my Intro to FMQ workshop plus walking foot lines. The Moderate level will use the 10 motifs from my Beginner FMQ workshop plus walking foot lines. Finally, in the Rockstar level, all bets are off-- I'll be pulling all kinds of tricks out of my hat, so this level is for a confident, more experienced free motion quilter.
(titles will be made bold and hyperlinked as we go along)
Week 1: How to Quilt Dresden Plates and Medallion Stars
Week 2: How to Quilt Skinny Borders & Sashings
Week 3: Four & Nine Patches, Bonus: Tulips
Week 4: Granny Squares, Pinwheels, Sawtooth Star
Week 5: Flying geese, Arrows, Bowties
Resources
If you're new to Free Motion Quilting or even just new around here at String & Story, here's some blog posts, etc., that you may find useful for this quilty adventure:
Quilting Rockstars Facebook Group (be sure to answer the questions asked on the "request to join" page-- that's how I make sure you're a human!)
PS Don't forget to pin this post so you can find it later!
#quiltyourownadventure
