Jingle BOM Applique Block 5 Complete

Jingle BOM Applique Block 5

I just finished Applique Block 5 for the Jingle Block of the Month (BOM) project designed by Erin Russek of One Piece At a Time.  Please do not scrutinize my handiwork at close range, because it is already annoying me that I used the exact same templates for these two birdies, just mirror-imaged them, yet they look like two totally different birds.  I have no idea what happened -- call it an Applique Mutation if you will.  As of right now, I have completed six applique blocks and four pieced blocks for this quilt.  I have Pieced Blocks 5, 6, and 7, Applique Block 7, and the large center medallion applique remaining in addition to the final pieced and appliqued blocks that haven't yet been released.  It does not look like I'm going to be finished with this before Christmas, but whatever -- it's a learning process, not a race, right?



Pieced Blocks 1-4 and Applique Blocks 1-6

Anyway, I don't know if I like how all of this is coming together.  That one yellow fabric is SO BRIGHT, and when I look at my design wall right now, I just see a lot of ketchup and mustard.  I know these blocks are supposed to be set with red and green prints (see below), which will reduce the impact of the yellows, but still...  Since it won't be done by Christmas no matter what, I may end up redoing a couple of those blocks if I don't like how they look with the setting triangles. 


Erin's Jingle BOM Design with Setting Triangles

With the next three pieced blocks, I'm not sure whether I should incorporate MORE of the bright yellow (so it's not just that one block) or LESS bright yellow.  But I do know that I'm going to piece the blocks on the 1935 Singer Featherweight machine that I've yet to sew with.  I'm looking forward to putting her back to work again!

Meanwhile, it's time to pick up the kids already -- gotta run!

Have a great weekend, everyone!



Leah Day's May 2012 FMQ Challenge Tutorial: Foundational Quilting Designs

SewCalGal is offering a second chance to those of us who did not complete all twelve challenge exercises during her 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge, and I have until October 31st to complete my remaining challenges. 



My Completed Foundational Stippling Piece, From the Back

Today I completed Leah Day's Foundational Quilting challenge exercise, which was posted on SewCalGal's blog here back in May of 2012.  Leah Day has a treasure trove of free tutorials, designs, and advice for free-motion quilting on a domestic sewing machine that you can find on her web site, Day Style Designs.  Leah's site is an especially good resource for absolute beginners who are terrified of free-motion quilting, and I love that she has so many great ideas for setting up a workspace and getting great results using basic machines and furniture that you probably already own or can obtain inexpensively.  She's so encouraging and empowering that I DARE you to watch one of her videos and then tell me you can't do it afterwards!  Leah might look like she's all of 15 years old, but she has published several books and instructional DVDs and she has taught and encouraged literally thousands of quilters all over the world. 

The concept behind Leah's Foundational Designs exercise is to quilt a meandering path through the entire area you are quilting and then go back and "wiggle" back and forth across that line with either rounded or deliberately jagged stipple quilting.  I had a fat quarter of red Eiffel Tower print fabric lying around the studio that I had previously machine appliquéd with the letters of our last name for a carpool tag -- something to stick in the dashboard area when we're picking up the kids so they know which student to send out to which vehicle.  I already made a solid black fabric version of my "Too Cool for School" carpool tag into a quilted pillow that you can see here, and I'll probably give that one to Bernie for his car and keep this red Eiffel Tower version for the Mommy Ride. 



Invisible Quilting -- See Why I Showed the Back First?

I didn't want the quilting to be too visible on this piece because I thought it would just be fighting the busy print (which I love), so I chose a red shade of 50/3 Gutermann cotton thread and made my initial meandering quilting path so that it went around the Eiffel Towers, never through them.  I like the way this made the towers puff up a little without emphasizing them the way that outline quilting would have done...  but I didn't intend for my quilting to be THIS invisible!  You can't even see the quilting when your nose is 2" from the fabric! 

 

Lesson Learned: Matching Quilting Thread to Background Fabric = INVISIBLE Quilting!

If I had this to do over, I think I would have chosen a heavier weight quilting thread in black for this piece.  Whatever -- it's a carpool tag, not a masterpiece, and it was good stippling practice. 

As of right now, I have ten challenge exercises completed and just two left to get done in the next three weeks.  Are you rooting for me?