FMQ Friday: Templates

It's been a busy week, but I'm back on track today with a little free-motion quilting. SewCal Gal's instructor for March wanted to remove her tutorial when the month was over, so it's on to April's lesson for me. There are instructions with an interesting approach to making your own template, but I opted to practice with a design I traced from a combination of Irena Bluhm's templates. 

This brings us to the things I learned today. . .

1) Make sure the pencil line you trace is dark enough to see.

2) It's easier to sew over your traced line if you are pushing the quilt away from you rather than pulling it towards you.

3) Stitching over a traced line is hard.

4) Echoing is hard, too.

5) Stitching a little free-for-all in the empty space is a lot easier and faster.

These monthly lessons are great for getting some exposure to different FMQ methods. I'm definitely going to keep working on it.

I used Isacord 40 weight in the top and a Dual Duty XP poly thread in the bobbin. The tension was set as low as it could go on the Bernina, and I was pretty happy with that. I like to use contrasting thread colors while practicing, but using the same color would hide any of the minor tension issues I'm seeing.


If you're in need of motivation and inspiration like me, hop on over to SewCal Gal's blog and participate in the year-long challenge.

In other news, I used the fabrics from last week's sneak peak in a quilt top I finished today. 

I can't wait to reveal the finished product in a week along with everything I learned while working on it. I hope you have a weekend full of crafts!