Thursday, July 30, 2020

Practice


Kathy has been doing a lot of sewing lately, making beautiful small cloth purses for Liz and Amy and some friends.  They are really small, beautiful works of art.  Now she wants to add some quilting to some new projects.  There is the regular pattern of quilting that we are all familiar with, then there is this style which is called "free motion quilting."  So Kathy is practicing on some scrap material and learning how to do these patterns, pretty much without stopping.  There are two styles here that she is trying.  I can't wait to see how much better she gets at this.



5 comments:

  1. I like the large swirled patterns to the right. She's so smart to practice on a bright color so she can see the patterns so easily. Can't wait to see the finished results...betsey

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  2. Look forward to more photos as Kathy creates new items.
    Joan

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  3. Just to clarify, the free motion quilting that I am doing is a way of quilting in patterns with your own home sewing machine. It is done with a special foot that allows the fabric to move around with the touch of your hands, so you can go up, down, around etc. The little teeth that hold the material from underneath are descended, and the special presser foot on the top of the fabric in combination allow a gentle hold, so you can move the fabric around. This allows interesting designs. There are hundreds of designs you can learn to do, and these are just two. It's like drawing. It takes hours of practice to make them look really good. The free motion is different from regular quilting in straight lines which would be done with a different presser foot. And also different from sending your quilt out to a commercial quilter that does it on a giant machine. I'm a DIY (do it yourself-er), so had to try this.

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  4. Thanks Kathy for explaining the technique and pressure foots. I remember a friend buying a special expensive machine for quilting patterns and embroidery 20 plus years ago. I love that you do it yourself.
    Joan

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  5. Thank you, Kathy, for the explanation for free motion quilting. This is so interesting. betsey

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