Saturday 15 November 2014

Bright Sky

What a journey I have been on with this quilt! I feel like it has consumed me over this past month, as it has been a path of intense learning, some frustration and a lot of joy! I am so thrilled to be able to share with you the progress I have made with my Free Motion Quilting especially.

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As soon as Alyce announced that she was going to run a QAL of her Bright Sky pattern I knew I wanted to join in. I love this pattern, and I thought it would be a perfect quilt for me to really get going with my FMQ. At the same time Jess (another of my favourite Aussie bloggers) was making video tutorials showing different FMQ designs - the timing was perfect!

I started with flowers in the central square - these were very wobbly and quite sketchy, but after agonizing for a while I decided to just keep going. There were long meanders in the points of the central star, followed by curves and then branches of leaves. For the outer star I tried pebbles, spirals, more branches and a spider web design!


I definitely made lots of mistakes, but I also improved so much as I progressed from section to section, and I have to say it was a lot of fun! I used very thin batting/wadding which made my life a lot easier too.

I love the overall texture of the quilt.
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As for the colour scheme, I had a specific friend in mind who loves green so I was immediately out of my comfort zone! I started with the central square fabric and worked outwards from there. I decided to go for a yellow binding because it brightens the whole quilt up and makes it feel a little more 'happy'!

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Also linking up with New to Me in 2014
This is my 2nd finish for the 2014 Finish Along Quarter 4. 

25 comments:

  1. Awesome quilting! I especially like the leaf stalks.

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  2. Great job with the quilting, Deborah! Woo hoo! The journey with this one was clearly worth it -- it's beautiful! Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!

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  3. What an amazing job you have done on the fmq - so many different patterns too - very adventurous!

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  4. Wow, I admire your persistence Deborah. I keep telling myself I should 'try' and FMQ a quilt, but so far keep shying away from the task :-)

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  5. Yes well done, your quilt looks great with all that texture! I really struggle with FMQ, but would so like to be able to really finish a quilt myself with such an added creative touch as you have! Linda

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  6. You did an awesome job of quilting this quilt Deb! You have obviously learned lots in the process and you can use all you've gained in the next ones.....

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  7. I am so proud of you for stepping out and trying all the different FMQ designs!! It was fun to "race" you via Instagram to see who would finish first, and you were inspiring me to keep persevering, thank you!

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  8. Fantastic work! I love the branches/leaves! Great job!

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  9. Brilliant quilting Deborah, the leaves are amazing!

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  10. What a great quilt!! I love the big scale star and your quilting is brilliant!! You're really onto something with those quilted leaves!

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  11. I've enjoyed watching you make this quilt every step of the way. You really took the FMQ on and just look at the awesome quilt you've made! There's no stopping you now :)

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  12. Wow! What a fabulous result :-) The design and the quilting are both amazing!

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  13. The quilt turned out beautifully, and congratulations for stepping out of your comfort zone so much with this quilt!

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  14. I agree, the leaves are beautiful and the quilting looks brilliant on the back too! Great job. Nothing is stopping you now!

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  15. Well done on the fmq. I wish I was as brave as you. I keep putting it off. I am just about to start machine quilting a lap size Xmas quilt. I have chickened out on all my quilts so far and sent them away to be longarmed. I am hoping I can manage on my domestic machine. Your quilting looks wonderful.

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  16. Way to go Deborah!!! A quilter could only hope and pray her first fmq looks as good as this. I love seeing the quilting patterns from the back. Your designs added such a great texture to the quilt. Awesome!

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  17. Oh I really like your color scheme, and that FMQ~! So awesome, I only dabbled a tiny little bit on my mini, one day I will attempt it on a bigger scale. I really like how well all the designs stand out in the back.

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  18. Fantastic job on the FMQ, I am also working on a little bit of it, I love your swirls and leaves, I need to check out Jess's tutorials, I caught the first few, but then I got behind. I especially love the back!

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  19. Green an yellow are happy, spring colours. Great work on the FMQ. I particularly like the arcs around the centre star – they frame it nicely.

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  20. It is beautiful!! The FMQ looks amazing!

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  21. I seen some peeks over IG and it looks really great! Congrats on getting along FMQ skills!

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  22. This is a great quilt and your fmq is beautifully done. Congrats on the finish :)

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  23. It looks great! Well done on just getting on with the FMQ, it definitely paid off

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  24. It is beautiful Deb! I'm so happy you had fun quilting it, just jumping in is absolutely the best way to learn and improve IMO. I can't wait to see you quilt your next few quilts, I think you'll find it gets easier and easier with each quilt :o) Awesome job!

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  25. You did a great job on your quilting. Congratulations.

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