2012 Free-Motion Quilt Challenge - January

I like to say that I'm a quilter. But really, I make a lot of quilt tops. And then they sit. Sometimes for a very long time. Getting those quilt tops actually quilted is a real challenge for me. So, when I saw that SewCalGal was going to host the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge, I knew I had to follow along.

The way it works is that SewCalGal has lined up some FMQ experts. Each month one of them will present a tutorial with tips for the participants to practice. Participants who pledge to complete the challenge can submit a picture and be eligible for that month's prizes. I wasn't going to take the pledge, just follow along on my own. But there are prizes! How fun is that? 

January FMQ leaves

The tutorial for January was by Frances Moore. She showed how to do some free motion leaves. After practicing on a white board for two weeks I bit the bullet and tried them out on a practice quilt sandwich. You know what? They don't look half bad! Are they perfect? No. I know I still need to practice my spacing and my stitch length consistency, but if this had been done on a printed fabric with matching thread it would have looked just fine. Most of all, this has given me a much needed boost in my confidence level. 

I'm looking forward to more tutorials, more practice and most importantly, finishing some quilts!

(I know I still need to do some work on the look of my blog, but I wanted to get this submitted before the deadline.)

SBS BOW - 54-40 or Fight

I've been quilting all week so I had to shift my machine over to piecing to get this block done, L-3 54-40 or Fight:

SBS BOW - Gentleman's Fancy

The hardest part is deciding which block to do next. For this week I chose K-6 Gentleman's Fancy:

SBS BOW - Grace's Friendship

Here's my SBS block for this week, G-6 Grace's Friendship:

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler - Ribbon Star

A long time ago (2006? 2007?) I started making blocks for Jennifer Chiaverini's Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. The quilt was made by characters in Jennifer's novel, The Master Quilter. There are 140 six-inch blocks in the quilt and I was following along with an online group of ladies that were making one block a week. Then, in mid-2008 we moved to Arlington, VA (which is when I originally started my blog) and a year later we moved back to Albuquerque. Eight months later we moved back to Arlington, VA and a few months later we moved into the home we're currently living in. All that moving around and I kind of set aside my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler project. I have 85 of the blocks done and this year I plan to pick it up again and make one block a week. If I keep at it I'll have all the blocks done in just over a year. To start the year off I picked this one, E-7 Ribbon Star.