Finally - the 9th and final square in Learning Curves in 9 Squares

First of all I am going to start with a plea for help. A couple of years ago I bought a cotton backed gold foil fabric from a quilting shop - it was part of their Christmas range. This is not gold coloured, but a true metallic foil stuck to cotton. It cuts, stitches and FMQs beautifully. And I can't get hold of any more. The shop has sold out, can't remember which rep they have got it from and has no plans to get more. I have tried many shops in the UK, even big ones like Cotton Patch who can not help. I have searched on the internet and bought several things to try, but have not been able to find this cotton backed foil. I can't be the only person to have used this. If anyone could let me know of a source I would be VERY grateful!

I can't remember when I posted the first of the 9 squares from this piece, but there have been so many diversions to show quilts and bloggers festivals and other things. Sorry about that.

This is a long post - lots of photos - so get a cup of tea/coffee ready!!

Today we have arrived at the 9th and final Square 'How does your Garden Grow'

How does your Garden Grow form Learning Curves in 9 Squares

And looking at this photo, you might be forgiven for thinking how your garden grew was upside down! Or could it be the photo that is upside down? However, I think this motif works any way up and think of it as hanging flowers here. It is another design that you can stretch and squeeze at will giving short dumpy flowers to long thin ones and anything in between. It is what I call a 'there and back' design, meaning that it ends at the starting point. You need to travel along the guide lines to the next start point - or do an awful lot of stopping and starting. Guess which method I used!!

And now for the whole piece - all 9 squares together. I promised you a bit of a surprise with this. It is a very small surprise, and I think you will have guessed what I was planning before now. If not, just look at it for a moment or two before reading on.

Learning Curves in 9 Squares

I hope it is pretty obvious that the lines flow across the squares to form one continuous design. If not, let me know!!

The embryo of this piece was in a stitch sample that I did in orange thread with no other aim than to practise. I had some fabric dyed in the same orange and used it for a binding (and no, I don't usually put bindings on my practice pieces!). I really liked the look of thread and binding in the same colour. I had also wanted to vary/develop what I had done in Strata - my first show quilt.

Strata

So I thought I would experiment with similar organic flowing lines but this time divide the piece into squares, with one motif per square. The colour scheme was dictated by matching thread and dyed fabric that I already had.

Arrow Head and Cobbler's Nightmare from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

I call it 'Learning Curves' because it is a trial piece. So, what have I learnt?

Dividing it into squares certainly makes it a lot easier to quilt, and I do think the method works. I've slip stitched the squares together with double thread. The stitching isn't visible and it is strong enough to hold the weight of the quilt. Having one motif per square I think works well, as does the thread/binding colour link.

The importance of colour I have already touched upon. Paler colours just get lost at a distance.

For me, the biggest problem of the piece is a lack of focal point. Strata suffers from the same problem, (which is why I think it only got a 'satisfactory' in the show). Both pieces are an excuse for me to indulge in FMQ which I love so much, but I need to find a stronger design to carry it off. Humm. Back to the thinking board.

Oh, and one last lesson - don't take so many photos. I think this post has taken me almost as long to prepare as to quilt!! I hope you enjoy them.

All Aflame and Swirls from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

4 squares joining from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

4 squares joining from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Fly away home and Sticks and Stones from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

4 squares joining from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Arrow Head and How does your Garden Grow from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Learning Curves in 9 Squares - detail

Hour Glass and All Aflame from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

4 squares joining from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Learning Curves in 9 Squares - detail

Learning Curves in 9 Squares - detail

4 squares joining from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Cobblers Nightmare and Not on my Parade from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

Thanks for dropping by

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Forest Fire

Two days ago I made the amazing discovery of a Bloggers' Quilt Festival run by Amy at Amy's Creative Side. There are quite a few categories and any blogger can enter up to 2 quilts in the competition. And the judges? That's you! I have entered 'Forest Fire 2' in the mini quilt category.

Forest Fire 2

This mini quilt is roughly 12 inches square and one of a series of 4. I had done a bit of try dyeing that I wanted to use and thought it would make a wonderful backdrop to a tree silhouette. The piece only uses 2 dyes, a scarlet and slate blue for the background and the same slate blue for the tree, border and binding. The tree is cut free form without a pattern and pieced with very thin bias insets of a quarter of an inch or less. I felt the border needed to be quite wide, and to echo the curves of the tree. I finished it off with an all over FMQ leaf design.

I really hope you go and look at all the other quilts on Amy's website and vote for your favourite. For the mini quilts, click here. To see my other entry and FMQ on a domestic machine, click here. For all the other categories, click here.

Thanks for dropping by

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Fifty shades of not black

Well, maybe fifty is an exaggeration, but how many shades of 'not black' can a girl dye? None of which would matter too much, if I hadn't given the title of my next competition quilt as 'Black on white, White on black'

I heard an author interviewed on TV recently. He related that he never knew how his books would end before he started to write them. He knew the setting and the characters, but he would start with an event - the hero throwing a glass at a wall - and them write the book to find out why said hero had done that.

I can relate to this. When I start a quilt, I have a vague concept and maybe a colour scheme. This 'vague concept' is what I call my 'Mental Masterpiece'. 'Masterpiece' as in it is always going to be a showstopper - naturally!. 'Mental' as in so vague that I don't know what the technical difficulties are, yet alone how to solve them. But I find out as I go along - at least what they are, sadly not always how to overcome them. The more I do, the more ideas I get, the more I find out what does and does not work, the more the concept and results change.

Again, if it were not for competition entries, this would not matter too much. But the entry form always requires measurements and a description. "Don't know until I've finished"and "subject to alteration and variation, but invariably not quite as I imagined it" would be truthful if not exactly satisfactory answers!!

My first lot of 'black' is a nasty bottle green: the second plum - a very dark plum but still definitely plum: the third is midnight blue.... In the end I settle for a rather nice charcoal and hope that with a lot of black quilting it will pass.

I've already lost 3 weeks in failed dyeing and another 2 to flu. Now I'm pushed for time and my usually wonderful Bernina (160) chooses this moment to have a few hiccups. She stitches without problem for 20 minutes and then suddenly, for no apparent reason  surreptitiously alters the tension. I find a have a maze of spiderweb stitching on the back. And of course I have chosen to use a spiral motif which involves a lot of travelling - in rows that seem to go on forever. And it is a nightmare to take out.

The already completed 'black on white' bit is cut up into sensuous curvy shapes ready to shimmy down the centre of the quilt. My intention was to create a focal point by making one of these black with white stitching, but it just gets lost in the black (OK charcoal) background. A white border around it looks weird.  I quickly quilt up some shiny white satin with black and try that instead, but the difference is not striking enough and it just looks odd. This is one of those 'it doesn't work' moments.

I've run out of time to experiment more and go with what I have got. For the first time I don't use my usual quilt binding, but use a facing finish. I really like this. I let the appliqued shapes overlap the top and bottom and it feels like they drip on and off the quilt in a never ending flow.

After this quilt's troubled birth I was relieved to get this off in good time for the show which takes place this weekend. But the trouble continues. I know from the courier that the quilt has arrived but according to the show's paperwork it hasn't. Fortunately the show agrees they must have the quilt because they don't have a gap on their walls!! - and have promised to get it back to me.

For those of you asking if it wouldn't be better to compete a quilt before entering it into a show  - of course it would. But I always think I could do a better quilt in the 2 or 3 months before the show and I want to put my best in. Will I learn from this experience? Well, the next entry is in 2 weeks - and the quilt is not finished - but I have completed several trials, so I'm getting there.

I'm going to enter this post to the Bloggers' Quilt Festival  at Amy's Creative Side. I discovered this 2 days ago - just in time for this year's Festival! Open to all quilt bloggers (you can enter up to 2 quilts) it is both an opportunity to see some amazing quilts from the on line community and also a competition - and YOU are the judge. Go and vote for your favourite quilts! The are many different categories. Click here to go through to the 'Quilted on a Domestic Sewing Machine category, into which I have entered this quilt. Click here to go through to all the other categories. And have a look 'Forest Fire 2' in my next post, which I have entered into the mini quilt category. Have fun!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

Sticks and Stones - the 8th Learning Curves in 9 Squares

After the excitement of my first ribbon, back to the next of the 'Learning Curves in 9 Squares' - Sticks and Stones.

I love this design. Quilted small the 'sticks' and 'stones' become the same size, creating a dense texture and making the colour seem darker at that point. Give it more space and the whole thing opens up and breaths. The spiral unwinds a little. The sticks protrude and acquire a cheeky curve at the base. It is excellent for going around curves, from the gentle meander to the absolute U turn, as demonstrated here. Despite the stitching being in a lovely deep buttery yellow, this colour suffers the same fate as the other pale ones, namely that it can not be seen from a distance. I'm sad about that because I love the freshness of the buttercup yellow on white.

Time too for another FMQ cameo.

Wimbledon - fmq Cameo 34

Wimbledon is a variation on a pebble stitch. but is actually easier because there is no travelling. After completing the circle at the top an S shape gets us to the bottom of the circle ready to start the next one - giving an impression of a tennis ball - hence the name. It is a great background stitch and when the size of the balls is varied, as here, it also gives a good textural variety.

And last but not least, I now have the judges comments on 'Square Spiral'. I unintentionally provoked quite a few comments about judges comments - and I've also meet other quilters deflated by the label 'satisfactory'. I've spent a lifetime in education and for me, the importance of feedback is not just to praise or criticise, but to encourage growth and signpost how to reach potential. But that takes a lot of effort and time - maybe more time than quilt judges have?

Square Spiral - detail

I'm pleased to say I got very positive comments this time: "Wonderful workmanship. A really lovely quilt thoughtfully executed." My grades have gone from 'satisfactory' to 'very good' and 'excellent'. What this really teaches me is the importance of design. I don't believe for a moment that my quilting has improved 3 levels in 6 months, or the execution of an identical binding was just 'satisfactory' on my first show quilt, yet 'very good' on the second. But what I can see is that the design and overall visual impact of the second show quilt was much better - and that obviously influences all the other categories in the eyes of the judges. Which also teaches me not to take it all too seriously. I do it because I love it - and in the doing, I continue to learn.

In the meantime, the next show quilts are underway and I will be blogging about them soon.

Quite a long post today - so if you are still with me you deserve a ribbon too - or a least a cup to tea/coffee!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

The Big Reveal and a call from the Delightful Angela

A couple of weeks ago I related how the 'delightful Angela' had designed The British Quilt and Stitch show entry process to cater for the likes of me who get the dates muddled up and are in consequence late with their entry. I gave a sneak preview of my quilt 'Square Spiral' and promised to reveal the whole after the show.

So here it is!

Square Spiral

Sorry, not a great photo. I had to hold the camera above my head to get it all in and I couldn't see what I was doing! I did plan to try again before this post, but I haven't had the quilt back yet.

The great news is that I have had a phone call from the to-my-mind-now-even-more-delightful Angela to say that I had won second place in the wall hanging category! So, now I am awaiting not just the return of the quilt, but my first rosette too!

As you can see it is a whole cloth, quilted in black and white. It is done in the style of a log cabin and if I've counted correctly, it has 58 different original fmq designs. I did mark the boxes for each design, but they are stitched free hand without a ruler. Close up, the lines look a lot more wobbly! The boxes vary in width - a 1/4,  1/2,  3/4 of and inch, 1 inch and the widest is 11/2 inches. This alters the density of the design and gives the impression of darker and lighter lines.

Here are a couple more photos.

Add caption

I had a comment asking why I entered quilt shows and wondering about the impact of criticism from judges. For me, the reason is simple - to get known outside of local. I have had local exhibitions, sold in local galleries, demonstrated and given talks to local groups but never beyond. It is time to spread my wings! This blog also has that aim, but people have to find you first, and quilt shows seem like a good way to get seen.

My first attempt (a few months ago) came back with judges comments that my design was interesting and quilting good, and everything else 'satisfactory'. I have to say I did find that word most unsatisfactory! It felt like 'not bad enough to complain about, but beyond that...' There has to be a more encouraging descriptor - maybe 'shows promise'? 

Anyway, it didn't put me off, but it did mean I wasn't expecting to get anywhere this time. I was all the more surprised and thrilled to win second prize for my second show. As long as that relationship - i.e. third prize for third show, fourth for fourth... does not continue!!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

7th of 9 Squares and fmq Cameos 32 and 33

Something numerical in the title this week, and I hope it adds up to quite a bit for this weeks post!
We are up to number 33 in our fmq Cameos

Arrow Head - fmq Cameo 32

This is Arrow Head that I used last week in my 'Learning Curves in 9 Squares'. There is so much you can do - and so many different effects - that you can get with just one motif. Here it is in straight rows in a uniform size, with no dividing tram lines. I am not sure if this counts technically as a mirror image repeat, since the design itself is a mirror image of the arrow head. Anyway, I have lined it up arrow head point to arrow head point. Definite stalemate! Like this, the individual motif almost gets lost in the overall texture. The negative spaces come into play strongly and the eye picks out new motifs.

Arrow Head - detail from Square Spiral

Here it is as a single row (taken from 'Square Sprial') Doesn't it look different when isolated into a single row and framed between guide lines?

Learning Curves in 9 Squares - Not on my parade!

Not on my Parade from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

On to the next square from Learning Curves in 9 Squares - this is number 7. Every time I look at it I just see majorettes and batons. Well, maybe a sort of abstract Walt Disney version or majorettes.

This motif had a definite top and bottom and you do have to decide which way up you are going to quilt it. It is quick and easy to stitch - lovely getting into the rhythm of it - and it is great for going around corners.

Not no my Parade - fmq Cameo 33

It can equally be done military style in straigt line around a square, as in number 33 of our fmq Cameos.

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

All Aflame and Arrow Heads from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

After the excitement of last weeks guest post with Lori at The Inbox Jaunt thanks to all of you who visited the tutorial. I hope many of you found a new source of inspiration in Lori's wonderful FMQ and welcome to new visitors who through the tutorial discovered this blog. If you left a message and I did not reply, this is because you are a 'no-reply blogger' - a problem that often crops up if you are on Goggle plus.

Arrow Heads - from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

So after dramas with show quilts and missed deadlines, back to the Learning Curves in 9 Squares. Arrow Heads is the 5th of the squares you have seen so far. A single border of this pattern is very effective - almost more so I think than en- masse as here.  I like the look of it, but it is not one of my favourites to stitch. I keep forgetting whether I am turning left or right and it takes a lot of concentration. Remember this piece is a trial - hence the learning curves - and one of the lessons learnt here is that pale colours don't work. You may be able to see the FMQ on this somewhat wonky photo (sorry about that), but step a few feet away, and you can't see anything.

All Aflame from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

There is no such problems with this square. The deep red shows up beautifully. The name I think is pretty obvious. This is a design that is very adaptable and works very well around corners

Cobbler's Nightmare from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

I asked your help in naming two of my motives - many thanks to all those who left suggestions. It was fascinating to see what was evoked in viewers. I did like the suggestion of DNA for the above one, but also a few visitors liked the humour of my suggestion of 'Cobbler's Nightmare' and since it appears the joke is obvious enough, I will go with that. The pale green by the way, poses the same problem as the yellow.

Fly-away-home from Learning Curves in 9 Squares

This was the one that really got your creative juices flowing. There was no doubt at all that all of you thought organic both vegetable and animal. There were flowers, hay and vines as well as hearts, lungs and back-bones! My thanks to you all, but particularly to Norma Schlager who came up with the nursery rhyme 'Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home' as a title, which I really loved.

Now I can hear all my British visitors shouting 'but it isn't Ladybug, it's Ladybird'. A bit of Internet research has shown the common British Ladybird is indeed the same insect known as Ladybug in the States - a beetle loved for its appearance and eating of pests such as greenfly. And that got me wondering where the rhyme originated.

 'Ladybird, Ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children have flown'

It is thought to have dated back to 18th century (I mean 16th century - see Marly's kind correction below) England and the time of Henry VIII's break with Catholicism. The Lady in question is Mary, mother of Jesus as representative of the Catholic faith and a suggestion to return home to Rome. 'Your house is on fire' is probably a reference to those burnt at the stake for refusing to convert to the new Church of England. 'Your children have flown' refers to Catholic congregations - who had flown into hiding, exile or converted. Fascinating where a piece of FMQ can take you!

To avoid the bird/bug confusion - and because although the motif does look like some kind of flying insect, it definitely isn't a ladybird, I thought I'd just call it 'Fly away home'.

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

And for all those of you who missed it, here is the tutorial that appeared as a guest post on Lori's blog last week

Hello Quilters. I am Hilary Florence and I am really thrilled and excited that Lori has agreed to let me do a guest post on her blog. Although our quilting styles are very different, like Lori, I love to create new free motion quilting patterns. So, what better topic than how to start with a simple idea and by playing here and tweaking there, changing it to create:

Theme and Variation

I am going to start with a very simple, elegant design which lets you get into a lovely rhythm on a swinging cross over curve.

Start with a simple downward curve out to the left.

 Stitch up  the middle stopping just short of the starting point

 Now do a mirror image of the curve - out to the right this time, cross over and do another curve to the left - making and inverted S shape.

Go straight up the center, stopping short of the cross over line. You are now ready to begin the motif again with your inverted S - and that's it. Keep going as long as you want.

So - that's the theme, on to the variations

If you have a curve, alter the depth of it.

My first curve was pretty shallow. Here I have made it much deeper, into semi - circles. You can do anything in between or even push it even further and make the motif wider than it is long.

If you have a curve, turn it into a V

Instead of soft curves you now have sharp angles, giving the motif quite a different character. The central line is now enclosed in a box. Think of going across from right to left at 45 degrees, making the exterior angles 90 degrees.

 If you have sharp angles, round them.

The change here is more subtle. Still Vs rather than curves, but this has a softer look.

If you have straight lines, put a kink in them.

This again is not a great change but it gives another feel. Each side of the box should kink slightly towards the centre. Put the kink in the outer lines only, not the central line. The cross right to left cross-over line is now a little more complicated as it has to first kink upwards towards the upper box and then downwards towards the lower box.

Now come the real fun!

If you have a central line, embellish it!

Anything goes here and there are lots of possibilities. Here are just some examples.
I've taken the semi-circle version, started my upward line and then inserted a (more-or-less) symmetrical meander. You could also think of this as a very squashed S.

Next I've gone back to my original flat-curve shape and filled it almost meanders. Just enter and exit with a short bit of straight line. This is one of my favourites and it usually finds a place somewhere in my quilts

The sharp cornered square version deserves a couple of sharp thorns.

And here is the same motif with all the corners smoothed out!

This 'squiggle' also makes a good centre line. Start curving upwards to the left, change direction and curve gently upwards, change direction again and curve upwards to reach the top of the inverted 'S'. 

If you have a nearly close point, open it up.

In all the samples up until now, the middle line has nearly but not quite met the upper line giving the illusion of a square or circle. Now, I have only gone about two thirds of the way up (with the embellishing circle placed about one third of the way up)and dropped the next cross-over line opening the motive up more.


And finally, if you have been there, done that, go back and do it all again!

This one is taken from the current piece I am working on, hence the enclosing 'tram lines'. It is a combination of two of the above variations. Firstly, I have done the rounded square version without central embellishment. I have then gone back stitching over with the circular version and the central squiggle - and I do mean gone back. Of course you could start at the top again, but I suppose I am too lazy to deal with all the threads involved in stopping and starting. When ever possible, I will stitch down a row and then back up. This is also excellent practise for when dealing with items that are too bulky to turn round.

So there we are - from one idea to many versions. All of the above samples are about 1 inch wide with the exception of the last which is one and a half inches. One inch is a good width to start with, but you can also vary the density by varying the size.

Finally, a word about marking. I often say that I mark as little as possible and advocate learning to love your wobbles! I am in awe of the skill of FMQ quilters who produce absolutely identical motifs, but I like the organic look of everything a bit wonky and each repeated motif having its own individuality. I admit to being anxious about this when I considered Lori's wonderful tidy accurate quilting and wondered if I should make an exception. In the end, I decided to be true to my philosophy and stay a bit messy! To start off with I advise marking guide lines 1 inch apart until you can feel the motif. You can chose whether to be neat and tidy and do this with a ruler, or free and easy and mark the lines free hand!  I would be interested to hear where you find easier/better for you. I personally also feel it helps to draw the motif first, or at least to trace it with your finger.

It remains to thank Lori for allowing me to do a guest spot on her blog. I feel very honoured. At the time of writing this, she has just revealed that she has been asked to do a bimonthly column for the  American Quilter  magazine and I want to add my voice to the congratulations. It is richly deserved.

If you would like to see more of my work and fmq designs, please visit my blog at http://quiltingworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/  

Thanks for reading

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

If you like free motion quilting you MUST visit this blog - and a welcome to guests over from Lori Kennedy's The Inbox Jaunt

Any regular visitor to this blog will know my passion for free motion quilting and designing contemporary and original FMQ designs. Well, I am not alone in posting a new idea every week. Lori Kennedy of The Inbox Jaunt is a kindred spirit. In fact, she beats me hands down on the blogging front with a post every day! Her quilting style is very different to mine - which is great - it gives you many more ideas.

Here are a couple of examples of her fabulous and inspiriting work. The first is an Irish Chain - in appropriate colour!

The second needs no introduction - what a wonderful depiction of April showers.

Lori recently got in touch with me having seen this photo of one of my black on white series on Flickr - and then agreed to let me do a guest post on her blog which will appear tomorrow, Wednesday 16 April. The post is a tutorial on Theme and Variations - how to start off with one simple idea and end up with many unique designs!

 Do go over and have a look, but more importantly go and check out some of her designs. Every Tuesday she posts a tutorial of her latest one. Don't miss some of her fabulous photos either at  http://theinboxjaunt.com/ or hit the link on my blog list.

Lori is also shortly to be found with a bi-monthly article - My Line - (great title Lori) in the magazine American Quilter.

May I also welcome any visitors hopping over from Lori's blog. I hope you enjoy browsing through mine and feel like returning for more.

It only remains for me to thank Lori for her generosity in allowing me to guest on her blog and hope that this is the first of many collaborations between us!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence


Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

...and not only late with this post. I have had the 14.4.14 (or if you are  U.S. side, 4.14.14) in my head for weeks as the day I need to send off my 'Spiral' quilt to the British Quilt & Stitch competition, giving a week's transport time.

Spiral - Detail

 I am really bad at finishing the boring bits like binding and hanging sleeve, but got it done this weekend - got all the cat hairs off - got it all safely packed and ready for the post and then...A quick glance at the entry form and my eye falls on the sentence

The quilts MUST arrive by Monday 14 April (their capitals!!)

So, there I am, on the morning of Monday 14 April, sitting on the floor (good place to be when you are feeling stupid and a bit desperate at the same time) with quilt that has not yet departed let alone arrived. I ring the exhibition HQ prepared to eat humble pie, beg, grovel, prostrate myself....The delightful Angela informs me that the system has been designed for people like me, no problem, I have in fact got another 10 days before the quilt has to be there.

Spiral - Detail 2

I am no longer sitting on the floor, quilt is on its way and I am breathing again! I haven't included a full picture of the quilt, but a few to give you an idea. The rules don't forbid it, but is somehow doesn't feel polite to do a full reveal until after the event. Or, go along to the exhibition on 25-27 April at Uttoxeter Racecourse to have a look yourself.

Spiral - Detail 3

Thank you so much to all of you who came up with names for the two designs I posted last week. It was so interesting to see what the patterns evoked for everybody, where you all agreed and where you saw quite different things. I've been a bit side-tracked by the drama above, but next week I will let you know which names I have picked (hopefully also done Cameos of the designs). I have now decided to call the complete piece 'Learning Curves in 9 Squares'.  You've seen 4 squares, numbers 5 and 6 will be in the next post.

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence

Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/

What's its name?

It's two for the price of one this week with the next two squares in my nine patch 'more learning curves'

I've said to quite a few people that I often have more problems thinking up names for my fmq designs than I do coming up with the designs themselves. This is the case with today's examples - so I thought I would ask you - what do you think? What do they suggest to you?

This first one is one of my all time favourites that finds its way into most of my pieces. It is one of the first designs I cam up with. I start with the central 3 circles then add the wings right and left. As you can see, it is very adaptable, the wings can be distorted to go around corners. The central circles give it some weight and when stitched small, it gives a rich dense texture.

This next one is one of my 'there and back' designs. It doesn't matter which side you start with. This has similarities with 'under-neath-the-arches' fmq Cameo 3. These are limping arches, so starting with the left or right side, stitching arch shape into the centre, with alternating long and short 'feet'. When you reach the end, go back up and stitch the pattern in reverse. Here, I have tried to match the feet, making one side the mirror image of the other, but you don't have to. With this one I always get the idea of a millipede with club feet and thinking of all the shoes he/she would need, wonder if i should call it 'Cobblers nightmare'?

So, any ideas and suggestions for the names of these two motifs will be gratefully received and next week, I'll let you know the results of this survey!

Thanks for dropping by...

Hilary Florence
Please find below a list of linky parties. I may not link with all of the every week, but with some of them most weeks. Please go and have a look at some of the other wonderful quilts and quilters there.

Anything goes Mondays @ http://marelize-ries.blogspot.co.uk/

Linky Tuesday at Free motion by  the river­­­­ @ http://www.conniekresin.com/

Fabric Tuesday @http://quiltstory.blogspot.co.uk/    

Sew cute Tuesday @ http://www.blossomheartquilts.com/ 

Show and tell Tuesday @ http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/

Let’s Bee Social @ http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.co.uk

WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced   @   http://www.freshlypieced.com/

WOW = WIPs on Wednesdays  @ http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.co.uk/  

WIP Wednesday at TN + TN  @ http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

I Quilt Thursdays @ http://prettybobbins.com/

Really Random Thursdays @ http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/

Needle and Thread Thursday @ http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.co.uk/

Off the wall Fridays @ http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.co.uk/

Fabric Frenzy Friday @ http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.co.uk
Friday linky party @ http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.co.uk/