NQM Quilt Ruler!

Oliver has checked out my new ruler that arrived from the National Quilt Museum gift shop and discovered that Mom has a quilt included on its vertical display of quilts from their collection.  How cool is that???

It's $8.95 and features some really beautiful favorites.  I will keep mine handy for the necessary measuring of things I do all the time. 

My "Shadows of Umbria" is on the ruler and I think you'll recognize so many others that you all have loved at the museum.  The detail is excellent on the photos; you'll love seeing the fabrics and quilting. 

Please excuse the cat hair, a carryover from previous cats that became part of the fabric of the quilt.  Oliver enjoyed investigating the "new" smell of the ruler, plus the "old" scents of all the prior cats who slept on this lap quilt, but was not unduly alarmed at all.  Just curious.

I guess it is due for a good wash soon!  It is quilted with smoke invisble monofilament thread, which has held up well over the years, and mostly because it was good quality fresh thread, quilted with the correct set-up and needle, but most importantly quilted with the correct tension.  I used cotton #60 Mettler in the bobbin.  It has lasted nicely, has cotton batt, no trapunto.  I love its vintage look.

SewCalGal has given me some sneak peeks at comments and photos on the Free Motion Quilting Challenge Facebook page, and I am really pleased and proud of all of you for doing so incredibly well!  The best thing is to see finished feathers in actual quilts, table runners, wall hangings.  Go for it!  The more you quilt them, the better you'll become and you will WANT to quilt your own tops, yes, on your very own home sewing machine.  Yay!!

Oliver finally fell asleep by the ruler, adding yet another layer to the interesting fur deposits on the quilt. 

Keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day,

Diane



Free Motion Quilting Challenge

Please join me in February for my tuturial for the Free Motion Quilting Challenge that SewCalGal is presenting on her blog.  Our hope is to get everyone quilting, not just "topping"! 

My tutorial will be the feathered plume, above.  Later in the year you will learn backgrounds and fills, or you may already know some  that can be used to fill in around the plume.  I explain how to quilt one plume, give you options on branching it or adding smaller plumes around it to fill your space, an 8" square. 

Once you get the hang of this very forgiving design, you can do all sorts of original feather designs, or use stencil designs with this "echo" technique if you do not enjoy freehand work. 

Anita Shackleford's "Infinite Feathers" Template of various sizes of the feather shape is available at www.thimbleworks.com and works very well.  It also gives you curved lines to trace for the center of the plume if you need that as well or want them all to be the same.

A set of various sized feather shapes to trace by June Tailor is also available at fabric, quilt, and craft stores.  They come on a key ring.

My tutorial will be available online for one month, so please print it if you need it for future reference.

Don't put it off.  Start quilting now and by the end of the year your expertise will have increased and you will be able to finish those beautiful tops with quilting that measures up. 

My thanks and kudos to SewCalGal for this project.  I hope all of you enjoy it and get beautiful plumes by the end of the month, and better quilting by the end of the year!  Each one of us who is giving you a tutorial will provide you with different information, insights, point of view, and all of that variety and richness will give you great input for your own work.

Click on the link below for all the information, and keep quilting, your work gets better every day. 

Diane