Cross

Seeing my first design hanging on my wall is something to be proud of, taking into consideration that sketching and pattern-making are not a talent completely develop yet. It was so invigorating that I started sketching another idea on paper and from there grew to like the design even more than the first one.  And now I can fully understand why some art quilters are great at what they do: they practice again and again with a new concept, designs and fabrics.

                                                            Cross by Louise Deveault

I'm well aware that there are greater artist quilters out there and as I beginner pattern-maker-artist, or whatever you want to call it, I should not compare my work to theirs, but used their advanced skill to help me gain more understanding of those new areas. So I'm very thankful for tutorials videos and books available for us, beginners that want to join the fun.

 Designing:

The Cross came from a simple design I had in mind that I could draw on paper with a pencil and eraser and I drew the pattern from the sketch on a larger piece of cardboard paper. I haven't used any software like EQ or the like for this project, because I wanted to keep it super simple for myself.

Because I used the cardboard as my main foundation for piecing, I found out later as I sewed each section that they were crooked, not perfectly aligned with each other. The top rectangles were very bad.

Lesson #1: Measure your cardboard paper or foundational paper for accuracy BEFORE cutting and sewing your pieces.

Free-Motion Quilting

For this little quilt project, I've used scraps of batting that I had sewed together previously. It worked great! The method for sandwiching my quilt has switched from spray-basting, which I dearly love, but inconvenient during the winter season when all windows are closed. I've also used the Pinmoore that is wonderful too, but after founding many pins stuck into the carpet fibre, I decided to switch back to safety pins. It's safer for my family, visitors, and Merlin my dog who all walk around my sewing area.

Quilting with a Juki 2010Q and a free-motion foot and used a white Isacord thread to showcase my designs.

 Small hang quilt like this one gives you the opportunity to develop further your sill at free-motion and to get to know your sewing machine too.

  For this project, I slowed my pace to give me more control over my stitches and for smaller designs.

Bad Stitches! Oh me..Oh my

Even if I quilt every day of the week, it seemed that I do not get better with the free-motion quilting and that frustrated me to no end. I've gained great skills at piecing and pressing my seams, but when it comes to free-motion quilting, I become discouraged when I saw ugly stitches over my nice top.

What should I do then? Quit? Not at all.
Lesson #2: Playing around with your tension, bobbin-case, thread, the needle can help you recognized what is going wrong. Yes, sometimes it just us pulling to fast on our fabric, but this time it was my bobbin-case that resulted in the problem.

Good Bobbin Tension

Left side, bad stitches. On right side good stitches. Notice the difference of the smaller stitches after I fixed my bobbin-case, also I had more control over the stitching.



All the design for this project were taken from 356 Free Motion Quilting Designs By Leah Day

You can purchase Leah Day's book on Amazon.ca

This project was my first attempt and will not be my last and I've already started to work on another sketch that I've called the Praying Woman. And yes, I'm still using my stash of fabric as much as I can for every new project.

Green's Crossing

Recording my daily works this week in my bullet journal was successful and completed a few tasks that I wrote down at the beginning of that week.  So far so good quilted a quilt top, customed designed a quilt using my EQ8, and drew my Praying Woman. The whole purpose of starting a bullet journal is that it would keep me on track from a week-to-week basis.
My Quilt Planner Binder gives me an entire overall of my goals for the entire year and is broke down into monthly goals.  In my bullet journal, I've broken down the months into a weekly task. Even if I successfully did a lot this week, I tended to switch from one project to another. There are always pros and cons to everything we start and I found very few with this idea. What I've learned quickly though, is I've to keep my bullet journal very simple otherwise it will not work for me. Next month, I will change the format a bit and see if it works better. Meanwhile, I quilted, I pieced, I cut and I had a wonderful time in my sewing room.

Green's Crossing

Each section was quilted with a simple pattern form the 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs by Leah Day.

 It was so windy Tuesday that my husband had to hold one of the quilt's corners down till the wind calm down a bit for the picture. It flapped like a sail in the wind!

The rest of the fabric was used to make the back of this quilt.

The Cross

 Getting this small wall quilt ready for quilting and will again use 365 free-motion quilting designs from Leah Day's book.

Praying Woman

One of my dreams for years was to design my own quilt that will reflect my love for Jesus Christ.  This was my first attempt at drawing a person with a landscape background. So far, I'm loving the result of my drawing but I wanted more complex in its design. My husband pointed out of a few things that would definitely have not to work and suggested that I would keep it simple and upon reflecting upon that, I totally agreed with him.

Playing with Colours

 It's fun and interesting all the different colour choices that came out from Prisma, the free-trial app on my phone. The original drawings is at the one at the bottom of the page.  I love the Praying Woman and I cannot wait to see done with fabric.

 The drawing at the bottom is the original and I've used my children's colouring markers to keep the cost down. Buying new markers sound wonderful and tempting, but I resisted it.  This drawing is a springboard for my colour choice for my fabrics.

Yes, I'm still using my statch of fabrics.
Happy Quilting!

Rosettes 11

Two rosettes completed and my New Hexagon quilt is coming along real good. Scratching the rosettes down as I sew them in my bullet journal.

Rosette 11a

Rosette 11b

Bullet Journal Quilting

 Bullet Journalling

Karen Bown had me hooked on doing a bullet journal for this year. Oh no, I've already done my quilt planner in a binder! To idea to be able to leave an open a notebook by my sewing machine instead of my quilt planner binder sounded extremely advantageous and useful. Funny to think that last December without knowing it, I was starting to break down my progress even further into mini-goals, which is simply what a bullet journal does and more. If you're a crafter and love writing and drawing, this is something you should look into.  This is another really awesome hobby that I could see myself doing for hours, but I would rather spend developing drawing skills for a pattern that I want to make this year.

NEW SKILL: DRAWING

My drawing skills are basic and rough, but I was determined to develop those skills in 2020. This one was in my mind for a month and I just had drawn it on vellum paper. The more I drew, the more I wanted to finish it and see it on fabric.

Praying Girl

This is my first attempt a drawing and there is definitely wrong body portion to fix on this one.

Mystery Quilt

A rough draft of my drawing for a mystery quilt. Wait... wait.... did I just said, a mystery quilt! Am I insane or what? The work that goes with a mystery quilt is way to much and I just cannot start another project on that magnitude like that this year. Can I take back my words? Nope...okay then. I'll try *sob*

Green's Crossing is completed but it's has been raining all day and yesterday it was foggy.  Really not great for pictures.

Now if you're interested in bullet journal for quilter by Karen Brown check her at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1JD9zsD66U

Quilt Project Planner 2020

New Look

For 2020, I've decided to refresh my blog page with a new look,  set aside a few additional projects to my already big pile of old ones, and start a journal that will combine my Chrisitan journey through my love for quilting. I've kept a record of my achievement throughout the year by posting it on my blog. For a while, I also wanted to write a journal that would explain why I'm making that particular quilt and what challenge I came across with it. I will only write about the quilt I designed, not those that have already a designer or pattern. My desire is to slow down the process of my quilting and enjoy each aspect of its development.
 

Quilting Planner 2020

Make is simple. I've started a binder in 2017 which worked great for me for keeping track of all my projects.  I've reused the same binder by updating the label on the front cover and removed pages of a project that was completed last year. The project-in-progress is still in the binder. in previous years, I've also used a small spiral notebook for my weekly planning and note-taking. My blog was the journal entries of my progress throughout the year which I also share on Facebook, which I will continue doing so this year. It really keeps me on my toes.

Due Date Sheet

My blue quilting journal will be for record-keeping.  I purchased a bundle of three for $13  at Costco. Make a list of all the projects you're planning to complete for 2020 on a document, so that way you can reuse it later or updated it next year.  It's always nice to have a sheet of paper in your binder as a reference. I've also separated my binder into four sections; each one for its own pattern and goals.

Question &Ansewer

Those are the questions I asked in my last entry and here is my answer to them.

1. How many UFOs are you planning to finish this year?
I'm planning to use the EQ8 to complete five.

2. What techniques are you planning to learn?
I don't have one in mind, but if one comes my way to speed up the process or make it easier. Then I'm in!

3.Set a due date for all the in-progress projects. 
I've set a monthly plan in my Quilt Planner Binder for each project, but not a specif due-date.

4. What quilt-along/ or free-motion tutorial are you going to follow?
Leah's Quilting Friends Club


5. What quilter will help me to achieve my goal?
 I've followed the longest Leah Day blog, tutorials, and podcast, so I'm staying with her this year again. Also Karen Brown: Just Get it Done. Joran Fabric. Katja Marek for the New Hexagon.  Sew Easy, and Angela Walters.

6. Which category is my project: EPP, Free-motion, long arm, piecing, applique,...)
 The New Hexagon is an English paper piecing.  Arcadian Avenue is paper piecing and free-motioned my tops quilts.

7. List any new project
Humm, I don't have any name for those new ones.

8. What are my expectations, goals, motivation for this year?
 -To write a journal about my quilts
- Learn to draw a design for a new quilt
-Quilt new design on my tops
-Take clearer and better pictures of my finish project

Have a Happy New Year! And may God bless it:)