My Tips n Techniques

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Bubbles & Blooms.....Free Motion Quilting

The day began out back on the patio
Spray Basting the quilt sandwich together.
I love to spray baste.
It has made the biggest improvement in my free motion work.

Click Images to Enlarge:

Spray basting is best outside on a hot day.
2 buffet tables pushed together is the perfect work surface.



The adhesive is stickier when it is hot outside.
The layers stay together, and never budge!
See how flat and smooth it lays after spray basting.




Auditioning Threads for the free motion quilting
How juicy are these colors!




These are all YLI Trilobal Polyester Threads
Variegated thread.......Variations.
Very shiny and beautiful.




This is a very busy and very bright quilt.
I have chosen thread colors that will blend and not contrast.
I don't want the threads competing with the fabrics or design.




If you click the photo to enlarge it you may be able to see the feathered quilting around the heart petal on the flower.




I chose a yellow variegated thread for the background quilting.
It is subtle and doesn't compete with that busy fabric.
The stitching is a feather swirl thing that is fun to do!




Click to enlarge to see the quilting stitches




This is heavily quilted over all the pieced seams.
This will help to make the quilt durable so my Sister can snuggle under it and use it for many years to come.
8pm....time to close the door on the Thread Shed and finish the quilting another day.



Speaking of Bubbles...
There was a bubble machine at my sister's wedding last night!
6 girls in my family.
This is me with my sister, Tinker.
She taught me to ride a bike, listen to Elton John songs, and take art classes in school.




Tree Lily
The stem is over 6 feet tall




State Fair Orange Zinnia
These grew from seeds in the kitchen window.




Day Lily




The lighting this evening was just perfect for taking photos of the flowers.
This is the flowerbed just outside the front door.




These flowers lure me out of the Thread Shed each evening...
along with a hungry husband and 2 dogs that need attention.
It is good to be needed.

p.s. To see more Bubbles & Blooms Click HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

10 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed your post.I am still to chicken to try spray basting.Do you tape the bottom fabric down first? I can't get over how pretty that quilt is. It's so happy looking. What a great picture of you and your sis.

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  2. Hi Esteemarlu,
    Quilting should never involve fear of any kind. Like I tell my sister, who is a newbie quilter......you gotta "Face Your Fears!" As soon as you are afraid to do a quilting process.......hurry up and do it......then you will have erased that fear.
    For your first spray basting project, baste together one yard pieces of fabric with batting in between. One yard is a manageable size. Remember to shake the basting spray very well for several minutes, until it feels like pudding in the can.
    Then take your basted sandwich and cut it into a large 9 patch.......use these 9 little sandwiches to practice your free motion quilting on. This is exactly how I start quilting students down the road of basting and machine quilting. "Face Your Fears!"
    LuAnn in Oregon

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  3. Patsy Thompson has a You tube video showing how she spray bastes a quilt. This can be done on a wall, or on a table.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvx76JkxY7Y&feature=channel

    LuAnn in Oregon

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  4. Your quilt is just gorgeous and your free motion quilting is off the hook!

    I'm thinking of purchasing a Bernina and see that you have one. What's the largest quilt you've been able to FMQ on yours?

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  5. Hello Jackie,
    Thank you for your kind words. I do love my Bernina. It has made all the difference in my free motion work. I just completed a 100 inch square Sunflower Quilt with it. You can see it here on my blog: http://luannkessi.blogspot.com/search/label/Sunflowers
    Nothing sews like a Bernina...Nothing!
    LuAnn in Oregon

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  6. I'm looking at your two tables (without PVC pipe to raise them higher) and wondering if you can set up those tables easily by yourself. Having damaged my knee I can no longer get on the floor and MUST find a solution with tables in my SMALL house. I plan to do this in the garage in mild weather, NOT winter! Where did you find the tables, at Walmart???

    I LOVE PatsyThompsonDesign DVDs and have made great improvements to my MQ on my Janome 6500. LOVE to look at YOUR designs and lines. 8-)))

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  7. Hi Elaine,
    Yes, the plastic buffet tables are very lightweight. I carry them out of the house onto the patio for basting by myself. My tables are adjustable, so I just raise and lower them according to my needs (I purchased them at Costco). But, the PVC pipe and bed risers both work well for raising them up to a good working level.
    LuAnn in Oregon

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  8. Yeahhhh - I copied your table idea and have mine all set up! They look like the same product. I've written a bit about it, and mentioned YOU in my recent post. I DO enjoy looking at your MQ on a DSM. Thanks for incentives. 8-)

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  9. Me again - THANK YOU THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your photo. I basted my quilt this AM in the garage, with no problems, no painful knees, plenty of ventilation, DH even was enthused andtidied up the garage, (and ... no TV, yeah!).

    YOU provided the incentive with YOUR photo! Many thanks!!! I put up a new post today, featuring this improvement.

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  10. Clap! Clap! Clap!
    Congrats Elaine on trying a new basting method!
    Buckle you seat belt......you are in for a fantastic free motion quilting ride!
    Other than the Patsy Thompson DVD's, spray basting was the biggest improvement in my free motion work.
    Wishing you continued quilting success,
    LuAnn in Oregon

    ReplyDelete