free motion quilting - days 14-21

the end is here!
after last week's slump and being able to laugh at my flowers, it was much easier to convince myself to knock out the last week of stitching practice.  i tried a few new things that i saw lisa attempt once she started her own free motion challenge at the start of feburary, and while they look mostly like what they were supposed to, they totally weren't my jam.  aka the bows.  but anyways.  i have officially completed the 21 days of free motioning, and this upcoming saturday is my next class on the subject matter.  here's this final week of blocks:
2/1
2/2
2/3
2/4
2/5
2/6
2/7
2/8
so in the end,
i've come to find i like the wandering all over styles, such as pebbling & the double drip.
if i was continue this even longer, i'd probably try and figure out how to make my loops and flowers look a little more randomly wandery.  if that is even a thing.  throwing some extra loops in between totally helped out, but i am still hoping to one day feel confident in my all over "doodling" if you will.  or maybe i'll just keep my training wheels on with pantographs for a little bit longer.
stipple.  yeah, it threw off my groove for sure.  it put me in a mindset of aiming for perfection instead of just going with the groove.
can't remember if i've said it before, but i don't feel that i will be quilting anything major on my machine with these skills, but as always, being able to have a skill and not use it is better than not at all.
but there you have it, the conclusion of my 21 days of free motion quilting fun!
i'll be sure to update you on whatever adventures happen from this weekend's class with jenny lyon!

free motion quilting - days 7-13

well here we are again, with another update in the world of free motion quilting.
days 1-6 seemed to be pretty okay... but it wasn't easy to make it to day 13.
to be honest, this week i wasn't really feeling it.  at all.  you'll noticed i didn't get it done on friday.  or on sunday.  and i almost let it not happen a few more times.
i was ready to be a quitter.  it wasn't really fun anymore, and it started to feel more like a chore than anything else.  which is exactly how i get when it comes to going to the gym sometimes (hence why i haven't done that in a week or so.  oops.)
on monday of this week, i decided to get it together, make all my quilt sandwiches for the remainder of the time and just do it so i didn't feel any regrets.
back to fmq talk.
so i made my sandwiches, and then on monday just decided to try something new.  i decided to meander and stitch some flowers, and i got a good laugh out of myself.  i could at least feel myself being entertained by the flowers (or lack thereof in some cases) and i was starting to enjoy it again.  no more frustrating stipple practice nonsense. no more doing just what i had seen done in class.  just doodling and stitching.  and entertaining myself with some very squashed flowers.
1/23
1/24
1/25
1/26
1/28
1/30
1/31
so this week i learned:
looping each flower petal instead of doing a figure 8 is easier (at least for me)
don't do something if you're not in the mood (see 1/25... i only stitched that day just because i felt like it had to be done.  not because i wanted to fmq)
aaaaaand... i'm over halfway done!
if i keep to a daily pace from here on out, you'll see another post next thursday or friday just days before my next fmq class on the 11th.
here's to another hopeful week of fmq-ing.
but also one more week until i feel like i can get back to block piecing :) 

free motion quilting - days 1-6

hello!

as i mentioned previously on my 2017 kick off post, this year is intended to be all about education and learning new skills for me.  i should start off by saying i DID attend my first guild meeting as a guest, and i will absolutely be back to sign up and become a member.  i also won a STELLAR 12 pack of bohemian garden aurfil thread, but that's not the only reason i'll be going back ;) also mentioned, i would be practicing my free motion quilting on my janome daily for 21 days, and let me tell you what... it has started off rough!  i've had some bumps in the road, but i think i may have found what my troubles were and will hopefully have smooth sailing from here.

each day, i generally have the same process.

draw the motif four times on 8.5x11 paper

draw the motif once in my sketchbook purchased for doodling purpose

stitch on fabric block. mine are 13-15 inches, depending on what i could pull together this week.  i bought yards of a solid teal fabric to use, but then felt it would be better used as a quilt back.  ha!

here's each day from january 16-january 22 in chronological order, with a full photo first, then a detailed one of a specific area within the block. then i'll give you some of the things i noticed at the end.

yes, i did miss one day (friday, 11/20) due to preparing quilt backs for another venture.  i'll leave you in suspense from there  :)
1/16
1/17
1/18
1/20
1/21
1/22

notes:

i started off with my game face on, and went straight for stipple.  in the class, it was a breeze.  stitching it at home, not as well.  i had my machine set up at the normal sewing table ready to practice and then had a traumatic machine injury by knocking my mom's machine off another table and broke the bobbin winder which messed with my plans for one .  my parents brought in a portable sewing table to use, where my machine bed would sit flush with the rest of the table, and so the blocks wouldn't hang.  simi

day 1 & 2, i stitched it with my machine like normal and felt like i was yanking it around.  lisa mentioned something about dropping my feed dogs, which i had no clue about.  after she showed me how to do it, from there i dropped the feed dogs down and was still feeling frustrated.  day 3 i switched fabrics to see if that was a factor, and it didn't seem to make a difference.  after 4 days of trying to work on stippling, i decided to take a brain break from it and did some meandering with loopy circles.  yesterday, i moved my machine back to the sewing table, since i needed to work on some photo editing and blogging and the space was quite tight, and i decided to stitch the double drip motif.  even though my block wasn't laying flat, i felt like stitching when a whole lot better and i had a lot more control.  

now that i feel better with my stitching set up, i feel back to confident and that i'm not about to throw something.  i'll probably take a break from stipple for the rest of this week and feel better about things and return to it towards the end of my 21 days.

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feel free to drop any questions or suggestions you might have.  this is all still a huge learning process for me!