Friday, July 15, 2016

It's the Start of Free Motion Fridays!



Hello all!  I am excited to share the directions for my Brick Wall quilt with you!  I'm going to be practicing/introducing different free motion fillers for each brick as I work along.


I'll post the directions on the blog, but they're also available as a PDF if you'd like to have a paper version here.

Directions for Brick Wall Quilt Top - 44 x 54
©Suzy Webster 2016
(does not include binding and backing)

Fabric Requirements
·         1 yard Dark Purple Mortar/Sashing (Blackberry by Island Batik)
·         7 Fat or Long Quarters (or more if you so choose) for the Bricks (I used Island Batiks Cherry, Flame, Jelly, Raspberry, Pumpkin, and Plum)

Cutting Directions
From each Brick Fabrics cut:
  • ·         3 rectangles 6 ½ by 10 ½ inches
  • ·         1 square 6 ½ inches by 6 ½ inches


From the Mortar/Sashing Fabric cut:
  • ·         21 rectangles 1 ½” by 6 ½ inches
  • ·         6 strips at 1 ½” by width of fabric
  • ·         5 strips at 3” by width of fabric


Sewing Directions
1.  Layout all your bricks to make sure the colors are spread out equally.  I ended up only using 6 colors instead of 7 which made this more challenging.  I highly recommend using 7.



2.  Lay 1 ½” x 6 ½” sashing pieces between the bricks.  Sew each row together.  Since my mortar was dark, I pressed towards the dark purple.  If you use a light color, press towards the light color.

3.  Sew the rows together with the 1 ½" wide strips.  I cut these to size before I sewed them on.  They should be 39 ½ inches long.


4.  Cut two of the 3 inch strips to 39 ½ inches and sew to the top and bottom of your quilt.

5.  Cut one 3 inch strip in half.  Sew the two halves to each of the remaining 3 inch strips.

6.  Sew one long strip on each long side of the quilt.
Here is the layout drawn:


 7.  Now you are ready to pin and quilt!

Let me know in the comments if you'd like advice on layering for the home machine!  I'd be happy to show you my process.

I hope you follow along and I hope you get to quilt today!  
Suzy


14 comments:

  1. I am definitely going to make this to practice some fill designs. I'll look forward to being inspired and encouraged by your expertise!

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  2. Thanks! This is just what I need to do to get more practice in on quilts, and I love the finished brick quilt! Now to go pull some fabrics for this one!

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    1. Wonderful! Glad to have you along for the journey!

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  3. A brick quilt is a great way to practice FMQ! Thank you for linking up to Finished or Not Friday. I have pinned your quilt on the FONF Pinterest board. https://www.pinterest.com/busyhandsquilts/finished-or-not-friday-linky-party/

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  4. I am interested in participating as I want to improve my free motion skills. Primarily I am an appliquer with fairly dense applique work.
    Will your fillers be useful for some one like me or are they more for large open areas? Tho learning and practicing technique never hurts anyone!! thanks so much!

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  5. Further question---how frequently will you give a new lesson? Once a week?
    every few days?

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    Replies
    1. Pam. Yes, they will be dense. That's how I quilt too! You could enlarge them for more open areas, but mostly they'll be great for around applique as that's how I work too. I plan to do one every Friday.

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  6. I'm a new follower, and I'm excited to be joining in on this project. I hate practicing, but doing something like this gives me a chance to work on an actual project while I practice. That, I can do!

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  7. I am soooo tempted by this! I may have to come join in the middle. I HAVE to get that chevron heart quilt done!

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  8. Well, maybe. Do I have to buy the darning foot? dezertsuz at gmail

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  9. Great! I love doing machine quilting.

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  10. Please show us your method of sandwiching the quilt. I'm cutting my wall today!

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