Free Motion Friday - A Sapphire Challenge Finish and a TIP

I've been working on this Whirligig quilt using Island Batiks Indigo Morris collection for the last few weeks.  It's finally done and I'm excited to share it with you!  I've been learning to use my new Chrometab with pen and I find drawing on my quilt pictures a great way to get to know it and to sketch out quilting ideas.  

In the photo below you can see me using it to draw in the blue lines with circles I appliqued down. In addition, there are some black lines that I was planing on doing as part of the framework of the quilting.  I was excited to get started.  

And then I changed my mind.  I decided to do one fill in the background instead of the framework.  Why?  I'm not sure, but that's the way I went.  I used large swirls and bubbles.

HOWEVER....(here comes the tip)....I quilted the background before I did the quilting in the blue.  Why?  Well, I put the white thread in to outline all the pieces and then I just went for it. OOPS!  DO NOT QUILT THE BACKGROUND BEFORE YOU QUILT THE MOTIFS!  OOPS!

When I went to quilt the blue in the center, it had bubbled some and wouldn't lay flat.  OOPS.  What to do?  I was planning on doing the curvy line/matchstick quilting you see below through the whole whirligig.  However, as I got to the larger parts on the sides it began to bubble in a way that I knew was going to cause a colossal (at least an inch) pucker.  Not going to work.  So I started thinking about fills that can help eat that excess bulk.  The best ones?  STIPPLING also known as meaner, or PEBBLES.  

I didn't want to pebble since I'd already done that in the background so I decided to do a large scale stipple.  It worked perfectly.  I was able to smooth out the quilt and it looks great.

Here is Whirligig all finished.  I'm really happy with it and now to get her entered!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Sapphire Challenge - Part 2

Here's part two of my Sapphire Challenge made with Island Batik's Indigo Morris collection..  At this point I've layered everything on the background fabric.  I turned all the edges of these pieces using the Apliquick system.  Then I glued them down to the background using Elmer's School Glue.  I wasn't sure that was going to stay while I manipulated the quilt under my machine, so I decided it needed basting before I put it under my needle.  I told my mom my plan and she said, "Why don't you do it by machine?"  Duh.  So I did.

Here you can see what my basting looks like.  It's the largest size stitch I can make on my machine.  I then did a blanket stitch all the way around each piece using matching thread.

Here's a peek at the quilting.  Come back Friday for more!

I hope you get to quilt today!

Suzy

Sapphire Challenge - Part 1

International Quilt Festival Houston is having a Sapphire exhibit next year to celebrate their 45th anniversary.  All quilts in the exhibit need to be 50 inches square or larger and blue and white.  When my last Island Batik Ambassador box came in I found this AMAZING Indigo Morris fabric collection.  I knew right away that it was destined to make a quilt for the sapphire exhibit.  But what???

Putting the fabrics into a gradation.

Love the bottom fabric, but it didn't want to play nicely in the gradation so I chose to leave it out.

I decided to go modern since many of the quilts will be traditional.  I actually sketched this design on a corner of my notes during one of my classes in Houston this year.  Then I came home and got to work!  I call in "Whirligig." 

Now what to do with it???  You'll have to come back Wednesday and see.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy