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Friday, September 8, 2023

Free-Motion Friday with a Finish

As I continue in a lull of custom quilting orders, I get to continue my "therapy sessions" in the studio.  And, ooooooooh, it has felt so good.


I finished the table topper for Dave's shop... I had a bit of trouble with the math. *ugh* I had done the math for having 6-1/2" squares... turned out they were 6" squares, making the finished piece a little short.  But as it turned out, if I had made it just that much bigger, I wouldn't have had enough of the black fabric to do the border.  It's all fine...

He is pleased with it and since he didn't care for the dog/camo fabric I used as the primary fabric for the flip side (get a glimpse at it by clicking on the highlighted words above), the logo side of the custom fabric is out for viewing.  The coffee/tea dye bath provided the look for the fabric.  It won't mind a few smudges of dirt or oil at all.

I pieced together a few pieces of batting for this one and the hanging diamond grid spaced at just over 2 inches, is tight enough to hold it all in place very nicely.


With that project done, I decided to dig into the box of orphans that I received in January.  The quilter that pieced them really seemed to love green. 💚 I sorted the blocks, all a little wonky and inconsistent in size, but decided to group them by the fabrics.


I have three small pieces sandwiched and ready to go under the needle.  Since I haven't done any feathers or stippling lately, I have decided to refresh my free-motion quilting skills.  
I started with the bottom table runner... It will have feathers in the center section with free-motion waves on either side.   You may notice that there is a bit of a hump in the middle of the runner.  I'll be using a long straight edge to help get is trimmed so that it is square and straight.




The back of the runner shows the start of my feathers much better.


Stippling will be done in the "negative spaces" of the square topper.  I plan to make rounded corners on this one.  It may get to stay and live with us on our kitchen table.  

It's that middle one that I don't quite know what do to with... 

What are your suggestions?  

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear your ideas.

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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7 comments:

  1. Wonderful finish on that table topper, Melva. I like the colours/fabrics in these blocks, nice contrasts. I'm sure you will come up with something to use those middle ones...looks like a table runner to me would work.

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  2. Great table topper, the diamond grid quilting looks perfect. Fun green blocks, and the pieces you have made are a great use of these donation blocks. Your feathers are coming along nicely!
    Thank you for sharing, and linking up ;)

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  3. Nice work on putting those Orphan Blocks to work, Melva!!

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  4. Glad to see some orphan blocks finding a home! What about something swirly on the middle table topper? It might go well with the geometric shapes. I'm sure you'll think of something great!

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  5. Great job with those orphans! I too, can’t bring myself to throw away usable anything…this week that resulted in starting vinegar with windfall apples!😂 I would do loops or swirls on your center topper. I think that would contrast nicely with the sharp points on the blocks.

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  6. I live the variety of pieces you got from your orphan blocks!! NICE!!

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  7. Hi Melva, good for you for trying out different FMQ designs. For the middle runner, you might want to check out Angela Walter's Shape by Shape. She has two books out but if you check out her videos online, you'll find some great designs to use. Your husband's table with the diamond grid looks great. Have fun playing with the feather! Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks.

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