She... being Eliza Rose. Yes, this quilt's name is Eliza Rose. It just fits.
I am very pleased with how she turned out. I have ALWAYS wanted to do free motion quilting or own a fancy quilting machine. I never dreamed that all I had to do was buy a darning foot and lower the feed dogs on my old Singer and start drawing with thread! Yes, that's what free motion quilting is.... drawing with thread.
Here's Eliza Rose's journey over the weekend:
I pieced two pieces of Hobbs Heirloom batting left over from the Spiderman Quilt. To make the edges meet evenly, just lay the edges overlapping a couple of inches. Then cut straight through the middle with scissors. Then remove the two thin strips. This will make the two edges abut perfectly. Use a needle and thread to sew the two sides together.
Because of the smaller size of a baby quilt, I was able to pin baste the quilt on my kitchen table. This is so much easier on my poor knees and back. I just taped the backing fabric to the table, then layered the batting and quilt top. I have a good supply of curved quilt basting safety pins for this purpose.
To prepare for my first attempt at free motion quilting, I practiced drawing the meandering lines on a piece of paper.
Then I made a "practice square" and practiced. So far, so good....
Then I made the transition to free motion quilting on an actual quilt:
Sewing on the binding:
Now, is my first attempt at free motion quilting perfect? NO!! I realize that I have to practice, practice, practice, until the results are more professional-like.
But for now, Eliza Rose is my new baby quilt. I think I'm in love.....
11 comments:
It's beautiful! Definitely something my DD would love :)
And thanks for posting about free motion quilting! I wondered what you would call something like that and I wondered how people were quilting without the fancy machines that some have. Now I know :)
Have a great day!
Leslie
Eliza Rose is beautiful! You did a great job on the free motion quilting. Were you scared to death? ha ha... I would have been!
Debbie, I am so impressed!!!!!!!!!You have done an exceptional job with this quilt, and Eliza Rose is the perfect name for it. (Guess you saw that is what I voted for.)
And, your free hand quilting is a wonder. You are to be commended for completing this quilt so quickly. The recipient's family will be stunned, I am sure.
I am so grateful that you are my sister.
Love, M
Beautiful quilt! Because of AmandaJean I too am about ready to jump into my first free motion quilting project. You are so brave. Your choice of colors is outstanding. Way to go girl!
Hi Toni,
Please let me know how your quilting goes! I'm very excited about learning free motion quilting.
Debbie J.
very nice! great job :)
I love the quilt, the colors are so "little girlish" without being JUST the traditional pink.
You are so BRAVE to free motion that beautiful quilt for the first time. I would have been so afraid to have ruined it, but you've got to start somewhere I guess. You have certainly been rewarded for your courage, because it IS beautiful.
Now that's my kind of quilting. I've always wanted to try this, and I will when I have the time(and energy). It's beautiful, Debbie.
Debbie
That is a wonderful job on this quilt. It takes practice but it is worth it to be able to finish projects. I can make tops faster than I can get them hand quilted so machine quilting works so much better. Have fun with your new skill. The quilt is beautiful.
Rhonda
It's gorgeous! I haven't done free-motion embroidery in years, but you are right--it's easy. When my (now 22-year-old) son was five, I made him a Jurassica Park costume for Halloween. I drew the Dinosaur logo and filled it in with free-motion stitching. Took forever, but it looked great when it was done.
It's absolutely beautiful. I love the colours! I will take a tip from you and draw a meandering pattern to get me in the "groove",
I hope mine comes out as well.
Your post helped alot, thanks :)
Niki
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