Wow have I been busy. I am off work at the moment, I have taken time off to look after my Mom full time so my Dad can have a holiday - he has gone to Majorca (a Spanish Island). Dad didn't leave until Weds morning, so I had Tuesday all to myself, and guess what I did! Yup, could not resist the pull of that new FMQ foot that arrived on Monday. I had had a ten minute 'try' with it on Mon eve, but Tuesday I threw together some practice sandwiches and off I went! I LOVE IT! I'm not saying I find it easy, but boy is it addictive! I wanted to try so many patterns but don't know where to start, but I love doing the stippling. Will def get some books you have all suggested. Also finished the three partially done cushion covers I started MONTHS ago. Am off to the Rag Market in Birmingham today to get upholstery fabric to finish them off. Am I cooking with gas or what?!?!?

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You certainly have been busy!! :D Those blocks are beautiful. I just love the colors & the quilting pattern that you did. Please keep sharing with all of us, as you make more progress!! :D :D :D :D

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Great stuff Kitty, you are doing so well.
I think Kitchen thought "well, she can do that okay on her own now, so I'm going back to sleep"

WooooooooooooooooooooW Mary...what a born natural you are...I couldn't have dared shown my very first attempts as they were so bad lol!! :lol: :D

How did you do the lazy daisy quilting on the blocks??

Thanks Izy! Lazy Daisy?? Lol I had no idea it was called that! Hehe. I just used a side plate placed upside down to mark the semi circles with a pencil. They are not free motion - sticthed on the machne as usual with the walking foot on.

well done......go-go-go :wink:

Great job!!! Love your fabric!!

awwwhhh trade discription act has been broken lol!! So like me you 'cheat' quilt too lol!! I use my open foot and lower pressure on foot and you can 'swing' the quilt around to follow curves............am I teaching you bad habits???? :lol:

p.s. I just called it lazy daisy and now you explained how you did it I think it is suits it lol!!

Mary---I am so impressed with your first attempts at machine quilting!!! I have attempted on several occasions and mine never looks this good. Great job--you should be very proud!!!

I love pics of your kitties!! They never fail to make me smile. This morning when I looked I just had to share your "monorail cats" with my husband. They made him smile too!! :-) :-) :-)

Thanks for the positive comments all! Am itching to carry on now

Thanks Marcia, My boys make me laugh and smile on a daily basis, so glad to share that with you and your husband!

Mary, you did a terrific job. I was going to ask if you marked your quilt for the lazy daisy but as I read I saw that you did. I would not be able to do that totally freehand, it would be all wonky. What kind of pencil did you mark with? You did a fantastic job staying on the lines! I'd be happy if my free motion was half as good as yours!

Great job!!! I'm impressed!

I love how the cats are on the door! Mine would fall off! lol
Kitchen looks so cute with his nose all tucked away for sleeping.

Looking very very good!!!! Wonderful job. Isn't fun! You're a natural.

Love the kitties on top of the door.

Thanks Gayle, the pencil I used was just an ordinary run of the mill 'propelling' pencil. The type that is plastic (lloks like a biro), and you put the fine 'nib' refills inside, and twist the pointy end to make the nib come out. It;s not a quilting one or anything, I got it from work. I find that it makes a line dark enough to see on most fabrics, but it is fine enough that as long as you sew right over it, you can't see the line afterwards. And if you can, it rubs off easy with the eraser on the end, or goes away totally with washing.

WOW, Mary! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: First attempt! Great Guns that is terrific! :lol: Love your practice pieces also with the stippling and kitty supervision! I have superviors evey time I sew and especially when I press something. I turn around and someone of them has stolen the "warm spot". :lol: Love the monorail kitties! :lol:

Wow you did a wonderful job and your kitties are killing me. How did they get on top of the door? Did they jump? Amazing my kittie has finally (oh poop) figured out how to get on the counters and since he loves to steal food not a good place for him, let alone my STOVE that could hurt.

Great quilting. Yes, how did the cats get up on the edge of the door? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks beachlady! When the cats were kittens, they used to be able to jump from the floor to the top of the door, using the handle halfway up to boost themselves up. Now they are all grown up and a little more, ahem, rotund, they have to jump from the nearby radiator, which comes halfway up next to the door. They do sometimes misjudge the distance and all I hear is ...scrabble, scrabble, scrabble....THUD as they fall off!

I love your blocks - and your quilting is gorgeous.

Your kitties remind me of cats I had years ago - now departed - a black called Lovejoy and a red tabby (didn't like to be called ginger!) called Gooey. The rescue centre they came from said they were brothers but they were complete opposites - Lovejoy skinny and talkative (like a siamese) and Gooey fat and lazy! But I heard that the same litter can have different fathers so maybe that explains the difference between them!

K x

Very pretty blocks and your quilting looks great! Kitties approve too it looks like.

I love the blocks GREAT JOB! The kitties are so pretty

wonderful quilting. I am impressed. Love your kitties too.

Excellent!!!!! I agree with Izy, You are a natural at FMQ!!!!

Love the boys on the door, too cute!!! :D

Love the Blocks and Love the Cats!......:-)

I would say you have very good control over that quilting. I am so jerky when I try doing it off the frame

love your block... really like the checker board center one

Very nicely done, love the kitties and the blocks and fmq, those feathers aren't as easy as it looks so I'm impressed. My feathers are still sickly looking but so far keep on trying them myself, one day I'll get the motion right. Your machine quilting is nice.