I've been quilting about 1 1/2 years. For a while I was happy stitching around those ditches and sewing diagonal lines, but the FMQ bug has bitten. From this board I learned to think "snakes"
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ml#post5144232
but I started that on this one and didn't like the way it was turning out. I was using a varigated thread and didn't like the way it looked also so ... rrrriiippppp!
From this board I learned that you can stitch a few snakes going side to side - this may be a Leah Day idea - I can't find that link that showed it. That didn't feel right either.
I usually pin anything bigger than a baby size - and spray baste smaller projects. For this one I spray basted cause I wanted it to be more stable than I thought pins would do. So I was concerned the spray wouldn't stay if I maneuvered the quilt too much.
I decided to stitch around each big block - about 1/2 inch on each side of the seams joining the blocks together. That left me with 12 large outlined blocks to play in and a sandwich I did not think would shift too much. Then I meandered my way in each block and ... it's a start.
I wouldn't be happy if I'd paid someone to quilt this for me and this is what I got back, but as a start to getting to another place in my quilitng journey I'm quite happy.
Pattern: Turning 12 - uses 12 fat quarters. The scrappy border can't be made totally from the 12 FQ's - you need to add 2 more border strips - got those from my stashlette. (EVEN BETTER: I'm in a club at my LQS and at each meeting there's a "deal". One month the deal was $1.50 for any FQ in the shop (except batiks) and I got these beautiful things. Ye-haw!
Fabric: Moda's Etchings by 3 Sisters. LOVE THIS It feels so lucious.
Backing: 108" wide from my LQS (Wyndham Fabrics by Whistler Studios)
Size: 54X70
Binding: backing brought around
Giftee: a grandson's pre-school teacher. This sweet lady is truly a gift to children and a miracle worker indeed. (SHe is my grandson's second teacher this year. In the first class he was labeled with every alphabet combination possible from ADD to Aspergers to ODD - oppositional defiant disorder - security was even called on him when he ran to a corner and started screaming. Yes, security - he's 4. I started taking a day off from MY teaching job about once a month just to provide a family/school connection for him and saw miracles happening once he was moved to a new room. From the alphabet soup to a "normal" child under this dear lady's care. And THAT given while her husband served with the National Guard in Afghanistan for 2 of the 4 years they have been married. He returned near Christmas time. Sorry to go on and on, but you don't see miracles happen every day - or even every school year.)