MarionsQuilts

I have dreamed of making a whole cloth quilt since I first started quilting. It is definitely a daunting task - I've done lots of reading and drooling for the last 10+ years.

I decided to try and do my own - a mini one.

I have a quilting / embroidery sewing machine so decided to use some blocks that I have purchased (I have over 5000 designs that I "love" but never use ... sigh)

I chose black fabric so I could really see what I was doing - and a good check on my progress with FMQ.

I used chalk to outline the squares and then used my machine to do the embroidered / quilted blocks.

I then did FMQ in the corners in black thread - since you can't see it, I decided to use coloured thread for in between the designs.

Here's my quilt ... and below are my lessons learned !

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Lesson # 1

Don't "embroider" through all three layers when you have an even slightly dense pattern. The back of the quilt is so tight and overlapping with threads that it looks messy, and I really don't want to spend hours pulling those threads through and trying to make the back of the quilt look nice:

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Lesson # 2

Don't FMQ in colour unless you are perfect LOL ... while I am very happy with the progress I have made doing FMQ - my stitches are even, I have a fabulous machine that makes FMQ a breeze ... winging it is not my forte ... yet. I have done FMQ on another quilt and I had a pattern to follow, and it was really well done. Practice makes perfect, and I have lots more practice to go, or I just always follow a pattern, and don't wing it!

Lesson # 3

Don't use chalk ... I couldn't get the markings to come off (short of washing it before it was done, which I was not going to do), and I changed what I was going to do in the middle (after I had marked it). This made it hard to figure out where my "new" markings were.

Lesson # 4

Plan the entire thing before you even start. I had planned on doing some quilting around the borders between the "design blocks" but I don't even know what I want in there, so it's all sewn together (binding and all) and if I find a design I like, I might finish it off.

Lesson # 5

Be very happy that I have a cat, and friends with cats who will thoroughly enjoy sleeping on a nice black quilt and don't care about uneven lines!

Thanks for looking ... and if you have any comments, suggestions for my next whole cloth quilt, I am more than happy to read them!