I have to admit I'm tired of stippling. I either hand quilt or machine stipple. I have not tried anything else because this seems to be the IT thing. I do love it when I'm done and so does everybody else, but it's all I do. I started to tie a quilt today just to try something different. I need ideas for other machine quilting patterns.

I also have been meandering for way too long. I do it very well, but think it's finally time that I tried a pattern. I'm not good at following a pattern drawn on a quilt so a freestyle one would be what I would try. I just have to get up my courage and do it.

That could be a quote, I've been meandering way too long!!! I like it! I can't follow a pattern very well either yet.

My problem with meandering...............my MIND starts meandering!!!! LOL Then I have to slap myself and get myself back on track!

I find spirals easier than meandering- I can make them in rows, or random in size and space. I also like pebbling- I like the way it looks when it is washed.

I love to do freehand feathers. Started out watching patsy Thompson videos. She is great. I even catch myself doodling feathers. Practicing on paper is a great way to get comfortable with a new pattern

I want to try feathers but they intimidate me. Someday maybe I'll get up the nerve.

The lady that writes this blog is doing free motion background filler patterns. Some of them are really easy and some of them are harder but it'll give you lots of ideas to get out of the stipple rut. http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

Don't be scared of feathers. They are really quite simple. The hardest part for me was to realize that they didn't have to be perfect. When you look at a stencil each loop is exact. Free "styling" feathers don't have to be. Look at nature. It is not always identical. So don't be intimidated. Try it on paper first. It really is quite fun!

thanks so much for the link!
I could spend all day just watching her quilt!

Just finished going to the link, thanks, very helpful. Pebbling sounds neat too. It is true, that once it's all quilted and washed it's hard to find the mistakes!

I stencil patterns onto the quilt and then stitch them.

thanks for the link I could watch it all day

Thanks everybody!! I have only done SID and need to move up :D:D
Great thread.

Easy ones are loops with stars, swirls, hearts. Curliques like question marks are easy for me and they don't have to be perfect to look good. I'm not good at flowers yet. I'm getting better with following the pattern, but still go off the lines all the time. I like to draw a design and trace over it onto Sukly Solvy. Then I pin that onto the fabric and quilt it. You trim away the bulky part of the extra and the rest washes away. For practice, you could make a sandwich with a nice floral or kids design and practice going around the shapes. It helps build confidence.

Thanks for the link. Really nice. :)

Here's a site of quilting stencils that I check out sometimes to give me some ideas.

http://quiltingstencils.com/

quiltingcreations.com is another nice site for stencils.

Me, too!! :oops:

Try using stencils and Golden Threads tracing paper. Available at your LQS, the paper comes on a roll in 2 widths. Trace your design on one piece of paper, stack up to 10-15 levels of paper, then stitch the design with a 14-16 needle (to make larger holes) without thread. That gives you multiple copies of your design. Pin the copies on your quilt where you want the design, then, using your free motion foot, stitch the design on your quilt. http://www.goldenthreads.com/t-sewin...-quilters.aspx
On my current quilt I used one stencil to do the borders and another full-page stencil for the overall design. Easy and faster than trying to draw on your quilt. Because the paper is slightly heavier than tissue paper it's easy to rip off when you're finished stitching.

Okay, I get the term "stippling", but not sure about "Pebbling". Do you have photos of it - also spirals, please - or suggest a site where I can see those? Thanks

This blog has all of those designs and dozens more. Keep going through older posts.

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

Thanks...that's a helpful site.

Here's a way to get a stencil without buying it. Click on the design to copy it, then paste it to a blank word document. Then right click on the design. You should be able to click on "format." This will bring up a menu so that you can enlarge the design. It'll be blurry, but good enough to trace onto a foundation paper. Then you can quilt right through the paper and tear it away as in paper-piecing. (Or, if you can draw, you can do it that way. I just can't draw.)

Thanks for the link. I think that spider web pattern would be great on Halloween quilts.

Janette, thanks for the hint. Stacking up the copy and then needling it is a real timesaver. Not to mention the time it takes to copy each piece. You are a genius!

Try free style or templets drawn on the quilt. With practice it will be easier and more fun.

What is the difference between stippling, meandering, & free motion?

I finally ventured into "free motion" recently & after a lot of ugly samples, I just dug in & worked on a table runner I just plainly didn't like because I had used a too high loft. I got so excited by the way it was looking after a doing a sm. patch, I did the whole thing & now I love it. Now I'm looking for other pcs to do.

Oh my gosh, I did this too. Then I could not get my rhythm going at all. I figured there are no stitching police around to see where my lines crossed. It was time to take a break.

I call my stippling loop-de-loo of varying sizes, but i do like the look after washing too!

Try this http://daystyledesigns.com, I love her web sight. The fillers are really creative, and there are plenty of them.

So many great suggestions here, I will keep my eye on this thread. Thanks for starting it.

I think the secret to feathers might be to sketch yourself a "spine" or center line of the area you want to be a feather, sort of a wavy curve,
then go along and fill in with the loops of the feathers.
I am certain there might be some site that shows how to do this,
and would give a good start to learning how to do this beautiful quilting style.

Hi, Hazeljane,
Can you describe how you do "pebbling"? I think I know what it looks like - lots of small bubbles - but, do you just keep sewing in circles? are the circles kind of the same size? I can't quite figure it out... Thanks!

Pebbling is done in circles, and they are of varying size to fill up a space, it looks great and I love to do it, the trick is to try stay on the same lines. It just takes practice. Remember to have fun.

I have found that doing a curvy leaf vine is quite easy and goes really fast...I especially like it in the borders. Also, bows and ribbons are quite fun and not too difficult.

There's a book by Sally Terry called 'Hooked on Feathers' which shows a great technique to make feathers without backtracking. I practiced a lot on paper first, this really helps with all FMQ - but I find this method much easier than the conventional back tracking feathers?

I read somewhere to draw your design on "Press n Seal" plastic wrap and "stick" it to your quilt and sew over it. I tried it and it works pretty well and tears away easily. It's much easier than using tissue paper which slides all over or chalk that seams to disappear and I can't see it well.

Colleen thanks for the tip. k3n love your quilt.

Me too. I'm still fairly new to quilting (2 years) and have only done SID. Well I did get "fancy" once and put "X's" in the squares! LOL