Thursday, November 1, 2012

Just under the wire again!

I almost didn't do this months FMQ Challenge at Insights From SewCalGal. I have yet to miss a month (though several times came as close to missing as I could without actually missing). The reason I thought I wouldn't do this one was because it involved using different battings, fabrics and threads. Let's face it, I'm boring. I have no silk anything--fabric or thread. My battings are all cotton or cotton/poly--no wool here. My threads are similarly bland. So I decided right off the bat that I was going to skip this one. Maybe I would make it up with a bonus tutorial, maybe not. Just possibly I would drop out all together. Oh, I was getting drastic in my thinking. But other, more daring souls forged ahead with what they had on hand. Why didn't I think of that? They inspired me. So I am posting my link by the skin of my teeth again. Here it is.

 I usually stick pretty closely to designs I have tried before, but this time I branched out with some new stuff. I had fun, other than the changing of thread. Am I the only one that doesn't enjoy frequent thread changing? Oh, and the feather wasn't fun, either. Feathers are my nemesis. I wasn't going to do one, but I figured I needed to get brave. This is patterned after Sally Terry's hooked feathers. It is better than some I have quilted, but that is still my least favorite corner of this project.
The fabric is cotton, the batting is a scrap of cotton left from a larger quilt. These are the threads I used--a couple of size 30 Poly Quilter's Choice by Golden Threads, size 40 Poly Glide, size 50 cotton Aurifil, size 50 cotton Mettler, size 40 cotton Signature, size 40 poly Isacord, and size 50 cotton Gutermann.
I've also worked on quilting my Mountain Trail today. Hopefully I will get it bound in the next day or two and link it up with Lori at Humble Quilts.
My time is almost up to link this with the FMQ Challenge, so I'd better do it now. 
Until next time, 
Janet O.





24 comments:

  1. I love what you have done. Mountain trail is looking fabulous.

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  2. Lovely quilting Janet...the Mountain Trails quilt looks great too

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  3. GOOD ON YOU!!! You seized the challenge by the teeth and you nailed it!! Your piece looks fabulous. I love your Mountain Trails too; I am so close to succumbing to this one!!

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  4. You really are rising to the challenge, well done; your quilting is very, very pretty! I love the idea of experimenting with various threads too. Mountain Trails is just lovely.

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  5. oh yeah, janet, love that border as it really brings out the dark red in the quilt....

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  6. Look at the beautiful quilting! It looks amazing! I hate changing thread too. Love your threads, have you ever tried Madiera or Bottom Line? I love those, that is mostly what I use except sometimes I will use Signature or Connecting Threads but I usually have a hard time with the Connecting Threads thread breaking.

    Have a wonderful and Blessed day
    Kristie

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  7. Glad that you did not give up on the quilting challenge. Your feathers are looking good. I also am not much in love with quilting feathers.
    The quilting on Mountain Trails is perfect for it.

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  8. Look at you! So glad you did not give up, because your stitching is looking wonderful. I finally figured out that we all have signature stitches and mine is not feathers either! Love your take for the quilting on Mtn Trails, too.

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  9. Mom your quilting on both the challenge and the mountain trail are beautiful! I see your name in the challenge :) I think the pattern you've chosen for the mountain trail really showcases your work...piecing and quilting.

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  10. Way to Get It Done in Time. You are very talented.

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  11. Love the cable quilting on the mountain trail quilt! Great machine quilting!!

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  12. I really like the patterns you used on your sample.....the leaves in the center and the swirlies are great! I really like that pattern just above your name, too! And your Mountain Trail quilt is sweet!

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  13. GREAT job!! And what pretty colors of threads you're using!!!! :)

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  14. I too say GREAT JOB! What an accomplishment to be on track and you show such wonderful skills.

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  15. Wow! I love all your quilting! It's hard to pick a favorite. Really like your Mountain Trail too! I like that your red squares are a print instead of a solid. Everything looks grand!

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  16. You may not have enjoyed doing it but that feather is awesome. I can see how using different threads, etc. would be a good exercise. I tend to stick with just cotton, too. although I like the wool batting for hand quilting.
    Mountain Trails looks great. Love seeing how your machine quilting has progressed.

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  17. Nice practice piece. I think I'll put some solid fabric on HELGA and give her a whirl with some 'Practice'. You inspire me. I like the Mountain Trail also. I didn't realize it was another MINI QAL with Lori so I resisted.

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  18. I love your quilting on Mountain Trail. It really makes the piece special

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  19. Wow Janet...I love your quilting...your free motion quilting is gorgeous..
    I love your Mountain Trail mini too..
    Julia♥

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  20. Your quilting is beautiful. I like your name quilted and can see all sorts of uses for that in machine quilting. And I still love that Mountain Trail quilt.

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  21. The challenge is met even if you substitute--good for you for forging to the deadline! I have read that 100 wt thread is good for FMQ that involves a lot of backtracking because the thread buildup is so much less noticeable.

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  22. Your FMQ piece looks wonderful, including the feathers! I really like the hooked on feathers method. It turns out best for me, although I didn't use it on this FMQ. Your QAL is looking wonderful too! I wish I could say that I have completed all the FMQ challenge months, but I think I need to make up 2 of them. I'll have to go through my blog posts to see where I stand on that, and I will need to catch up on them this month. Yikes!

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  23. Nice job Janet. I really like your quilting. Hugs

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  24. Your quilting looks fantastic and I love that your "signature" is there in the middle.

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