I Can't Believe I'm Machine Quilting! That is the title of my quilting story. When Dorie Hruska of Forever Quilting first asked for people to help her promote her new book through a blog hop, I was a bit hesitant because I am not a fan of machine quilting and thought I would just be embarrassing myself. Well something clicked, and it's like a light bulb went on in my brain on how to think about machine quilting. So here is my journey…
Making Connections is a free-motion quilting book that shows techniques for both domestic and longarm machine quilting. It steps you through the process of practice and learning the different motifs. The major difference is that the motifs used are used in a grid pattern. Something that could easily be followed with the patchwork blocks or chalk grid lines added to the quilt for reference. Learn to chant "over, down, up… over, down, up… over, down, up…" for the entire time, and you can do this method.
The book builds on this continuous curve method and adds flair to the quilting. Practicing with pencil and paper is supposed to help the muscle memory of learning each motif.
I picked out an abandoned mini quilt I made last August for a swap and thought it would be great practice. The blocks are 3" finished, so I made practice sandwiches that had a 3" grid drawn to simulate blocks.
Of course, I still needed to pick a motif for the block. I picked a swirl motif and practiced on a paper mock up of the block. I thought the swirls would be really pretty if I could actually machine quilt it! At this point, I was still super anxious this was going to be so awful.
For my practice sandwiches, I used black thread on white fabric to be able to judge my quilting and look at areas that may need improvement. I decided I couldn’t keep a consistent gap between the swirl out and back, so I attempted to retrace the lines during quilting. Certain directions were definitely easier to quilt than others, but I tried practicing without rotating the block.
Time to see how much I've improved with a neutral thread on my block. Spray basting is my best friend (you can read about how it changed my life here). I had also decided that I would rotate my piece so it'd be easier to quilt. Now for the finished mini quilt… Ta Da! I'm SO PROUD! I did improve a TON, but the neutral thread also really helped to hide any imperfections that I did end up doing. The best way to hide imperfect quilting is to hide it within other imperfect quilting!
I am now ready to try even more motifs from the book and learn how to actually quilt larger quilts on my domestic machine!
So where do you get a copy of this book?
- Every blogger on this blog hop is giving away a free copy of the book. If the winner is a US resident, he/she will get a physical copy. If the winner is an international resident, he/she will get a PDF copy of the book.
- You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon (my affiliate link)
- You can purchase a SIGNED copy from Dorie herself at Forever Quilting
The Blog Hop goes until September 15, so be sure to visit all the different bloggers to learn more about the book, get inspired, and have a chance to win a copy!
Blog Hop Schedule
Friday September 1st
C&T Publishing Blog: http://www.ctpub.com/blog/
Monday September 4th
Holly Anne Knight Blog: https://www.stringandstory.com/
Susan Arnold Blog: www.quiltfabrication.com
Tuesday September 5th
Becca Fenstermaker Blog: www.prettypiney.com
Teri Lucas Blog: www.generationqmagazine.com
Wednesday September 6th
Sherry Shish Blog: https://poweredbyquilting.com <---- You are here!
Pam Morgan Blog: www.mysweetlittlestitches.com
Thursday September 7th
Katy S Blog: www.katyquilts.net
Laura Piland Blog: www.sliceofpiquilts.com
Friday September 8th
Suzy Webster Blog: https://websterquilt.blogspot.com
Bernie Kringel Blog: https://needleandfoot.com
Monday September 11th
Jamie Mueller Blog: www.sunflower-quilts.com
Nancy Scott Blog: http://masterpiecequilting.blogspot.com
Tuesday September 12th
Sherri Noel Blog: www.rebeccamaedesigns.com
Anorina Morris Blog: www.sameliasmum.com
Wednesday September 13th
Yvonne Fuchs Blog: https://quiltingjetgirl.com
Barbie Mills Blog: https://thequiltingmill.blogspot.com
Thursday September 14th
Afton Warrick Blog: www.quiltingmod.com
Kathy Bruckman Blog: https://kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com
Friday September 15th
Susan Arnold Blog: www.quiltfabrication.com
Dorie Hruska Blog: http://www.forever-quilting.com/blog
Here is my Rafflecopter for the giveaway! The giveaway will be open until September 16 at 12:00AM Central Daylight Time. The winner will be shown on the Rafflecopter and will be contacted via email. Good Luck!