C&G and FMQ

Today I focused on two things, which happened to complement each other perfectly:  my C&G Module 5, excercises 15 & 16, and the Free Motion Quilt Project, for which I'm playing 'catch up'.  

Yep.  I began by trying to catch up a bit with Leah Day, and made it through the introduction and the "Wiggle" exercises.  This is the stack of practice blocks -- with the best one on top, of course!  I have more squares of muslin and batting paired and ready to go as I continue this project.

At the same time in the C&G...

My current assignment for Module 5 of the City and Guilds Level 2, Creative Techniques: Quilting, involves Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).. First there were exercises in my sketchbook:

 You can see in this first one that I was stiff and stilted, even as I tried to draw a favourite design without lifting pen from paper.

 The second one was a bit easier to do -- in part because I've done it before on fabric, and in part because now I was getting warmed up.

 Now we had to try to fit a design around a central motif.  See how the scale changes to accommodate the motif rather than detract from it?

This was another example of trying to scale a quilting design to a motif -- to create texture and interest without overwhelming the motif.

In the end, I had to select a free-motion design and stitch it around a motif.  I managed to dig out a sample I'd created for an earlier module and activity, and use it for my sample.  Not my best 'pebbles' work (I have done this before, 2 or 3 years ago...)  but it got me back into the groove.  At the same time, I was able to follow Leah's advice to modify my stippling foot, to test out various threads, and to adjust my chair (by adding a cushion to raise me just a bit) so that future exercises will be a bit more fun and relaxing.

Although I may move on in the C&G (I think foundation piecing is next on the agenda), I'll be continuing with the FMQ Project, so stay tuned for new designs and photos of practice samples as I continue to learn and to "Polish the Process".

P.S. The following pieces in the 3F shop have been submitted for juries' consideration to up-coming exhibits:

"Nobody Here But Us" - 16.25" W x 13.75"L - for "Spaces & Places", the 2012 Biennial Exhibit of the Focus on Fibre Arts Association, Edmonton, Alberta

and...

for the Gallery at the 2012 Lacombe Art Show & Sale, running April 20 -22 at the Lacombe Memorial Centre:

Snippets: A Quilt Artist's Learning Curve

A Beach, 3 Boys

Hay Bales