Friday, February 22, 2013

Swirls, A Doll Quilt and a Birthday



Today was my birthday, so I took a day of vacation from work. Outside was rainy and very cold, but inside it was warm, with candles burning, music playing in the background and sewing going on in the sewing room.  THE PERFECT DAY!

I wanted to begin and finish a project today, so I made this doll quilt. The pattern can be found HERE. I looked through my scraps to find similar colored fabrics.  This is where having precut strips and charm squares came in handy.  I already had the 2 inch strips and 5 inch squares.  This sped things up a lot.

Even though this quilt pattern is for a doll quilt, I think it would be perfect for a small table runner or table topper.

I've also been wanting to expand my free motion quilting beyond the basic meander that I normally do. I love swirls! So I signed up for a Craftsy class and learned how to make them! I'm really happy about this.

They aren't perfect by any means and I need lots more practice. But for my first attempt, I was pleased. You start out by sketching the swirls like this. I also practiced on a practice quilt sandwich before attempting it on a real quilt. The small size of the doll quilt was great for practicing too.




With more practice I think I will be able to manage making swirls on a larger quilt.


There are so many more FMQing designs for me to learn.




This post is linked to FRIDAY NIGHT SEW IN and CRAZY MOM QUILTS FINISH IT FRIDAY.

15 comments:

Betty Lou said...

Happy Birthday, Debbie. What a wonderful way to spend your day, you will always remember that you made this little quilt, with swirls and all on your birthday.

Rhonda said...

Happy birthday, sounds like you had a wonderful day. I know nothing about the right way to machine quilt, wish I could come take a lesson from you.

Dee said...

Happy Birthday! With a quilt like that, I just has to be perfect!

Great FMQ'ing!

Little Penpen said...

Happy Birthday Debbie! Your doll quilt and swirls turned out great!! I spent most of the day sewing too. It was a good day. :)

Auntie M said...

What a wonderful birthday you had. A perfect one, to be sure.

The doll quilt is delightfully done. Proud to call you Sister.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Happy Birthday Debbie!!!!! Really like the little doll quilt.

Heidi Staples said...

Happy birthday! I love those swirls -- beautiful quilting!

Liz said...

Super swirls!

Sara said...

cool swirls...love that quilt design too myself.

Angie said...

I think you did a MARVELOUS job from colors and setting to the swirls. Happy birthday---sounds like the perfect day :D. Mine is Tuesday (26th). Hope I make mine as special as you did yours. :)

Katherine said...

Visiting from FNSI and Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a wonderful day doing just what you wanted too. I love the swirly quilting too.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday! Good-looking swirls - great job!

Jenniffier said...

Wonderful quilting and happy belated b-day!

tahoe34 said...

Which machine quilting class did you take on Craftsy? Your swirls look amazing!!

Debbie J said...

Thanks!

The craftsy class is "Quilting in Negative Spaces". The class was on sale last week.