Drinking the FMQ Koolaid

Over the past few months, I have pushed/forced myself to expand my quilting skills by trying new patterns. It is so darn easy to stick with the stippling and loops that I can almost do in my sleep, but I wanted to try some new things to see if I might find something I like to add to my skill set. Like many of you, I have been following Leah Day's blog since almost the beginning. I have one of her books and have asked for the second one for Christmas and I do use them a lot for inspiration. 


A few months ago, when I started to prep my Evening Flight quilt for quilting, I decided that it needed specialized quilting, so I went to the blog for inspiration and decided to use a couple of her patterns -- here they are (each name is linked to her blog post about the design, but the picture is my attempt at it): 


Etch-n-Sketch (a looser version of it): 


Tree Bark 

Matrix
Cobwebs in the Corner



The hardest of the designs I tried was cobwebs in the corner. I had to practice on scrap fabric for a while before I was brave enough to do it on the top, but I am really pleased with how it turned out and love the black and silver thread I used for it. 


I found the patterns to be fairly easy to do - they are by no means perfect, but I am so glad I stepped out on the ledge to try something new. In a few days, I will share my experiments with Leah's designs on my HQ Avante. 


In the meantime, if you haven't been following, take a few minutes/hours and stop over at Leah's blog to see all the great designs and videos she has to share. It might just pique your interest too! 





Comments

Cheryl Willis said…
fantastic job! i hope santa brings you the next volumn, i still can't force myself to do anything other then cont.line, one of these days i will break out of my box. way to inspire- cw
Way to go!! I am impressed! The quilting looks awesome!
Colleen said…
That looks AWESOME! Love all the details. Nice job!!!!!!
Leah said…
Awesome! I LOVE the quilting over so many pretty Halloween themed blocks. It just goes to show that the textures really can add so much to the overall design. The metallic thread you used with Cobwebs in the Corners is awesome!

Leah Day