Winter Stitching Wrap Up

I missed you guys!  I fell of the face of the planet for a week there, but I am hoping life gets back to normal this week.  How better to re-join blogging than by checking projects off the ever growing to-do list?  As you know, I was yet another list maker joining in with FairyFace Design’s Winter Stitching Goals List.  I find things like this to be completely helpful in giving me direction when I am overwhelmed.  To keep the list moving along, I also just joining in with Rhonda's Finish Along....and so far it's working!

Birdie Stitches: Finish the Quilt Top

Done!  I finished my Birdie Stitches top and sent it over to Elisa so she can layer, quilt and bind it for use in her house.  You can hear the whole story here, but in the end I'm super happy to have expanded my embroidery skills and thrilled that Elisa has a quilt she likes.  Win-win.

Brother’s Mixer Cover: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Done!  I was lucky enough to visit this little mixer cover in my brother's pantry this past march and it's lookin' pretty cute there next to the ice cream maker!  

Sister-In-Law’s Bag: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Well, I finished a bag, not THE bag.  This 241 Tote was her Christmas gift that was delayed until 2012 as the fabric took nearly 8 weeks to arrive from the states!  Eek!  So, I had to giver her an IOU under the tree.  Anyway, we're both thrilled with this finish.  My mom has already asked for one for herself!  

Blankets of Love: Finish Two Tops, Two Backs, Two Bindings

Done. I really like what Kat is doing with her local organization, so I tried to chip in.  I wanted to make two quilts for her, but the shipping would be nuts given the weight of the batting.  So, I made two tops, two backs and two bindings and Kat assembled and quilted our quilts.  It was my first time doing a DP, which then included a huge learning curve, but I got there eventually!

There was even a third quilt top made as part of our Do. Good Stitches CARE circle!

Bees: Contribute On Time

Done.  I'm in four bees now, a list that is quickly growing to six. I am still completely in love with them.  Let's be honest, though.  I think I've hit the maximum number of bees I can contribute to in any given month.  I won't bore you with all of the photos, of the blocks made, but if you hop over to my flickr page you can see them all!

Swaps: Finish Two Swaps

Done.  I finished my Modern Christmas Table Runner swap with Susan of Canadian Abroad.  Doing just this one project has kicked me off on the table runner path and there have been several more since: one for my Mom, one as a PIF, and one for my SIL!  Oh, Susan, the slippery slope you've put me on!

I also co-organized the Mouthy Stitches swap with Susan and Hadley, which was great fun.  It was my first pouch, first zip, first time organizing a HUGE number of lovely ladies.  We had a great time!  I made this pouch for my partner...and again several more since! 

Quilts: Finish Mod Logs, the Community Quilt and Start Chaos and Scrappy Stars

I fell down a bit in this category.  Mod logs is finished and used every day in our house.

The Community Quilt and Chaos are going no where fast.  They're now officially UFOs...I have to do something about that ASAP.

Scrappy Stars has morphed into Stargazing.  The top and back are finished and off with the lovely Trudi to get quilted.  I can't wait to see what she creates!

International Quilt Festival of Ireland: Finish Cúchulainn 

Done! I am quite happy to have Cúchulainn  finished it and handed it to the festival organizers.

Guest Post: Write One

Done!  I was super excited to contribute to Sarah's tutorial series by submitting a notebook tutorial.  It was my first tutorial...and it took WAY longer than I thought it would.  Still, I love these little cuties!

Off to link up with Sarah.  Hop on over and see what everyone else created this past winter!

Free Motion Friday Week 8: Superstar

Are you a Superstar?  Well of course you are!  This week's Free Motion Friday from the Free Motion Quilting Project is this beauty:

How did it go for you?  Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Normally I'd post a new challenge for this upcoming week, but I think our time has come to a close. Our participation each week has reduced and I think it will only continue to do so with the holidays coming up.  I like to think it's because you guys are feeling confident on your own and are off practicing diligently on your own!  So, many thanks to those of you who participated and I wish you happy  FMQ success.

Free Motion Friday Week 7: H2O

Decades of scientific training were my downfall this week.  It actually made me incapable of stitching little circles attached to one another by little lines.  Why couldn't I disconnect my right brain from my left?  No one knows.  Stupid education.

Leah, of the Free Motion Quilting Project, made this beauty called H2O.  I have to say, this is visually one of my favorite FMQ patterns.  I really could see myself using this one day. 

OK...are you ready?  I'm not sure you are, but I'll toss this out for a good giggle.

I wish I could do the straight lines as single lines.  I don't like it when my stitching goes haywire and you can see both lines.  I also wish I did the circles A) as circles and B) as single loops instead of tracing over myself.

My brain was stuck on the actual chemical structure of water.  There is one oxygen and two hydrogens.  Two bonds per large circle.  And they shouldn't be linked to one another.  This is just chaos.  My brain couldn't separate the quilting motif from my ancient chemistry lectures. 

Moving on.  I have two apologies to make.  We are in the process of moving to a new (to us) house, so the sewing machine has taken a back seat. 

1: I did not have a quiet minute this week to test out the FMQ goodies I received from Leah.  I am sorry.  I just want to dedicate real time to an honest review of the products, so I chose to not squeeze it into this week of craziness. 

2: I will not be able to practice with you for the next two weeks.  I am happy to host the linky, but I will have to drop out of stitching until early Dec.  I will honestly jump right back in once the new house is up and running.

Right.  So, what's next week?  How about Superstar?

Are you feeling lucky?  Well, get stitching my friends! 




Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday Week 6: Pine Needles

So, have you come to a conclusion?  Are you a curve-loving person or a straight line-kind of person?  I think I may have stitched teams and am now cheering for the curves.  Interesting.  I just can not trace a stitched line to save my life, which seems to be what straight line quilting is all about lately.  Anyway, this week I stitched this crazy thing...

Instead of these pretty Pine Needles by Leah at the Free Motion Quilting Project.  Argh!

I was nearly ready to throw in the towel (or quilting sandwich - what ever).  Not to fear, though!  Leah Day to the rescue!  Out of the blue Miss Leah emailed me (Hi, if you're reading this!) and asked me to try out her Machingers, Supreme Slider and the Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers and tell her what I think.  Well, of course I will!  (Duh, who wouldn't!?!?) So, she shipped a sample over and I will give them a try using this week's pattern.  I will let you all know my honest thoughts after giving them a try!  I am most excited about the Supreme Slider as the bump in my machine bed seems to always be my problem (or at least my current excuse). 

And how will we test out her goodies?  With this pretty pattern: H2O. 

We can use this handy-dandy video:



Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday 5: Stomach Lining

Hope you are all well and your stitching is coming along beautifully!  To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Halloweenish Stomach Lining pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

How did you do?  Well, much to my surprise I really enjoyed this pattern.  I have been so scared of curves, but here I kind of got into a vibe.  I was a little lost, though, when I got to an edge and had to loop back (as you see in the upper left corner).  I should have just traveled along the edge a bit and started another concentric circle.  Live and learn.

What's up for next week?  Had enough with curves?  What about going back to straight lines and trying these Pine Needles? 

We can use this handy-dandy video:


Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week. Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday Week 4: Bright Star

Welcome to the fourth week of our practice-a-long!   How are you feeling?  Are you having fun?  Are you any more confident?  Anyone think they're improving?  Good!  Our linky is growing with each post, so Hello and Welcome to our new participants.  We are happy to have a giggle with you.  Hope you have a good sense of humor :)

To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Bright Star pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

Want to see how it went for me?  I was confident.  Confident that I could stitch a straight line.  No problem, right.  Right?  Well, apparently I was too big for my britches....

It's OK.  It's better than last week, but still could use some serious practice.  I liked the straight lines, liked flipping the sandwich around as I went (so I didn't have to peer behind that pesky needle) and liked the simplicity.  Still, I'd hit bumps on my machine bed that would jar my pushing or pulling, resulting in a jolt on the straight line.  This was done without my usual relaxing techniques (AKA drinks or lullabies) but instead just breathing long, slow, calming breaths.  The good thing was, at the end my shoulders were not up at my ears!  It's working!

The back was fine.  No weirdness to report there, thank goodness.

 

Normally I will use Mr. Random to choose our week's challenge from your list of suggestions, but this week I thought something in the Halloween spirit might be fun.  Why don't we give Stomach Lining a try?   Yes, one of you suggested this piece of tastiness :)  Here is the photo from the Free Motion Quilting Project to guide us:

And our go-to video tutorial: 

Good luck!  Here's hoping the curvy lines do me well this week :)

Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week.  (Thanks a million to Laura who sorted out my linky issues!)  Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday Week 3: Slate Tiles

Welcome to the third week of our practice-a-long!   I love the enthusiasm and spirit of last week.  We are expanding to incorporate a great variety of experience and skill, which is making this really fun for me.  Clearly I need lots and lots of practice, but I am so thankful that there are many of you reading/playing along who are willing to contribute suggestions and helpful hints.  Thank you!

To remind you, this week we were trying to stitch something resembling this Slate Tile pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

Let me summarize my post-stitching conversation with my other half to give you a flavor of this week's FMQ experience:

me: See!  I get better each time I try?
him (giggling): You're all over the place!
me: But I get better, right?
him: The girls will have a good laugh this week :)

And he's right.  Here we go.

I made three attempts this week.  I tried Slate Tiles the first time with my motorcycle gloves, sans booze, humming a lullaby (calming) and created this:

The good thing is this pattern doesn't require me to "see" behind my needle.  I still struggle with that.  This I could stitch like I read a book, upper left to lower right.  Comforting.  I was trying to focus on thread tension and the balance between my moving the sandwich and needle speed to get pert stitches.  I kept my feed dogs up as many of you suggested I should.   The result is the lines are very shaky because I was pushing faster or slower to see the effect on stitch length.  It was a good experiment.  The problem was that with the feed dogs up, I got a pulling/jerking of the needle on its way up that would yank the sandwich all over the place.

So, back to the old tried and true.  "Normal" tension, feed dogs down and motorcycle gloves.  (OK: this week I really need to get those gardening gloves.  The biker gloves are not really doing the job.)  And I kind of like it!  The stitches are still slightly shaky because my machine bed is uneven and some times I yank the fabric as I go over a bump.  Still, I'm getting a little better (or so I tell myself).

Feeling confident, I thought I'd try to tackle my old nemesis The Wave.  How quickly my bubble burst!  I still can not stitch a curve to save my life.  I have troubles moving the fabric toward me, which makes sense as I am more used to moving it away from me when piecing.  Let's call it The Ripple.  Maybe if I try this again exaggerating the curve it would be better?  I will keep trying.

The good news is I don't have birds nests on the back side and I have found my favorite tension/feed dog combo.  It's only up from here, my friends!

Thank you all for your suggestions of patterns you'd like to try.  I have a little list going, so Mr Random and I will choose one from your suggestions each week.  This week, we're going to give Bright Star a try.   Here is the photo from the Free Motion Quilting Project to guide us:

Leah, helpful as ever, has given us this tutorial by video:




Good luck!  Join in the linky below and see what others were up to this week.  Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

(PS - Anyone else running linky parties through inlinkz.com?  I can't seem to allow photos to appear any more...and they were super fun! Can you?  Or are you text only too?)

Totally Random News

All kinds of things are going on here at Fluffy Sheep Quilting, so this is going to be a pretty random post.  I do not know how to structure this post so it makes sense, so I will just dive in.

Newsflash 1:

I won tickets to the Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin in mid-November!  Sarah (of Fairyface Designs) and Fi (of PatchworkDelights) host a flickr group called Sew Irish.  They were giving away tickets to folks interested in heading to the Dublin show so I gave it a shot.  Woo hoo!  I am super excited!  Thank you, Sarah and Fi!  I am really looking forward to seeing you both there.

Photo from http://www.rds.ie/, host of the show.

Newsflash 2:

Did you know our little Free Motion Friday practice-a-long was featured on Craft Gossip?  I am completely delighted and hope lots of new folks join in with us.   Much to my horror, though, Craft Gossip posted photos of my pre-pre-beginner quality FMQ attempts.  You can see the article here and have a good laugh at me.  At least the new folks joining us will not have to worry we are too advanced (hee hee!).

Newsflash 3:

I have finished two October blocks for Judith's Bee Blessed at Rags to Bags.  She asked for a disappearing nine patch.  This was a first for me, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out.  I hope she is too :)  This month she's making family quilts for homes in Belfast, so hopefully these colors will work with what she has in mind.  There's a blue-themed one, but the sun went down before I could get a photo.  Bummer.

Newsflash 4:

My fabric arrived for Susan's Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap.   It was a personal delivery by my folks when they came to visit this past weekend from the US!  Partner, if you're reading this I know its not all to your taste.  Don't worry!  It's not all for you :) I now have a partner, a possible design and fabric.  I just have to start cutting and stitching! 

I think that's finally it for mini news bites.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  Tomorrow will be our second to last guest post in the Start Your Own series.  Come on back and check it out!

Free Motion Friday Week 2: Drop Art

Are you getting more comfortable free motion quilting?  This was the second week of our practice-a-long and I have to say, I learned a few things.  Progress!  I am not saying I have a talent for this craziness, but at least I am learning and moving forward. 

To remind you, we were trying to stitch something like this Drop Art pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

I learned a few things this week:

First, a few beers might help.  That's all I am saying.


Second, I did find gloves and they are indeed helpful.  I did not get proper FMQ gloves, or even the inexpensive gardening gloves many of you suggested, but instead used my leather motorcycle gloves and they worked pretty well.  Since there's a hint of hope here, I may splash out and get some gardening gloves this week.

Third, a larger piece of fabric to stitch on was helpful.  I had more control.


I still can't see what is behind my needle.  Is anyone else having this issue?  So, my first time trying this pattern, I did the top row of drops, then tried to keep the top row behind the needle and stitch in the bottom row.  I couldn't see where I was going, so the bottom looks funny.  Anyway, here's the top:

And the back

I tried it again and stitched the top row, then flipped the sandwich 180 degrees and quilted the bottom row so each row was in front and I could see it properly.  I was more comfortable this way.  The top of try two:

And the bottom:

What I am noticing is that my stitches are not well defined.  I don't have "birds nests" or tension issues (I think, at least), but they look flat instead of the neat, pert, individual stitches I am used to with my normal foot/feed dogs/stitch length.  Does anyone else notice this?  Why does it look so flat?   Or maybe my top tension is too loose...but then you'd see the bottom thread popping up, right?  I'm lost.


And now for this week's challenge....Slate Tile.  This is also a beginner's pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project, but a little different.  I am having an awful time trying to get curves (waves, drops... whatever), so why not go for something more angular?  Here we go:

And of course, the instructional video:



I am open to suggestions for week 4's pattern, so just visit the FMQ project then come back here and leave a pattern name in the comments.  We'll stitch what ever you would like to stitch! 

Join in the linky and see what others were up to this week.  Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday Week 1: The Wave

How did you do quilting this week, folks?  This was the first week of our practice-a-long and I have to say, I struggled a bit. 

We were trying to stitch something like this wave pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

I learned a few things this week:

First, I was trying to use scraps to practice, but this may not have been the best idea.  They were 4 inches square and I was always too close to the edge or ran out of material to hang onto.  That was nearly a bigger struggle than controlling the machine.  I'll have to go larger this week.



Second, I could really use gloves of some sort to get a better grip.  I was resisting the teflon stuff that Leah Day suggested just because it seems so silly to buy all the gear when I have no idea what I am doing.  Gloves, however, may help.  Part of my issue was the size of the fabric scraps, but even in the center my fingers were not able to direct the sandwich to go where I wanted it to go.  I was too slippery. 

Third, I am better pushing the fabric away from me than pulling it toward me.  This goes back to the grip issue because pushing it away from me I could use my thumb on the edge of the sandwich while pulling toward me I could not get a hold on anything. 

Fourth, my foot is too huge to see around.  It has quite a large "mouth" (like myself, I guess) , so I could not direct my fabric along the already stitched neighboring line.

That sounds like a huge list of excuses.  I did learn a whole lot about tension (read: it went drastically wrong, but I can now fix that) and adjusting the speed of the machine to the speed of my pushing/slipping.  It's a start. 

Want to see what I came up with?  Here you go:

And the back

I like the back more than the front, so I may have to just quilt everything upside down.


And now for this week's challenge....Drop Art.  This is also a beginner's pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

And of course, the instructional video.  It really helped me last week, so I am hoping for the same this week.  Fingers crossed!



How did you do?  Show us what you created and the tricks you learned!

Come join in the linky and see what others were up to this week.  Spread the encouragement and tips, please!  It's the only way we will learn.  If you need a reminder on the spirit of Free Motion Friday, please read the original post again.

Free Motion Friday : The Kick Off

I posted several days ago my first (sad) attempt at free motion quilting.  This has been on my to-learn list for a long time, but I just have not had the nudge to get started or an instructor to teach me.  Lucky enough I had a very quick lesson at my guild meeting to give me the basics.  It's now up to me to learn on my own.  Practice, practice, practice.  But some times I am not really great at trying (and failing?) at something new when I can go back to the old tried and true skills.  It's easier if I have other folks to ask questions or to chatter with.

Enter my nudgers....Nicky, Emily, Annabella, Sarah and Natalie.  These ladies are willing to practice with me, so I figured we would open it up for everyone to join in.  We'll call it Free Motion Friday!

The idea is this:

• Each Friday I will post a new FMQ instructional video and an example photo.
• You have a week to go off and practice that particular pattern if you're so inclined. 
• On the next Friday, post photos on your blog (with a link to Free Motion Friday) and come back to Fluffy Sheep Quilting and join in the linky and post a link to your photos of FMQ practice.  You can also see my attempt at that week's project. (Please don't laugh at me....I'm learning too!)
• If you are interested, visit 2-3 sites in that week's linky.  It's all about encouragement, ladies.  Be sure your fellow liny-partiers are getting the support they need and their questions answered.
• Come and go as you please. If you don't like a design, don't join in that week.  You have no obligation.
• There will not be a flickr group.  It's too much for me lately to keep track of all of the groups, comment on posts or in threads, etc.  Just visit what ever blog you'd like and comment as you see fit.

To give credit where credit is due, we'll be using a lot of direction and material from The Free Motion Quilting Project. 



Leah includes TONS of basic information, videos and links to use as you get started on her Start Here page, so check it out.  The video above briefly gives instructions on setting up your machine and quilting space. 

We're going to start at the super basics and learn from there, so how about this for week 1:


And a great instructional video to boot:



To see a full description on Free Motion Quilting waves, you can visit the Free Motion Quilting page here. 

Now, get stitching this week and post your photos on Friday (the 7 October).  Don't forget to come on back for a linky meet up.  Good luck!