Friday, May 18, 2018

Walking along in the rain

Well, folks, today's finishes are brought to you by the buckets and buckets of rain we've had this week!  I was planning to work outside, but not very much else got planted or dealt with because it has not stopped raining all week.  And I don't mean gentle showers!  It's been really good for the plants, though.  I can tell because the grass is nearly knee high in some spots.  And I can't even cut it because it's too wet!

Instead of building an ark, I finished off the two small donation quilts that I used to try out some new walking foot quilting techniques.  Here's the cheerful pair, photographed this morning because there was not a single opportunity to take them outside yesterday:


I love these so much!  They are cheerful, extra cuddly, and completely quilted by me!  The measurements for making these little quilts can be found HERE at the end of the post.  They are simple to make and look really cute.


I started with the somewhat darker version and use some of the simpler patterns, just to get a feel for how this would go.  Turns out it went just fine!


These patterns were super easy, including the scallops in the blue triangles.  I'm not thrilled with how they flattened out when they were echoed, but all curves do that to some extent.  I wonder if a different type of guide bar for my walking foot (to keep the lines evenly spaced) would help.


The brighter quilt was so much fun because I used some more complex patterns on this one, including triangle spirals and the diamonds in the red triangles:


None of these were difficult, but they did take a little time and a bunch of twisting and turning.  If I had to pick a favorite motif it would be the curved cross-hatching in the outer green triangles:


This was one of the easiest motifs, but didn't it turn out great?  Now that they're done, these two little quilts will be donated for Sarah's Hands to Help Challenge.  I think some little people will like them, don't you?  By the way, the new batting I used turned out great, too.  I would definitely use it again.  It's a very good weight.


I have been using these two books to help build my walking foot skills:


Both of these are very good and helpful.  Walk by Jacquie Gering has a lot of information for beginners, but she also gives a lot of stitching designs, including how to mark them and the most efficient way to work through the designs in a quilt.  Explore Walking Foot Quilting by Leah Day is also a really good, helpful book.  Her stitching designs are different from those in Walk, and she also has some patterns for practice pieces along with ways to quilt them.  And just look at this project for mastering the walking foot:


Doesn't that look like fun to make?  She also gives a lot of direction and tips on how to quilt this piece.  The books are different from each other and have different stitching designs, and I really do recommend both of them.  (I am not an affiliate of any kind, so my opinion has only been influenced by my own experience!)  The only thing I wish was different on them is the binding.  I'm taking them to Staples to have a spiral binding put on them so that they will lay flat and be easier to use.


Well, it's still raining, but if you're reading this, that means that I managed to get some pictures between the raindrops.  I hope you all have a nice dry weekend!  One of my sisters will be coming for the next couple of days, so I hope we get a chance to do some sight-seeing.  Or really anything that's dry, at this point!

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and crazymomquilts.

16 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I have two classes with Jacquie Gering and although I haven't finished watching them I do find her instruction really great.

Preeti said...

Building an ark had me ROTFL :-D OMG, love the quilting. Hope I can see it in my person, but then may be not. I just might drool over it :-p Have a fabulous weekend.

Alison V. said...

Also building an ark here in MD! The quilting looks great!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love curved cross-hatching as a quilting design - yours looks great! I also like how your triangle spirals turned out, and haven't tried that yet, so I'll have to. Those are perfect, fun donation quilts!

Bernie Kringel said...

These are beautiful Mari. Your quilting looks so nice.
Personally, I think most quilting books should be spiral bound. They don't lay flat and it would be really nice if they did!

Ivani said...

Very well done and for a great cause. Sure some children will love these quilts.
The cross-hatching and the triangle speiral quilting look perfect for them.
Hope you and your sister get some sunny days.

Jenny said...

Lovely littlequilts and they will be prized by their new owners. I have purchased both of these books too and I'm looking forward to practising with them. So I'm really pleased that you found them very helpful.

JanineMarie said...

Ooh, I love the curved cross hatching. Thanks for sharing about the books (and the tip for the spiral binding). Walking foot quilting has been more comfortable than FMQ for my wonky shoulder this year, so I really need to try more complex walking designs. Walking foot works so well for these bitty quilts because turning them isn’t too bad. These will be so cheerful and comforting for some stressed out little kids. The rain! Did you realize that it was also raining when you photographed the tops?! Please don’t float away (or get lost in the lawn jungle).

MissPat said...

We're finally getting some much needed rain (we missed all the stuff you got).
Connecting threads had Jacquie Gering's 'Walk' on sale for 40% off, so I just ordered it. Glad you had a positive review of it.
Have fun with your sister rain or shine.
Pat

Kathy's A Quilter said...

despite the rain, rain and yet more rain, you have brought on a bit of sunshine with this vibrant pair of cheery quilts.

grammajudyb said...

Your quilting is wonderful. Thanks for the book recommendation. I, too, take books to have a spiral binding inserted. We don’t have a Staples, but a local print shop does it very reasonably.

Louise said...

These cute little quilts turned into walking foot samplers, didn't they? Great pieces, perfect for a small person to cuddle :)

piecefulwendy said...

The quilts are so fun, and the quilting looks like it was fun to do too. Thanks for the quick review on the two books. I've been wanting the Walk book, but didn't know about Leah Day's book. The ark comment had me chuckling! Hope you have sunny days soon!

Sarah Craig said...

Mari, these are just adorable! I never thought of making a one-block quilt from a square-in-a-square block before, but what a great way to us a large scale print. Thanks for the inspiration!!

Ramona said...

Your quilts are adorable! And the quilting is awesome. Thank you for the info on the Leah Day book.

Jo said...

Your quilts make up for the rain. You have done a great job on the quilting.