Lots to address this week!
First off! Congrats! Your creations are beautiful and so inspiring! Keep it up! Things are looking amazing!
This week I'm sharing loads, so forgive the long blog post, but next week's will be a light blog post, (as will the Week). Next week is Easy Week!
Your Pile of scrap fabrics is piling up I’m sure, so I have some simple patterns that you can make with the scraps left over from Potters Wheel Curves.
Also, perhaps you've started considering how to quilt your quilt. I've shared my Free Motion Quilting favourites, my favourite Edge to Edge Quilting Pantographs, and a special offer for Longarm service from an excellent quilter here in Nova Scotia. (If you're not in Canada, but in the US, considering the exchange rate, it could still be a great option!)
So, let's start off with options to consider for those scraps. I'll be offering reduced prices on all these patterns exclusively for QAL members soon.
Here’s Glimmering. It's mostly a paper pieced pattern using 2 1/2” triangles. Here's how I would make it with my neutrals. It's available in print, and also in my Etsy shop as a digital download. Please note: Every triangle uses up 108 triangles, so you'll have to consider how many triangles you can get out of your scraps, depending on the size of the Potter's Wheel you're making. Blocks are 18 1/2" finished, so you could easily make an 18" pillow with every block. (I'd add a 1 1/2" border, and once it's quilted, trim it down to 19", and use a 1/2" seam allowance to sew back of pillow to front.)
Here's how I would use my main fabrics, a few neutrals, and I couldn't decide on a background fabric:
Here's Best Dressed. It's a mini pattern available, using small bits, too! You can cut one tumbler piece from your main print scraps, and two from every neutral scrap.
Here’s another pattern I’m getting ready for you!
Hearth Mini. It measures 19" x 25", and I think it would make a great 18" pillow, by omitting a few rows!
The pattern will be ready Week 8 of the QAL!
Also, I thought it would be a great time to have a chat about how you're going to quilt it! How ARE you going to quilt it, do you know?
Here are my FMQ favourites. Free Motion Quilting is not one of my strengths yet, so I opt for FMQ options that are easy to be successful with. Here are my go-to's from most easy, to more challenging, including how I do it.
Organic wavy lines. I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt. No lines touch. Waves are very mild. Every line starts on the same side of the quilt.
Organic wavy lines with a flourish. I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt. No lines touch, but they sometimes echo each other very closely (1/4"). Waves look more stormy. Every line starts on the same side of the quilt.
Ribbon. I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt. At first the lines look very much like the organic wavy lines, but more spaced out. I then go back to every line, crossing over, and filling in the space. Every line starts on the same side of the quilt.
Ribbon Meander. I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt. At first the lines are a very wide meander, with your hand (not stretched out) able to fit within the curves and between the lines. I then go back to every line, crossing over, and filling in the space. Sometimes I create a meandering line all the way across the quilt then go back to where the line started and go across the line again, but also since this is a meander, sometimes even in the centre of the quilt, I loop around and work my way back across the ribbon.
Long Meander. It's almost like an elongated stipple. I know in the image there are sharp points, but they wouldn't be there in my FMQ. I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt. I allow space between the lines about the width of my finger. I quilt out a line, make a hook, and include a wide or a narrow S curve out of the hook. I never cross over lines, and allow some areas to be denser then others. I often will do large areas 3 ft square, then meander my way into another area. The quilting is a random sequence of lines, hooks, S curves, puddles (that's where I curve into a space and make a little oval, and curve back out again), and curvy meanders to the next space
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Longarm Quilting Opportunity
Before I share my favourite pantos, I though I'd let you know I've made an arrangement with
Sheri of Violet Quilts. She's offering a great promotion to anyone in the Quilt Along on their Potter's Wheel Quilt. She will quilt a Panto or Edge to Edge on your quilt for 10% off, and 25% of batting (Hobbs 80/20). Almost every panto I've had quilted on a quilt has been done by Sheri. You'll love her. She is guaranteeing these quilts will be done before Christmas whether you're dropping it off or mailing it. You can contact her through her Facebook page. It would be great to give her some notice, if you're planing to have her work on your quilt.
Pantos that would look great on the Potter's Wheel Quilt
Three Sisters Baptist Fan is one I've been wanting to put on a quilt for forever, just waiting for the right one! I think it would look awesome on a Potter's Wheel!
Next week is Easy Week! No assignments, you can choose on of these three options for the week - catching up, getting ahead, or doing nothing!
