Getting Back to the Quilting Habit...

Leah Day has inspired me in one more of many positive ways. I have had  a wonderfully refreshing relief from my daily routine. Now I am ready to return to my habit of quilting and have more fun.  After a break and coming back to Lou, I have made changes while considering a more modern approach. Although I haven’t caught up with Leah’s QAL, I am attempting to apply much of her teaching to the quilt I had ready to quilt. This quilt is for a lively young woman who is best described as a fun and modern (in all the good ways) individual. I want the quilt to reflect the same qualities.

I had done a Loopy Loop in the setting triangles around the quilt. The setting triangles are inside three borders. When I came back and looked, I was not pleased with the effect. So I have spent several days armed with my seam ripper and plenty of patience. I have replaced that filler design with simple stitching on the motif of the fabric. I am liking the thread build-up. I would love for this quilt to come out of the washer with that old fashion crinkled soft feel, but done with a modern twist. Designing the quilting aspect of this quilt or any other is a new skill set for me, and I am open minded about making changes—another “Leah Lesson.”

While ripping I took the opportunity to review many of Leah's fabulous videos to better enforce my grasp of the many aspects of FMQ. I must say once again, she is the best quilting teacher I have found on the internet. I have spent a considerable amount of time looking. I have years of sewing experience and even done some hand quilting, but those skills are not the same set as FMQ skills. No other teacher is willing to spend such dedicated effort emphasizing the basics and other wonderful techniques of FMQ so freely.  Thank you, by the way.
The stitching on the back of the quilt is looking fairly cool. I am looking forward to seeing improvement as I quilt Lou. The print fabric on the back of the quilt is forgiving. I am not happy with the little pointy blobs where I hesitate to move the quilt, but experience will hopefully help with that issue.
                                                         
I think Leah’s latest design, Branch Out with Bare Branches, will have a cool effect somewhere in this quilt. I would definitely like to use her Infinity Tree, but that may be beyond my current skill level. Although I have been practicing on scraps, I have yet to be pleased with my result. I will continue working on the amazing Leah Designs.

I have added an item to my arsenal of quilting must haves. Because of Leah's instruction, I faithfully use my Machinger’s gloves (available right here from Leah’s quilt shop) every time I quilt. I tie off my threads and consistently take time to bury them, which I do with every thread break. I have found that in order to effectively tie off the  knot and thread a needle to bury the tails, I must remove my gloves.

Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme is an incredible help to control those tails efficiently. When I hand quilt I use beeswax or other product to control my thread. It only takes a tiny bit and then before I put my gloves back on I use a bit more just so that it soaks in to my skin. After working for one of the large retail fabric stores I thought it interesting to learn that fabric absorbs the moisture from your skin just like a wick. So try out Burt’s Bees, and you will be amazed--you'll have experienced a super moisture treatment on those busy quilting hands!