“Lovely Lou” has presented me the opportunity to practice many of the basic fundamental skills of Free Motion quilting. Stitching in the ditch is harder than I thought it might be, but with this quilt I am working on that particular skill.
I just spent a few minutes on the phone with a friend from years ago. We taught school together way back in the 80’s. What fun it is to have enduring friendship with someone even though we haven’t seen one another in years. Laughter is good for my soul, and with this friend I can laugh. A treat, for sure.
I believe I am seeing an improvement in my stitching. I am searching for that “Humm-Purr“ as described by Cindy Needham’s June Tutorial on SewCalGal’s awesome blog. I am still playing around a little bit with tension, but only in small increments on the upper tension. In all my years of sewing experience I have never had to adjust the bobbin tension. I usually wait for the sewing machine doctor to handle that when I have my machine serviced. That practice has served me well.
Outlining these awesome flowers has been like painting with thread. The thread is a beautiful soft yellow color and when the thread builds up, it appears a soft gold. I am liking the effect.
Another addition has been the treadmill, since Mark and I share the space we are encouraging each other to create a “walking habit.” Also, here are a few of Mark’s rock polishing endeavors.
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.” 
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.
The setting triangles are still to be quilted and the picture at the left is my drawing of a half wreath with pebbling as a filler. My question for Leah and anyone else who cares to comment: Will such a heavily quilted design be appropriate for the setting triangles? Would another lighter design fit better? Am I overdoing the feather thing? The quilt top is pictured above, obviously before any quilting has been completed. 
I have now completed a feather wreath in 10 out of 24 blocks, and let me tell you there are some ugly stitches, but not any toe catchers. I decided that unless it was just unbearable I would not rip stitches and so far I have not removed any. My daughter is excited that I am learning this new skill of free motion on her quilt. She’ll be tolerate of my many mistakes, and it is will be fun later to know that she has my first project. I hope to look back and laugh at the stitches when I actually reach a respectable level of mastery. 
Look at this cool rock! We decided it might have been the first original wheel, but it really looks like a donut or a bagel.
Spending a lot of time reading Leah Days blog and a few others, plus the years of personal sewing (not quilting) experience, has taught me a few things that I believe are essentials for my space.
