Hey Everyone, welcome back to Free Motion Friday.

Last year, back in November I started making a holiday table runner using a Christmas charm pack and the Hatchet Template. I managed to get the piece put together but not quilted. Today I decided I had better get it quilted and ready for next Christmas. Being ahead of the game is a good plan.

The table runner has a lot of negative space which is black. I decided I only wanted to quilt the negative space so that the coloured sections would pop up and stand out. To do this required dense free motion quilting.

There are several ways to sandwich a quilt and secure the three layers together. My favourite method is with curved safety pins. Other options are to hand baste or use the spray baste such as 505.

Sandwiched layers

First before the quilting started I had to pick a thread and get my machine set up with a Supreme Slider and my gloves at the ready.  My favourite are the Machingers because they fit nice and tight and come in extra small. Plus my hands don’t get overly warm in them.

Machine ready to go

With that done I tried out some threads. My first choice was this multi-coloured variegated thread from Wonderfil because I love the richness of the colours but I just thought it would overpower the whole piece and take away from the Christmas fabrics.

Multi-coloured thread

I then tried a variegated King Tut thread from Superior which is on the left in the photo below but found it a bit too dull and a little on the pink side. Finally I just went with a plain red from Aurifil as it matched the red in the coloured pieces of the runner. At the same time I was checking out colours I was also checking my tension.

Two different red threads

At one point I thought about using black but then gave my head a shake as quilting with black on black is very hard on the eyes. It would have made for an interesting effect though.

I decided to go with a loopy free motion motif. This is really just a variation on meandering or stippling where you get to sew over the lines and make a loop.

Pencil sketch of loops

The loops can be made in either direction and I do both just so it doesn’t look like it is all going in one direction. I found that I was a bit out of practice with my free motion so getting back on the daily blogging will certainly get my free motion skills back into shape.

The completed runner – binding and all. Woohoo another project done and dusted.

Finished table runner

The photo at the top of the page shows a close up of the quilting.

Happy Quilting!