Hey Everyone, welcome back to Free Motion Friday.
I was going to do a post about the dandelions this past Tuesday for Technique Tuesday but then realised that I would be one step ahead in the process because I quilted it before I put the dandelions on. The first step of the process – creating the background I highlighted last week in Dandelion Puffs – Tissue Box Art – Part 1.
With a lot of thought about how I would quilt the background I decided to take the plunge and finally use the Leah Day books that I have had sitting on my bookshelf for eons and try out some new quilting motifs. With the decision made to do this I then had to decide what motif to use – do you know how hard it is to choose from a book of 365 motifs! I must say I did have a lot of fun going through the book and choosing which motif. There are no instructions on how to in the book but there is an instructional video for each motif on her website. The videos were very helpful.
Onward and upward it’s time to start stitching.
The Quilting
Of course not only do I need a motif but I also need thread to do the quilting so I’ve picked 5 threads – one for each section of the background. In the end though I only used 3 threads all blending in with the fabrics so that the quilting provided lots of texture.
Thread choices
Section 1
The darkest green I quilted with up and down lines as a continuous line motif.
Dark green with vertical line quilting
Section 2
The bright lime green I quilted with topographical contouring – this one I did start and stop in a few places so had a few threads to tie off.
Topographical contours
Section 3 & 4
The transition from green to turquoise was perfect with the striped fabric that I used and the quilting in it is simple curvy lines running horizontally.
More contour lines in the first layer of turquoise but this time with a more flowing and curvy contour. The lime green contour is quite pointy in places.
Middle section and part of the sky
Section 5
And finally a mesh like design of curvy lines running vertically at the top of the piece.
Mesh line vertical lines in dark turquoise
I must say that I had a great time playing with the different free motion quilting motifs – it is exhilarating to move outside the box and try something different.
The Back
Here’s the back of the quilt where you can see the quilting lines even better. The fabric I used on the back looks so much like northern lights. Good thing I have some more of this fabric as I now know what I will be using it for.
The back shows the quilting very well
That’s enough about Dandelion Puff’s today. I’ll be back next week to show you the technique I used for creating the flowers.
Happy Quilting!
