With this series of posts about free-motion quilting for beginners, I have been emphasizing the importance of practice. I encourage all my students to quilt every day. I think of practice not as attempting to achieve perfection, but of attempting to improve. It is a way of generating new ideas and trying new techniques. Sometimes […]
Read MoreDid you happen to catch the July 5, 2022 HQ Watch and Learn on Facebook? More grid work! You can watch it here. Kristina used loops in one of her examples. And I promised to do some grid designs with loops this week! Let’s start by talking through Kristina’s design. Break Up Your Grid Instead […]
Read MoreLast week we filled grids with straight lines, curves and S-shapes. That leaves two more of the 5 basic shapes to create even more filled grid variations, swirl and loop. Swirl The swirl is a fun one to quilt because it flows so easily. If you are not proficient at quilting swirls, remember to practice […]
Read MoreWe are back this week to our discussion of grid-work. Next up are filled grids. When you want maximum texture on your quilts, filled grids are the way to go. Whenever parts of the grid framework are stitched and other parts are left un-stitched the result is texture. Why? Stitching tamps down the batting and […]
Read MoreIf you’ve been following along our free motion quilting for beginners series, you know how important practice is. And you probably have a pile of quilted fabric that you’re not quite sure what to do with. Some of them you’ll want to toss. Maybe you breathed new life into a piece by adding a second […]
Read MoreWe have used all the shapes to make continuous grid designs except for the swirl (or hook). So today we will dive deep into the swirly grid design. The Swirl Remember the swirl or hook for the 5 basic shapes? Like the S shape from last week, we need to make some modifications to the […]
Read MoreNow that you know how to complete a continuous curve design, it’s time to level up our grid work. And it will be simple to do! We started with a curve, one of the five basic shapes. We can use the other four shapes using the same stitch path as we did for continuous curve. […]
Read MoreTurning the quilt to quilt the side borders is a great technique that’s used by most accomplished quilters. It is definitely the best way when you are using robotic quilting like Pro-Stitcher, if you are really into accuracy (like me). It’s also a good technique for free motion quilters. Quilting a border all in one […]
Read MoreAs promised, we’ll learn some more easy echo designs. How did you do with the peacock feathers? I’d love to see some pics in the comments! We can modify the teardrop shape of the peacock feather to create a similar but very different looking design. Leaves Start with a leaf shape. You should be proficient […]
Read MoreSanta ordered a slew of HQ longarm quilting machines from us this year to be delivered all over the world. So I want to say, “welcome new quilters! to the Handi Quilter family.” Families look after one another and help each other out. And that’s what Handi Quilter is all about. Helping you finish your […]
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