First free motion quilting adventures!

Somewhere in January I decided that I needed to learn free motion quilting. I want to finish more quilts, and buy more fabric without guilt! Plus hand quilting gives me tendonitis (in combination with playing the clarinet, which takes precedence, that's just the way it is).
So I enrolled for a FMQ class with Monique De Canne in De Potterije, in Lokeren, bought a new sewing machine (Pfaff Ambition 1.0) and booked a hotel room.
What with a job and four kids, I don't get out much, and I thoroughly enjoyed my three day getaway. I went jogging along the Durme, sewed most of the day, in the company of seven lovely ladies, had a nice dinner and felt just a little bit lonely at the end of the day. It was fun to learn so much and to practice the skills immediately. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned in those three days. It was also so much fun to meet other quilters. Quilting is not a very popular thing in Belgium. Most people just give you an empty stare when you tell them you quilt, so this was fun, talking to other enthusiasts. Now some pictures:

Some of my practice swatches from the fmq class

Fillers and feathers

I'm also quilting along with the #freemotionchallenge by Angela Walters.

When I got home I put my skills to good use on this pillow case.

Very proud of my feathers!

I can fit them in just about any shape, so versatile!

Then I pieced this placemat.

I bought the fabric at the Potterije.

The almost plain purple panel gives me an opportunity to practice free motion quilting, ...

... but it doesn't stand out to much on the dark fabric.

A feathered heart. The squiggles inside should have been smaller, for more contrast.

I orange peeled the border squares.

I love this lamb fabric!

And they go perfectly with my great grandmother's tableware.

I intend to make six, one for each member of the family. The plan was to have them finished by Easter, but I don't think that is going to happen :-)

Then I practiced all kinds of filler on this quilt.

It's a disappearing nine patch, with fabrics from the Acorn Trail collection by Taegan White.

I started free motion quilting it with my old machine, but that was so discouraging. Now with the new machine which has an embroidery foot, I'm really getting into the the fmq groove!

And I'm quilting my lone star!

The red diamonds get a point to point pattern, inspired by Angela Walters.

And simple feathers in the white diamonds

"Straightish" lines work well from a distance, I assure you! ;-)

I'm having soooo much fun with my new skill set! I'm already planning and cutting more quilts, so I can do more free motion quilting. I'm think of including bigger negative spaces and borders, to do some fancy quilting in!

More Potholders

Once I got started, I couldn't stop. So I made some more potholders! They are are a fun way to work up close and personal with cherished scraps, and an opportunity to practice free motion quilting on something that doesn't really have to be perfect (potholders get used for a year, and then they are usually ready for the bin).

This cupcake duo was my sister-in-law's Christmas gift (we don't really do gifts for Christmas, but something small, handmade, or for charity is ok)

I picked colours that go with her kitchen: fuchsia and "appelblauwzeegroen", which is a colour in between green and blue, that, in Flemish we call "blue as an apple and green as the sea". (although our sea is mostly grey, truth be told!)

Close-up of number two.

The cupcake fabric was the starting point, of course, ...

... and I enjoyed free motion quilting on and around these sweets!

I made sure not to quilt over the darling little deer.

Not too bad, for a total beginner!

I love the tulip fabric.

The scrap with the pink flowers is a leftover from a gym bag I made for my daughter. It has beautiful white horses, with windswept manes and even a little barefoot girl riding on one of them. It's absolutely gorgeous. i wish I'd bought more of it, just to keep it in my stash and look at it from time to time, and feel like a little girl again, with wild dreams of freedom and adventure ... what a scrap of fabric can do...

Cheery bird on  Spring Street.

Made with love!

I made hanging loops in the corners (I have a dress in that fabric!)

Look, here I am, wearing said dress, surrounded by my four bundles of joy in our back yard at Easter. (I also made Marieke's dress, and all of my boys' shirts!)

These were for my mother-in-law, she has more subdued pallet in her kitchen!

I didn't overquilt the panel, but still got some practice.

Beautiful backing fabric

Long hanging loops

Also made with love!

 I really enjoyed the free motion quilting. It was easier than I thought, despite the fact that I can't lower the feed dogs on my machine, and I don't have a darning foot. I am considering doing a course on free motion quilting, and buying a machine that is better equipped for it (with a walking foot, a darning foot, and a longer arm). On the other hand, I already feel stressed for time to spend on all my hobbies (quilting, dress making, gardening, knitting, playing the clarinet, ...) I'm a bit worried that investing time and money into this aspect of quilting will make me feel obliged to do more of it, and guilty when I don't. Then again, it would be fun to finish quilts faster, if I don't have to hand quilt them all, even by just quilting them with straight lines. I did do some straight line quilting before, but between polyester batting and no walking foot, I wasn't very pleased with the result (although still glad the quilts were finished and usable!). Any ideas (get another machine or not, and if yes, which one) are very welcome. I have also never bought a sewing machine. I use an old Husqvarna my mom gave me, and an even older Singer, which used to belong to my grandmother's sister, who was a dressmaker by profession. It's a good machine, on which I can lower the feed dogs, and it has an open foot. Also, it's sunk in a table, which helps maneuvering the quilt. But it's pedal powered, which I usually love, but which is a bit tiring to do at the fast pace required for machine quilting. And since I disconnected the electric motor (because I love machine pedaling, it has such a nice rhythm to it), I don't have good lighting for it. Maybe I should just get a good light for it and start practicing more on the old machine before I buy a new one. But on the other hand, I found that with my Husqvarna I had a lot less skipped stitches, so maybe the fact that I don't have the proper tools is really holding me back on this machine quilting thing (and the Singer doesn't have a walking foot for straight line quilting either)... okay, it's decided: I want a decent machine for my birthday! I'l just ask everyone who wants to give me a present to chip in to buy the machine!