Keep a Scrapbook: Ideas & Sketches for Free Motion Quilting

When I find a quilting pattern I like I scribble a version into my sketch book (emphasis on scribble - if anyone saw my sketchbook their opinion on my artistic talents would be very poor!) - beside my scribble I put the name of the designer, book and a page number if applicable. As well as my scribbles I also cut out designs I see done by other quilters and stick them in.

Scrap Buster: Splatastic Scraps

 
One of the things I wanted Luke to help me with was how to make the materials I use (old clothes) become more interesting - for my designs and quilts to be more innovative - and perhaps on occasion less traditional. I started unloading my huge stash of clothes waiting to be recreated into something wonderful - when Luke asked if I kept scraps - me? keep scraps? - you could almost see him gag when I showed him how much of my scraps I kept! His theory was why use the good stuff when we could use the scraps.

Luke Haynes

I haven't made much progress with any of my projects because I've been too busy hanging out with this guy (Luke Haynes) who has take a few days to come and give me some guidance. His quilts are VERY cool - you can see more of his work on his website www.lukehaynes.com

Flora & Fauna

"Fauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is Flora." - so Wikipedia tells me.
This is a quilt I have been thinking about making for quite some time - not so much the flora & fauna aspect of it but the big colorful initial in the center and then detailed flowing quilting all around on the white fabric. 

Four Must Have Books for Beginner Free Motion Quilting

I have a lot of books on free motion quilting. I buy as many as I can second hand for a couple of dollars - you can find a lot of second hand books through sellers on Amazon now - or on e-bay. Books are great to have and browse through looking for new ideas and new approaches to old designs.

Here are my favorite books for someone who is looking to start free motion quilting beyond the basic stipple.

Groovy Curvy Quilt

This quilt top was put together by the lovely Maria. You can see some other of Maria's quilts here and here. Maria's quilts are a dream to work with. Her piecing is wonderful, the colors she works with are amazing and her backs and put together in a way (1/2" seam allowance pressed open) which makes me as a longarmer swoon with gratitude.

This is a quilt pattern called "Groove" by Carolina Patchworks.