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.

The other wonderful thing about Maria's work is it is nothing like any quilt I would make - they are more modern and bold than I would ever dream to try - they are divine and they take me in new direction that challenge me to think and maybe do things that I might not do if not pushed in that direction.

I have found that I really enjoy matching threads. Superior had threads in their SoFine range that matched perfectly to the colors Maria had used.

Solid colors really show the quilting designs AND they will show every mistake you make. Patterned fabrics are more forgiving to those little mistakes you might make. If you want to start freemotion quilting - you might find that you will be more relaxed and pleased with your results if you begin by using patterned fabrics.

Maria wanted a different design on each section (but no feathers!)

There are 17 'sections' to this quilt - so that is 17 patterns I needed to think of - and because the quilt has that sort of retro feel to it I wanted to use patterns that had a bold look to them - curves beside straight lines beside flowers etc so that each block of color complimented yet contrasted the one beside it in texture, size of design and color.



I mark very little when I quilt. The most I do is dots at each corner of a 1.5" or 2" square stencil grid (I purchased mine from the Longarm University.) The dots help me keep my designs straight & evenly spaced. I have mentioned in the list below if I mark to help keep the design on track. I use a dissolvable marker when I mark (the blue cheap as chips sort) - I use a very light touch when using them - and I keep a spray bottle of water on hand for when I have finished that area.

All these patterns are suitable for freemotion quilting on your domestic or longarm. From the top of the quilt down we have:

1) Basic Paisley/Teardrop Meander (white) for paisley ideas check out Leah Day's paisley tutorial and other ideas for the design or AQPS call this the Crybaby Meander is a very clear tutorial.
2) Checks (orange) - this design was created by making 1.5" squares  with straight lines (connecting my marked dots) and then going back on the diagonal filling in every other square with something like a Cursive F pattern.
3) McTavishing (mauve) - Karen McTavish is my quilting hero - buy her books - search for her techniques on the internet. It is such a wonderful technique and looks amazing on anything. 
4) Flower Power (burgundy) - I learnt this pattern in Angela Walters Craftsy class Machine Quilting Negative Space - you can also find this pattern on Pg 67 of her book. It is a surprisingly easy pattern that fills quickly and enables you to move around easily.

5) Diamonds (yellow) - diamonds made with straight lines (connecting marked dots) and then every other diamond is filled in using straight lines back and forth.
6) Echo P's (burgundy) - This is a more rigid version of a design I spotted on LuAnn Kessi's website.
7) Spirals & Pebble mix (pink) - cluster of 3 spirals together surrounded by pebbles
8) Echo Shells (white) - a trusty pleasing pattern you should definitely be in your 'go to' designs. Leah Day has a tutorial for this design too. I have found it does take practice to make it look really good - and I still feel I need to master this one. I think I will try marking with dots in future with this pattern.

(I really love the diamonds.)

9) Orange Peel (white - above) - I mark with dots for this design. (There are also some really cool variations of this design that you can play with if you are looking for something more advanced to try.)
10 Spirals (mauve - above) - spirals are great and can transform into lots of really cool designs.
11) Wavy ripples (orange - below) - LuAnn Kessi calls this design hairbands. It is a very quick and simple design to use.

12) Suns (yellow) - this is a design from Sheila Sinclair Snyder's book Get Addicted to Free-motion quilting. The design is on page 20 of the book and is called Spurs with curves. (This is a great book by the way!) This is the first time I have used this design on a quilt but I really like it.

12) Retro Flowers with pebbles (mauve) -  design is adapted from a design I saw in Pg 9 of Machine Freehand Patterns by Nan Moore. This book is hard to find check out 2nd hand book stores and e-bay to snag a copy.

13) Greek Key squares (orange) - I mark with dots for this design. This design is hard - both in judging the squares, keeping the lines equal and being able to move around easily without becoming stuck. But once you have figured out the 'secret' it does get easier. I can not find a tutorial for this one - perhaps I should do one?

15)  Lines (white - above & below) - My lines on Maria's quilt are softly curved. I find lines really really hard - straight or curved with a ruler or without - they are my top thing I struggle with. I do not know why people perceive lines to be easy. They are not. If you are working on a longarm you can use a ruler which will help you massively (supposedly - I must not be using mine right!). Handiquilter has a detailed presentation on rulers here.
16) Mermaid scales (burgundy) - This is an upside down and echoed version of Leah Day's Sashiko Shell. I spotted this echoed version on a recent quilt of Angela Walters that you can see here.
17) Pebbles (orange) - another great design that can take you anywhere and fill in and surround anything. There are many different ways to make a circle while free motion quilting - you should go with the way that makes most sense to you.

Would you like to see the back?