Practicing Some FMQ

I treated myself to a new book last week. I love it. Written by Christina Cameli, it is full of simple ideas for free motion quilting patterns. Christina blogs over at A Few Scraps and I have been following her for quite some time. She creates such lovely quilts and her blog is filled with great information. The patterns in this book are based on common shapes like circles and wavy lines. She then expands on those shapes, creating many different free motion shapes.

When I first got the book, I started to doodle and draw shapes on paper. Some were really easy, others weren’t. Once I got the hang of doodling the designs, I wanted to practice with actual thread! I made a simple nine patch block, using 6.5″ squares. I thought I would quilt each square with a different pattern.

IMG_20150519_3334The quilting is far from perfect but I really enjoyed playing with this. The stitches are fun.

IMG_20150519_3340

Both of these flower patterns were fun to stitch.

IMG_20150519_3339My favorite stitch so far is the one below. I will definitely use it in a project. It is a bit time consuming but I like the effect.IMG_20150519_3337

My only disappointment with the book is a minor one. I had hoped there would be some discussion of how to integrate some of the patterns together. She doesn’t touch on that. I know that is a strength of hers as she is great at using all sorts of patterns together. I was looking for some information on that but it isn’t included in the book. Overall, the book makes it so fun to practice because the patterns are broken down into easy steps. I highly recommend it if you are in the market for a little FMQ practicing!!

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Freemotion Mavericks. Links to these sites are always available at the top of this page, under Link Ups.

 

 

 

 

19 thoughts on “Practicing Some FMQ

  1. Rosemary B

    Oh my gosh. Won’t you be my neighbor!
    haha you are very good. I need a big push over here.
    Taking care of mom and dad, I come home exhausted.
    I should pull out my old beast and practice. Your FMQ is well done

    Reply
  2. Heidi

    I see some great pattern designs there and I like your idea for practicing new ones. May as well make something! I have been curious about this book too, thanks for the review!

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      You’re very welcome. It is a wonderful book. FMQ takes so much practice so this is a great source of ideas.

      Reply
  3. JanineMarie

    Yesterday I decided, after looking at something else by Christina, that I needed her book. Now I know I do!! Your FMQ looks great!!!!! (Can I put some more exclamation points there?) And on that last sample, you did such a good job of traveling from one section to another. Maybe Christina will have to write another book to answer your question about combining the patterns. And then she can mention you in the credits. : )

    Reply
  4. Linda

    Wow Bernie I am impressed! Your FMQ is soooo pretty. I have tried to doodle for practice and just can’t sustain it. I used to doodle all over my notebooks in school – why can’t I do it anymore???
    FYI you are a good reviewer.

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Honestly, I have to force myself to doodle these designs. It seems to help tho. Drawing isn’t astrength of mine. It is so awkward. Thank you Linda. You are so kind. ☺️

      Reply
  5. Hope Nelson

    Your quilting looks great to me. I really like the idea of using a nine patch to try out different designs.

    Thanks for sharing your review.

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Thanks Hope. I thought it was a fun way to get some practice in. If I do it again, I’d make the squares a bit bigger. 6″ was a bit small for practicing. Glad you stopped by!

      Reply
  6. Ida

    I’ve been doing something similar with Angela Walter FMQ book, Shape by Shape Quilting. I love being able to use someone else’s designs and not have to come up with my own. And I also found that sketching the designs out first really helped when it came time to sew. You’ve done lovely work here.

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      I have not taken a look at Angela’s book yet, tho I am sure it is also wonderful. I think this sort of book is really helpful. Plus, why re-invent the wheel when there are So many extremely talented quilters around that we can learn from! Thank you for stopping by Ida!

      —bernie

      Reply
  7. Lori

    Your quilting looks great! I agree, the book has a lot of great patterns, but they are presented more for use as overall patterns. It would have been nice to have more discussion of alternative ways to use them. I also recommend Shape by Shape. It is a fantastic reference.

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      I keep hearing about Angela Walter’s books, I need to get a copy. I have such a hard time figuring out what to quilt in which section. It’s coming along tho. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  8. Muv aka Lizzie Lenard

    Hello Bernie,

    These designs are very varied, and I can see why you might have a job working out how to use them together. Your pastel shades in the squares show the quilting to great advantage – the overall effect is beautiful.

    Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!

    Love,
    Muv

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Hi:

      The designs are different patterns that would be used as filler. I didn’t really select them with a plan to use them together. Rather I chose them just to be able to practice different patterns. I appreciate your input though and also the link up that you host!

      Kind regards,
      Bernie

      Reply

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