American Quilter Subscription Giveaway!

238 responses to “American Quilter Subscription Giveaway!”

1. There has been soooo many things I have learned from Lori Kennedy Quilts Free Motion Quilting free online class that it is hard to choose just one thing I’ve learned! I purchased a new Bernina just before starting this class. I have learned how to sandwich practice pieces, how to doodle (so fun!), improved my rhythm in free motion work, Learned a rhythm in attending to my new machine daily, learned how to wirj with improving tension. Those are just a few of my new skills. The best part is the Facebook online community that always supports my attempts! Thank you, Lori!

2. I am getting better at coordinating speed with fabric movement. I have used some of your motifs on previous quilts. Great ideas!

3. A give away…How Fun!!! I normally don’t like doodling in advance of quilting, but I do like to have something to do while sitting in an airplane, so on a recent trip, I took paper and pencil and practiced some of the motifs that you’ve been sharing in this series. I’ve always had a hard time with copying a motif in both directions. That’s what I worked on while traveling, and I’m happy to report that as time “flew” by, I began to grow more comfortable with doodling the motifs in both directions. Viva La Doodle!!!

4. I have learned the wisdom and importance of pretesting thread, tension and fabric choices before I start quilting, everytime I sit down to sew. I am excited to get going on my project but thank you for giving me a better approach.

5. I am not the least bit artistic, but have been practicing the doodling and can see a little improvement on paper. But it will be a while before I am brave enough to risk wasting fabric and thread 🙂 I follow your posting regularly and have the first one of your books. Never would dream of even thinking I might be able to FMQ without your lessons and good humor.

6. Whenever I get stuck for inspiration for quilting ideas I always go to your books first. I always find just what I was needing for that space. You have pulled me through many times.

7. I just tried (successfully) the Squared Flower. What a fun motif. Thank you for your encouragement.

8. I’ve had such trouble with starting and stopping the stitching line. Sounds silly but I didn’t even know my machine had these buttons. IT’s so cool! I’m not only learning about your techniques and tips, but learning more about my Bernina machine.

9. I am having a great time learning and trying all the techniques of FMQ! Love learning new designs.. thank you.

10. Lori…you are my inspiration. I appreciate your generosity and your new book is used every day. Thank you and please enter me in your AQS contest. I look forward to your Saturday picks from the Art Institute…will be fun to see if yours are the same as mine.

11. Even though I have yet to stitch out the designs I have been doodling regularly & have noticed that right after doodling my penmanship is improved. And my writing was pretty good to begin with. Hoping to get on to stitching soon (power was out due to tropical storm last week).

12. I have embraced doodling…i doodle on napkins on my lunch break at work or in a notebook at home. I have noticed huge improvement in my machine quilting by embracing the doodle habit.I have also begun to free motion quilt without gloves and find it is not so hard to do. Do this quilt along has definitely pushed me to new horizons in free motion quilting. Thank you so much for doing this, Lori!!

13. The importance of doodling is one of the big takeaways for me. I have started doodling. I just finished quilting for a zipper pouch (small project!) and the leafy meander looks so awesome! I can’t wait to use my skills on my next bigger quilting project. Love your books with design step by steps. Thanks so much!

14. Thank you Lori for all your wonderful ideas. I think doodling on paper or maybe a white board is my favorite idea.

15. I have always loved to Doodle filling whole pages with swirls that I have now learned looked a lot like quilting. I am doing something I loved and finishing the quilting I loved but was afraid to try. Thank-you for giving me the freedom to do so;

16. I have found I do better quilting with the one plastic foot that the spring one
    Has made it easier and more productive ,,doodling and lots of practice and thanks to you Lori for sharing your passion,,would love toy win that magazine

17. I happened upon your website late for the QAL but I ordered a new foot for my Juki and your book. I will start when they arrive and have read all of the lessons. I always spray basted my quilt sandwiches so now I will save a lot of time with just ironing.

18. I learned how easy it is to quilt words!

19. You know what? I’d say — perhaps aptly this particular year — my greatest victory is a free motion quilter is that I keep trying. I’m a lifelong perfectionist, not particularly good at drawing, even doodling, but I love playing with fabric and I like quilting my own small pieces. So I keep trying, and Lori’s posts are my go-to guide, and biggest inspiration.

    Recently I did a small art quilt for The Sticky Steve Project, and I wanted a bee motif for the borders. I used Lori’s, and if it wasn’t perfect, it was good enough! You can take a look here, if you’re interested. https://thestickysteveshow.weebly.com/timeline.html My piece is toward the bottom of the webpage. Thanks, Lori!

20. I’m working on developing a rhythm-coordinating the machine speed with movement. Small victory, but much more practice to go!

21. In the past couple months,I have paper pieced a quilt square for the very first time ever!! And yes, I will be doing more of these in the future!

22. I took a break from quilting sandwiches to finish a quilt for my brother. I am so grateful for everything I have learned so far, as between the doodling and practice, I feel that my finished quilt was much better than any I had quilted before. I am excited to send it out as a gift to my brother and SIL… the first quilt I have every made for them. Thank you for the increased confidence. Thank you for the prod to get going. Thank you for new skills and new pattern ideas.

23. Lori, I have enjoyed your latest book and between the book and the lessons I have learned to doodle and enjoy it. At times some motifs are challenging for me. My machine doodling is improving and I have learned more about my machine, thread, needles and tools! …. yeah! I am behind on the lessons but always take time to review, even if I don’t accomplish the practice. I am following along, just at a slower pace.

    Please enter me for consideration for the magazine subscription.

    I have been one of your followers ever since a new quilting friend told me about you a few years ago. Keep up the great work, you inspire many!

    Thank you!

    Joanne Houpt

24. Hi Lori,

    I finally overcame my trepidation and used my new long arm to quilt the Fancy Forest quilt top I made for my granddaughter. I quilted a wood pattern and it came out so much nicer than I expected!

    I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and we live in the far western burbs now. I too love the Art Institute and enjoyed taking my boys there when they were young.

    Thank you for generously sharing all of your lovely patterns with us and giving us the confidence we need to quilt our own quilts. For me, quilting them myself is essential since I want my quilts to made completely by me, filled with love, from my hands to theirs.

    Paula

25. Before I would never have thought to quilt with any motifs. But over the weeks, I’ve gained enough confidence and I will be quilting a throw size quilt with a flower motif using the skills I acquired during this QAL. Thanks Lori.

26. Doodling has made a huge difference in my learning new motifs!

27. Lori, Thank you for sharing your time, your expertise, and encouragement with us. I appreciate being able to go back and catch up on the posts for learning free motion, as I am not able to keep up, even while staying home. Seems like the garden and home care require attention before I can quilt, perhaps it’s the lessons I learned growing up; we had to complete our chores before we could play. Guess I will have to alter my thought process to include quilting and practice to “work” rather than play…..Again, thanks for the opportunity to grow our skills, share with others and be motivated during this unheard of time of isolation. Connie

28. I’ve enjoyed following your blog. Tried some of your designs.

29. I’m a complete noob at quilting, and am really just getting started. My first “dip of the toe” into machine quilting is that I bought a walking foot and learned to use it. Baby steps, I know, but I have to start someplace!
    Lori, I enjoy reading your blog, and hope to try a lot of your designs. Would love to get the American Quilter subscription for inspiration and instruction.

30. I have learned that:
    – I can FMQ and it doesn’t have to be stippling, which I am frankly not great at.
    – I can pull up the starter thread if I stitch once, but it is even easier if I take a second stitch and it will catch the tail in a knot even if I used the thread cutter. But making 5 stitches just knots it severely and probably will not work 🙂
    – Adding the words “coloring page” to a search engine search helps me discover new possibilities for fmq patterns.
    – quilting can be done on even the simplist of machines using stitch length 0, although the throuat size might become and issue as the quilt size grows (but Quilt as You Go – QAYG can help with that – warning – 7 or more variations!)
    – my quilting foot has a pressure adjustment on it. It was initially set to put a great deal of pressure on the fabric. Once I fixed that, my “sandwich” flowed MUCH better. I am surprised I have NEVER seen anyone mention that as a “setup” item to adjust before starting FMQ.
    – I do better with gloves. But they are so good that threads stick to them too, so I take one off to cut threads.
    – Doodling first helps my progress
    – erasable pens work GREAT on fabric, you can erase even on fabric, and they wash out.
    – test on sample sandwich when starting a new needle/thread combination to verify tension.
    – that “clunking” sound means I probably have a “situation” on the back side of the fabric. Stop immediately and rethread!
    – I need to be patient and keep working on speed/stitch length.
    – Traveling can hide mistakes 🙂
    – echoing can hide mistakes and enhance a pattern.
    – It may look bad/messy/choppy to me close up, but if I put it aside and look at it later farther away, I might be amazed at how much better it looks.
    – Straight lines can be overrated. Adding a little flow on purpose can look even better.
    – Cotton 50wt and jeans needles are the magic combination for me to avoid thread breaking…ususally. It may be expensive, but Aurifil is so worth it for me. I tried learning with the thread I had, but was so much happier when I switched.
    – some day I would like to try connecting threads version of Cotton, and IsoCord.
    – FMQ does not really show up if the thread matches the fabric. If I am proud of the pattern, I will be disappointed I cannot share because it will not show up in a picture, and will even be difficult to see in person. However, it will hide patterns that are not as successful.
    – more stitiching means the blanket will have a heavier feel.
    – The internet is a wonderful treasure trove of resources. Unfortunately, I can also burn an entire day cruising through resources. But my confidence has improved with all the learning.
    – and finally, I have learned that I still have alot to learn!

31. Free motion was so difficult at first, then I watched how you broke it down into easy segments and now most designs clicked in my brain, I do practice doodling before starting a new design and practice it on a dry erase board left over from my sons third grade class.

32. Thank you Lori for all the help. I was not a doodler, but I am getting better at and my quilting is also improving. I have learned so much from you. Thank you for sharing your talents.

33. I have had such fun doodling. Never took the time before. I’ve learned flexibility and freedom .

34. I’ve pulled out my Walking Foot for my machine and finally figured out to use it after 13 years, and then out it away and enjoyed practicing free motion by hand! Thanks so much, Lori!

35. I have had a quilt top sitting sandwiched and ready to go for about a year. I kept “visiting” it, trying to decide what to do. Suddenly, I thought about the leaf motif, and how it would work in the sashing. So now the sashing is quilted, it looks great, and I can’t wait to try other things in the blocks!

36. I have completed a fall table runner and plan to quilt it with inspiration from you!! I have done a little walking foot quilting but free motion will be my challenge.

37. I learned how to drive a stick shift on my Vega car when I was 20 years old. Driving the sewing machine with my left foot brought back memories. I also like the doodling, it makes me feel more like an acceptable sketch artist with all the practice. I’m enjoying the class.

38. I have to shout “THANK YOU” at the top of my lungs for this opportunity to improve my FMQ. I have managed to get over my fear of the whole thing, have become rather proficient with the square flower motif and as a result, I’ve FINISHED one quilt and have two more in progress. I am excited about quilting for the first time! Helps to have gotten a new Bernina (570) with a bigger throat. I am loving the daily “incentives” to go up to my studio and work. THank you again!!!

39. I want to be considered for the subscription give away! My absolute favorite part of your classes is seeing everyone’s projects. They are all so different and beautiful. I love the connection with quilters all over the world. Thank you for your teaching. So much fun 🙌🏻

40. Lori has been so generous in sharing all her knowledge and “tricks” to make free motion quilting easy. She is indeed a treasure to all of us quilters who have felt hopeless! Keep it coming Lori! And again, thank you..

41. I am so excited that you are posting the Museum Saturdays. I volunteered at the Art Institute of Chicago years ago. I LOVED that museum! (We lived in Naperville for 5 years.). I remember Seurat’s huge painting! Looking forward to seeing your Saturday posts!

    I have learned so much about preparation for quilting. I was never much of a doodler, but I am astounded at what a difference it has made since I started this quilt-along. Thank you so very much for this! I also enjoy seeing everyone else’s creations and reading the comments. This is a very kind and encouraging group of quilters—most quilters are, I have found.

42. Enjoyed the encouragement to experiment and find what works!

43. This FMQ journey has been so much fun! The best thing it’s done for me is give me confidence to tackle a quilt. I have always quilted by hand but wanted to make more quilts faster and this class is making it possible! The doodling has been the biggest thing I’ve learned. It’s amazing how it opens your mind to possibilities and it does translate to actual quilting. I cannot wait to continue on with this class! Lori is a GREAT teacher!

44. My victory is forcing myself to stretch. I am finishing a queen size mystery quilt that has been waiting a couple of years to be quilted. Usually I use my walking foot as I did on most of this one. But, when it came to the 2″ border I decided this would be the place for some daisies joined by a couple of little loops. I doodled several pages of daisies, practiced on a muslin sandwich, then drew 1 3/4 circles to help me keep the size uniform. Dozens and dozens of daisies later, my borders are finished, and I am pleased. Thank you for the lessons. I am ready for the next challenge.

45. There has been so many good tips and inspiring designs I have learned!

46. I have learnt that doodling does definitely help me plan out my quilting. Getting the pattern right, best combinations and no fear of having to unpick if I dont like it

47. Each lesson is a plus for me. I’ve especially enjoyed trying the square flower variations and am going to incorporate three into the table topper. And what a nice idea the vinyl overlay is; I’ve gotten the supplies and now just need to get it together.

    Thank you for all your knowledge, inspiration and help.

48. I love your books! Doodling is a great exercise

49. I have a binder filled with pages of your free motion articles for American Quilter. It was the first article I turned to when the magazine reached me.

50. I sat down and started doodling your designs immediately on my wipe board. When hubby said it was time for bed, we went upstairs, but I stole away into my quilt room and grabbed one of your older books (I have two) and started practicing away some more in bed! I would love to be entered into your newest book giveaway. Thank you for helping so many of us continue pursuing an art that our grammas and grandpas use to enjoy. It makes me feel more connected to my past. ;-).