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Flower Variations–The Free Motion Quilting Tutorial

February 11, 2014

 

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Good Morning, Quilters!   Thank you to all of you who solved the “Bushel and a Peck” mystery (see more in A Valentine for my Mother…the song is from Guys and Dolls.   Also, I really enjoyed last Friday’s discussion about Quilt Labels.  I will be changing how I stitch my labels now–into the FMQ and into the bindings.  Sad to think we have to be so theft-aware with our quilts!

The Flower Variation Tutorial

A frequent request from readers is more explanation on using the motifs and tutorials in quilts.  In today’s tutorial we begin with  The Square Flower Tutorial and try stitching it in several variations to fit different quilt shapes.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Many quilts employ The Half Square Triangle.  One way to use our Flower design in a Half Square Triangle is to stitch the center of the flower in one of the corners.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

The other half of the square could be left with minimal quilting…

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Or…another Half Square Flower could be added in the opposite corner…

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

We can also stitch the center of the flower ON the middle line…

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Leave the other half of the square with minimal stitching to emphasize the  flower design.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Another common quilt shape is the Quarter Square Triangle…

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Our flower could be adapted to fill this pattern as well.  Again, a simple outline of the other triangles looks great and emphasizes the Flower Motif.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

 We can vary the look of The Square Flower by  changing the position of the center…

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

Each flower has a different look.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

This adds another dimension to any square.

FMQ, Tutorial, Flower Variations

The next time you have a shape to fill, try the very Variable Flower on your quilt!

NOTE–This tutorial was stitched on my Bernina 820 (without a BSR) using Robison-Anton rayon thread on top and Aurifil 50 wt cotton in the bobbin using a Schmetz 90 Topstitch needle.  The squares are 4-1/2inches.

Happy Stitching,

Lori

PS…All tutorials, information and images are property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only.  Feel free to re-blog and Pin with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt.  For any other purpose please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com….Thanks!

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Categories

All Flowers/Leaves Machine Quilting Motifs

Tagged

Aurifil Bernina 820 Flower Variations Flowers/Leaves fmq Long Arm Quilting Robison-Anton

30 responses to “Flower Variations–The Free Motion Quilting Tutorial”

  1. Kathy says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:24 am

    Very cool! Thanks Lori!

  2. Ness says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:41 am

    AND THAT my friends is why I find myself wishing for more than one Tues. in my week. I would have never moved the center on my own…that is just too cute and very awesome. Thanks for rocking my little square box…how do you come up with this stuff..what inspires you? It’s working whatever it is. 🙂

  3. Charlie says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:55 am

    You are so great to show the designs that you are quilting, I love these square flowers, will have to try them soon, love your blog, thanks for all you do!

  4. westernwilson says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:57 am

    Thankyou for that tute Lori, I will post it around! I would love some ideas for filling circle shapes, if you feel like posting some more inspiration!

    1. Lori Kennedy says:
      February 12, 2014 at 10:53 am

      Circles sound fun! Not something we’ve done before. I’ll do some doodling and try a tutorial…

  5. Dalvinder says:
    February 11, 2014 at 10:07 am

    Brilliant adaptations Lori.

  6. Theresa Sanders says:
    February 11, 2014 at 10:09 am

    Hi Lori, I’m looking for a fairly simple design to use for a very busy 7″ blocks log cabin quilt that has 144 blocks. I think since there are so many seams that I don’t want it to get stiff with stitching.I bet you have an idea 😉

    1. Lori Kennedy says:
      February 11, 2014 at 12:05 pm

      Hi Theresa, Check out the log cabin I did–it’s the first quilt in my Trunk Show (Top Header under quilts) That pattern worked very well for crossing the seams. If you need help figuring it out, let me know…

      1. Theresa Sanders says:
        February 11, 2014 at 12:17 pm

        Thank you for that idea! I should mention that this is a wedding quilt for my daughter and son-in-law who live and work in West Africa half the year and northern Colorado the other half. So it reflects their life at the ocean, forest and mountains going from blues to greens to browns to blue again for the water. So the wavy motif would be nice. Do you think I should keep it simple because of all the color changes and such?

      2. Lori Kennedy says:
        February 12, 2014 at 10:52 am

        Simple is always best. Also, look for continuous line designs that go across the seams, so your stitching doesn’t “fall in” the seams.

  7. Pat Rime says:
    February 11, 2014 at 10:12 am

    How about a snowflake filler for hexagons? I’m still stuck in winter for another 2 or more….
    Thank you Lori, for these ideas.

    1. Lori Kennedy says:
      February 11, 2014 at 12:06 pm

      How big are the hexagons?

      1. Pat Rime says:
        February 11, 2014 at 3:00 pm

        The hexagons are 6-1/2″ from flat side to flat side. Some of the hexagons will be expanded into stars.

      2. Pat Rime says:
        February 11, 2014 at 3:12 pm

        Here’s the project.

      3. Pat Rime says:
        February 11, 2014 at 3:17 pm

        Let’s try that again… This should be the navy hexagons

      4. Lori Kennedy says:
        February 12, 2014 at 10:51 am

        Hi Pat, Your Moonshadow quilt is gorgeous. I think the snowflake would look great in the patterned hexagons–it mimics their pattern. In the dark hexes–the stars you might try something like this http://lorikennedyquilts.com/2013/12/06/christmas-giveaway-for-quilters-and-non-quilters/ It is a more elaborate snowflake. (No tutorial, though) If you need help let me know. Your quilt is fabulous and doesn’t need a lot of machine quilting.

  8. Linda Swanekamp says:
    February 11, 2014 at 10:26 am

    Wow! Just brilliantly simple and strong design. Thanks.

  9. Bluebonnet says:
    February 11, 2014 at 11:01 am

    You are the best! Thank you for helping us with your fantastic solutions.

  10. sue says:
    February 11, 2014 at 11:50 am

    Loved this square flower! And what timing. Just finished a quilt and was trying to think up a flower design for the small squares and voila! Thank you so much. Sue

  11. Roxanne says:
    February 11, 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Another awesome quilt motif. And done without the BSR, now I’m really jealous! wow. Love this.

  12. Shelor Robin says:
    February 11, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    Love the square flower and all the ways you show to do it. Thank you sooooo much for your tutorials.

  13. Fiona says:
    February 11, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    Great idea and so clever… thanks…

    Hugz

  14. pamelajeannestudio says:
    February 11, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    Wonderful design. Now I know what to put in those half square triangles! Thanks, Lori.

  15. Sam Sinclair says:
    February 11, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Amazing quilting. Thanks for sharing, I’ve yet to master the art of FMQ, but will give these a try.

  16. Doreen says:
    February 11, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    Once again, your lovely stitching has inspired us. Thanks so much!! I learn so much from your blog!!!!

  17. Marianne says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    This is really lovely, and looks doable. It’ll be fun to try!

  18. Judith says:
    February 11, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    Your work is so beautiful – it inspires me to keep working at fmq! Thanks so much for sharing Lori!

  19. Joy French says:
    February 12, 2014 at 5:09 am

    Great design, and it really helps me when you show the quilting in various settings. Thanks.

  20. rascassepoule says:
    February 13, 2014 at 3:55 am

    I like this design , thank you Lori

  21. Joy F says:
    March 1, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    This is so inventive. One of my favorites of all time.

Comments are closed.
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    Lori Kennedy

    Hi! I’m Lori Kennedy, machine quilter, & author from Minnesota. Check out my monthly newsletter & my articles. Machine quilting is my passion. From doodling to quilting, I’m here in my Minnesota studio to help you get quilting.

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