Work in Progress Wednesday–The Sunflower Sampler

September 18, 2013
Sunflower Quilt, FMQ

Quilt, Free Motion Quilting, Sunflower

I would like to welcome all the new quilters that found us this week!  Welcome to The Inbox Jaunt!  It seems we received a very nice recommendation from quilt-fiction author, Marie Bostwick.  You can find her on Facebook HERE or find her books HERE.  Thank you to Marie, and all her fans who have joined us!  Also, thank you to those of you who mentioned how you found us– I am always curious!

As the Minnesota temperatures begin to drop –(It was 96 F last week and is 65 F this week.) –autumn themes are swirling in my head…leaves, corn, pumpkins, sunflowers…

Sunflower Quilt, Free Motion Quilting

As I watched Sunday’s episode of Breaking Bad (any other fans out there?)  I was doodling.  Most of the doodles are uninspired,  but I thought I’d give this one a go.  I used Sulky on top and Aurifil on the bottom.  (I usually like the finer weight Sulky, but this matched better.)  I set my machine for a little free motion fun (See Seven Steps to Free Motion Quilting HERE.), put a Topstitch 80 in my Bernina 820  and I was off to the races!

Sunflower Quilt, Free Motion Quilting

Whenever possible, I like to use a fun backing fabric.  This was in my stash–perfect!

Sunflower Quilt, Free Motion Quilting

I stitched a “sampler” of stitches around the sunflower, alternating curvy and linear designs.  You may notice the Braided Wheat border. (see yesterday’s tutorial HERE)   I have not doodled a good corner treatment, so I stitched squares in the corners.  This is a great way to handle corners when you aren’t sure how to turn your border pattern.  I like the extra design elements in the corners.

Sunflower Quilt, Free Motion Quilting

The only problem with this quilt—I now have a stack of thirty mini quilts that require binding…

Sunflower Quilt, Free Motion Quilting

I think I’ll go weed…(Another of my dreaded favorite tasks!)

TIP:  The next time you’re doing a little stitching, try mixing it up with a “sampler” of stitches.  It adds interest and is a great way to practice all of those tutorials!

TIP 2:  Don’t fret when you don’t know how to turn a corner with your border pattern.  Use the corners as an opportunity to add a design element.  (No one will be the wiser—unless, like me, YOU tell them!

Happy stitching,

Lori

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