My Adventures of Free Motion Quilting

I know the mini charm baby quilt has a lot of white, but when I designed it that was what I wanted.  Lydia Nelson from Dreamy Quilts sent me the cutest mini charm pack, and it was perfect for this project. So here it is.

This is the quilt top, before I quilted it. The pattern for the quilt is in our free tutorials here on the site. This would also be cute with prints or dot fabric.

And here is the after picture.

This wasn't hard at all. It just takes time. I put on music or a show and just go for it. It is one of my favorite things to do.

I pulled the characters out of the fabric. I picked the ducks to show you how.  I free-handed the ducks with a blue water soluble pen on the quilt. I use any brand of these pens that I can find, and have never had any problems with them. My sketch isn't perfect at all, but it gives me something to go by. As I quilt it with my longarm I will change the way that it looks some here and there. For example, the first baby duck's head is too big, so I know I want it smaller. 

Next I outlined it with white thread. I love 100% cotton thread for doing this kind of work. I have no idea why, it's just what I prefer. If you prefer polyester, go for it. Always use what makes you feel the most comfortable. Now, I do all my filler work. I love being outside, so a lot of my filler work is flowers, ferns, feathers, swirls, pebbles, leaves etc....

Now, I add the quilting with the color thread. I am still scared of color thread, but Tonya is really encouraging me to be braver, and I am glad. This quilt is not perfect and you will find many mistakes, but I did it and am very proud of myself. That's my motto "Just Go For It".

Here are a few more pictures:

I am happy to answer any questions.

Happy quilting,

Hugs,

Debbie