Freemotion Quilting Tutorials – part 4

Hello dear quilty friends,

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my previous posts on the series of wishbone variations! It is truly heartwarming to see so many people being enthusiastic about this project of mine. There have been quilters on Facebook who have shared their work inspired by the tutorials… it is just wonderful! If any of you too have tried to create wishbones with one of these tutorials,  please let me know. I would LOVE to see your work!!!

I would like like to share one specific FaceBook group with you that wholeheartedly welcomes quilters who use domestic machines (regular and treadle) and quilters who use midarms or longarms (of all skill levels!). This group is called Free Motion Quilting Frenzy and is run by Karen Miller of Red Bird Quilting Company. It is a lovely group of supportive men and women. Please check it out!

Okay, now that you are back from the many wonders of Facebook, let’s get to the first tutorial of today, number 9 in the series. Please welcome ‘Diamond Loops’ .

Create three loops in sequence and add a ‘bounce’ (just a straight line to the bottom of the designated area and there you bounce of the (imaginary) line in mirror image). Repeat, repeat and repeat! Click on the image below to be directed to YouTube.

Animated tutorial Wishbone 09 – Diamond Loops

 

This next otutorial is a little bit trickier, there is some mirroring from left to right. Once you have practiced it a few times, it will become as normal as a regular wishbone! Do draw a line in the middle of the area you want to quilt. This middle line is where each heart has its ‘centre bounce’ / point. Number 10 is ‘ Double Hearts’. Click on the image below to be directed to YouTube.

Animated Tutorial Wishbone 10 – Double Hearts

 

Of course you can make each heart a bit bigger, but I have found it a bit more difficult than the version above. For me, overlapping the loops in the hearts worked best (middle image below). See whatever works best for you by experimenting. Try decreasing the angle of the diagonal lines if you get stuck and make your hearts more curvy. This way your hearts become wider and the patterns is easier to replicate.

Tutorial Wishbone – several variations of Double Hearts

 

Tutorial 11 is a variation of number 10. Here we add another set of wishbones to the Double Hearts, little wishbonesthis time. This pattern variations reminded me of winding roads down a mountain. Click on the image below to be directed to YouTube to see number 11 ‘Winding Roads’.

 

Animated Tutorial Wishbone 011 – Winding Roads

 

 

If you have your heart set on creating bigger shapes, try this ‘Hearts Dance’! The wishbone loops create a big heart (with some added curls for some interest). To keep the rhythm going of the hearts ( no pun intended 🙂 ) , I have found that when you add two regular wishbones in-between each heart, it is easier to compensate for any unevenness in the hearts. Make the point (bounce) of the heart curvy! Give it a try. Click on the image below to be directed to YouTube for tutorial 12 ‘Hearts Dance’ .

Animated tutorial Wishbone 12 – Hearts Dance

 

Which of todays variations do you like best and want to try? Please let me know in the comments and let me see your gorgeous quilting!

Hugs

Esther

 

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