Sunday, February 19, 2012

Oh, Horsefeathers!!!

I joined SewCalGal's 2012 Free Motion Quilt Challenge and what a challenge it was this month. This month's tutorial was feathers by Diane Gaudynski. I've had Diane's book (maybe she has more than one) for a couple of years but have never quite gotten the hang of the feathers. Maybe I just don't like feathers. I can't draw them no matter how hard or how many times I try. I've drawn on paper, I've sewn on paper. I was going to cheat and resort to tracing some feathers on tissue paper and then sewing over the tissue but decided that would not be a challenge. So, I don't see any feathers in my near future - not until I retire and have more practice time to wile away on feathers. Anyway...this is my not quite completed hotpad (need to bind it yet) for Feb.  And I'll keep it for my own collection. 

The don't call it a challenge for nothing!  And I'm definitely feather-challenged! 

3 comments:

Danih03 said...

Awe, don't give up! Try stitching them in a different direction! For instance, if you are going in the direction of say like you are making a half of a heart, try starting from the bottom of the heart.(I do better that way) And I don't think the tissue paper would be cheating! It would certainly help you get the feel of it. Good luck

Danih03 said...

If you use tissue paper of course it's still free motion.It's just a method to create your version of perfection. I myself, sometimes mark my quilt. Look at it this way. Many people paper piece to achieve perfect blocks. Is it still not piecing? Of course it is. And besides,You are taking an EXTRA STEP tomake your quilt perfect. You should get credit for it!

Mary Johnson said...

Have you ever tried the Pajama Quilter's wonky feathers? I could quilt borders but not all all over feathers until I got her DVD now I feel I can quilt lovely feathers that cover my quilts, they're not as formal as Diane's but still lovely.