Friday, June 14, 2013

From Doodling to Done

When I'm on the phone at work, I sometimes doodle free-motion quilting designs in an old spiral notebook.  Not while I'm having a conversation, but when I'm on hold for a representative, which can be a few seconds or minutes.  I flip past the work notes to a back page and start scribbling.

Lately I've been doodling ideas for quilting the Four-Lily block, which I wanted to finish as a table mat or wall hanging.  I came up with various ideas for the different sections.  Unfortunately, the notebook I doodled in stays at work, so last night I recreated it on a piece of freezer paper, with an eye toward getting the scale right. I traced my block templates onto the paper.
There was no way I was going to try to freehand quilt that elongated tri-lobed shape in the lily parts, so I grabbed a red Pilot FriXion marking pen and drew it right onto the fabric.  Then I made a few more reference lines (and screwed up others).  It was kind of a mess around the center.
But it worked to keep me (mostly) on track when I went to quilt it.  I think I've mentioned this before, but I sort of suck at following the lines, even the ones I draw to be followed.  Here is the "after."  The marks disappeared completely with the heat of the iron.
The quilting shows up better on the back.
And here's the full view of the front.
I had never used this pen to mark a quilt design before, so this was a first, and I'm happy with the results.  I know the marks can come back again with very cold temps, so I'll be sure not to set any ice buckets on it.

Now I am looking forward to starting something new, or at least working on something different for a while.  Maybe a string quilt? Quilt one of my UFOs?  We'll see.

If you'd like to try making this block, the tutorial for it starts HERE (or see the Tutorials tab above).  Have fun!

Music to ease you toward the weekend!





June Finishes


15 comments:

Kevin the Quilter said...

WOW! Your tutorials are AMAZING! And, this quilting is AMAZING! YOU are AMAZING! So cool! Really!

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

You knocked this one out of the park, girl! Give yourself a pat on the back:)

Karen said...

I agree with Vicki - knocked out of the park :) so great

a maidenhair fern said...

How fun to find your blog. I love the quilt in the furtherthest top left corner with the orange green and blue whirley gigs.

Lorna McMahon said...

I have really enjoyed your tutorial for this fab block! And the quilt design you came up with is perfect for it. You should make more tutorials or have a quilt along. You got quilt talent, P.

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

Very inspirational! I am getting ready to do some bigger designs with FMQ and I am a little scared:)

Shay said...

Wow...that quilting is AMAZING...you really outdid yourself there .

PS. Im a doodler too ..especially in meetings .

sophie said...

Hurray for doodling at work! While waiting for a meeting to start, last fall, I doodled all twelve of the blocks we're making for the Block Lotto this year. I used to doodle quilting design all the time ... maybe i should get back to that practice--it definitely worked well for you. I love your Four Lily quilt.

Elizabeth said...

Yay you! I love your quilting! It turned out beautifully. And don't worry about not quilting exactly on the lines. First of all, I don't think anyone does and secondly, once the lines are gone nobody can tell the difference. Very beautifully done! And thank you for linking up!

xo -E

P.S. I'm sitting here hatching plans to make a four-lily quilt . . . if I ever have the time.

MomWaldsPlace said...

It is not often that the back is a pretty as the front. Bravo!

Sarah Craig said...

It's gorgeous, P.! I may need to give this block a try - and I love the quilting!! Whoop whoop for you!!

Michelle said...

Ooh! The block and the quilting are simply magnificent! Doodling. What an excellent strategy. The results are outstanding.

Thanks for the music too. Got to dig that funky guitar!

Marti said...

That is gorgeous! You have such skill with FMQ.

Mara said...

Very pretty, I like the back too!

Amy's Crafty Shenanigans said...

Wow this is gorgeous! I aspire to quilt like that!!!