Friday, December 20, 2013

FMQ Feathers

I have issues with feathers.

My issue is that I don't like traditional feathers.

So I don't make them.

Therefore, when I think I might want to make some, I have no experience and they look like $#@&.

I spent some time trying to work out the flow.

There was A LOT  of erasing while I tried to sort out how to shift directions.


I did the first practice pass with an orange pen, trying to get into a rhythm.  I figured out that my groove is top to bottom and left to right.

It helps me to identify the spot on the inside curve where I need a "circle" to wrap the opposite direction feathers around.

For the next pass, I used a green pen and tried to focus only on the "spine" and focused on where things connected, letting the outer part flow on it's own.

I tried marking the spine of my practice block with a wash away marker but it wasn't noticeable on the dark green, so I used a yellow pencil on that side.

My final outcome was this.

When I was stitching it, everything felt smooth and amazing.  I tried to focus on ending the feathers in the same location to make heart shapes.

On close inspection, 30% of those feathers are still a little wonky.  And my effort to make a "stem" spine on the right just simply looks bad.

Oh well.

Progress.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Relax and don't 'think' too much about what you are trying to do
Take a spin thru quilting collections on pinterest for instant inspiration

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Good morning Marjorie...I think you made fantastic progress. I am fairly new to fmq; and don't seem to progress much. I am a long time hand quilter...trying!! I have recent finished 2 queen size quilts on my new Tiara...one went well; the other gave me stress..lol. But I am going to keep plugging away. I love feathers, but not good at them. You have inspired me to try it again.

Karens Quilts, Crows and Cardinals said...

Marjorie your feathers are coming along beautifully... When you have a minute check out "Thread Talk" by Wendy Sheppard... Ivoryspring.wordpress.com... Her feather tips are most amazing - I've learned so much my inspecting and duplicating them. See what you think. Merry Christmas. Karen