All in the Name of Practice

So over the last month, I've been practicing some Free Motion Quilting motifs that I had never tried before on a baby quilt that I made back in March. This baby quilt.

So since I didn't have any plans for it, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to practice some FMQ motifs...scary but it's not like I have a deadline for it now!

Each rectangle has a square block has a different motif. I haven't shared any progress on this one. I figured you dear readers, may get sick of seeing posts everyday with each motif. So I'm going to throw a bunch at you in this post. Here we go :)

First up was Dot to Dot Borders from Angela Walters Book Shape By Shape. She is definitely one of my favorite authors! I love, love, love her books. There was some marking on this block. And considering that my straight lines are usually not straight, this one came out fairly well.

#2 is my dislike of the group....Arches.... I'm happy that you can't see it that much because I really dislike how I quilted this. Definitely need more practice. Another FMQ motif from Angela's Shape by Shape book.

Wavy, Wavy! Another FMQ motif from Angela's Shape by Shape book. This one was quite easy and fun. Definitely a dense FMQ motif but I like it :)

And here's what I did with all that sashing space!

 I love, love, love this FMQ motif. I love wavy lines and this one is just so relaxing to do. And it's just beautiful. Simply elegant. I'll definitely be using this FMQ motif in more of my quilts!

Next up is the Square Chain. I like this but I don't know if I would use it again. And then there are loops....

A very relaxing design...not sure why I never did this one before. Another motif from Angela's Free Motion Quilting book.

And here are the leaves. This Allover Leaves motif is from Angela's Free Motion Quilting book. I'll definitely do this one again in the future.

And of course the Paisley motif from Angela's Free Motion Quilting book. I really do love this pattern. Definitely one of my favorites :)

Close-Up of the Paisley motif.

I also made this pillow with that same Paisley motif for the 87 Pillow Challenge. You can read about that here. Here's a picture of that pillow.

I still have a few more FMQ motifs to go. I'm hoping to finish quilting that baby quilt by the weekend. I also need to pack for my week long sewing trip! Looking forward to that :)

Rashida Coleman-Hale, Carolyn Friedlander, and Elizabeth Hartman

Second day of workshops started off with Rashida's Airplane row....I'll admit this was a scary one for me. The paper piecing didn't bother me but the curved nose of the airplane! I really didn't get far with this block but I will finish my plane eventually...

I was socializing a bit and doing some lazy sewing it seems :) 

Next class was Carolyn Friedlander's row. This was all paper piecing again. I do love her row. I hadn't picked out fabrics for this row. I decided to sort of wing it....here's what I came up with so far.

I was leaning towards the sun setting but now I'm not sure. Either way there's no turning back....I'll make it work!

Last but not least was Elizabeth Hartman's rows. So many little pieces but oh so fun. I did finish a few houses for this row.

Don't you just love how this block looks?! I'm not a big fan of orange but I did use a lot of it this weekend.

I also had a 10 minute spree in the pop up show before it closed Saturday night......

8 yard cuts of some pretty fabrics....ah :)

And then all good things must come to an end :( 

I had a great time with Anja@Anja Quilts, Jenn@Quarter Inch from the Edge and another MMQG member Dena. Click on the links above to see their post on Glamp Stitchalot :)

I am still a bit exhausted from this adventure....I would love to go to the one in November.....I guess we will see ;) If you have the opportunity to go, GO!!! You won't regret it!

Monica Solorio-Snow, Penny Layman and Violet Craft

First day of sewing at Glamp Stitchalot! So I posted a bit yesterday about the arrival day at Glamp Stitchalot. You can read about that day here.

When I arrived at my spot in the "Great" room, I got to see first hand the sewing machine that would be "mine" for the weekend.

Isn't she a beauty?! There were also some Janome "homies" around if anyone who rented a machine ran into trouble. I have to say, this machine did work well. There were definitely some features that I enjoyed on this machine. I didn't get to try out any Free Motion features since I wanted to sew ;)

Setting up for Workshop #1 with Monica @ Happy Zombie

This was definitely one of my favourite rows. I love the colours that I picked out and just the flow of the row was spectacular! I'm hoping to finish this row soon. I really don't want to add these rows to the WIP pile....

 That is Monica's signature on my row. I didn't accomplish much sewing while I was there. I was more interested in learning from all of the instructors :)

My next workshop was with Penny Layman. I really love her paper piecing row. Here's one of the mountains that I was able to finish.

 

And then Violet Craft's row.

My first shot at curves! Love her technique that she taught. Made me look at curved piecing in a whole new light!

And check out a door prize that I won :)

Yes. It is what you think it is. The Aurifil Thread Color Card!

I absolutely love this! This is something that I would have never bought for myself but I am over the moon to have it :)

I also purchased a few more fabrics at the Pop Up Shop...

A few Fat Eights and a mini charm pack of Flow....and yes I bought one the day before at the store. I decided I wanted to have two :)

I'll be working on another post for the final three workshops. Hope you come back to visit to see the last post of my trip!

Glamp Stitchalot Summer of 2016

What an incredible trip! I don't think I could use just one word to describe Glamp Stitchalot! One of the most incredible trips of my life! Absolutely amazing! The instructors were incredible! Pink Castle Fabrics staff were amazing! And the fantastic group of participants that I met along the way makes me speechless! If you ever have a chance to attend a Glamp event, GO! Don't hesitate! Just book!

I'll start off by mentioning that we went to the Pink Castle Fabrics store from the airport. Luggage and all! We just had to go and we were a bit behind schedule with a 3 hour flight delay in Toronto. So happy that I had a chance to visit the store. I'll definitely be returning if I ever get to go back to Ann Arbor. I would suggest you visit if you're in the area ;)

Here are the goodies that I picked up at the store. Quilt Now magazine that came with that adorable Tin for Pins, Flow mini charm pack, Swoon Pattern and of course fabrics!

Then it was on to the hotel to register. Everyone received this incredible bag for the event.

That's my iPad 2 just to show how large this bag is! I can't wait to use it on my sewing week next month!

And of course, the pouch contained all these goodies....

I love the cute little patch for Glamp Stitchalot! So much happiness in one bag!

Thursday evening was the pouch swap if you signed up to participate. Here is the lovely pouch I made for my swap partner.

I also made a small triangle pouch that was a tutorial from Vanessa @ Crafty Gemini. My partner said she loves Cotton & Steel so I decided to use some of the collection I have in my stash. I also tossed in a Paradiso Mini Charm pack. Then added some Aurifil thread and bobbin holders. 

The pouch I received in return was this wonderful large pouch packed with goodies!

The Pouch is made from Kate Spain's Aria collection. I just love it! Absolutely gorgeous! Then there is a gorgeous thread catcher and pin cushion that she made me using Kate Spain's Paradiso collection. AND also put in a FQ Bundle of the Paradiso collection! She also used fabric for tissue paper. I'm definitely going to do that for next time! And if all this wasn't overwhelming, she included a beautiful note with some yummy Ohio buckeyes! Just incredible! I felt so overwhelmed and thankful for everything!

Here's a peek of what the "Great" room resembled the following morning before the workshops....

Oh the excitement! I'll post more pictures in another blog post. Just giving you a taste for the Glamp Stitchalot deliciousness ;)