Tag Archives: Angela Walters

Quilting Triangles

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I have a project I am working on at the moment, that originally, I thought I could leave the triangles unquilted (46 of them). Well, the linen triangles are a little too puffy for my liking and I really need to quilt them.

That started me on this path:

  1. Using Angela Walters Shape by Shape book to find inspiration on how to quilt these triangles. I love this book.
  2. The designs had to be done with my walking foot. I am determined that I don’t need to change my foot on my machine for just these triangles.

These are the quilting patterns, I came up with for my 4″ triangles. Both of the designs are similar to Angela’s designs for Triangle 1 and 7 but I added some more detail in them to make them my own.

Nested Pyramids:
This is very similar to Angela’s example (Triangle 7), but I can not help myself….Star Trek badge ;-). I did do some initial marking for this block. I marked the 2 ” center line, and then along that line from the top, I marked 3 lines at a 1″ spacing. These marks are used as rough guides to evenly separate the sections.
NestedPyramid

Here are the quilted lines for this block; their directions, start and end points
NestedPyramid_QuiltDesign

Crown Jewel:
Looks like the center piece of a tiara, right? I did do some initial marking for this block as well. I marked the 2 ” center at the bottom, and then along the sides I marked a 1″ spacing. These marks are used as rough guides to evenly separate the sections.

Pyramid_QuiltDesign

Here are the quilted lines for this block; their directions, start and end points

Pyramid_QuiltInstruction

Book Review Tuesday: Free Motion Quilting

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I have recently had the chance to attend one of Angela Walters’ class in person at Sewdown Nashville. It was fantastic. I wanted to continue practicing and growing this skill of Free-Motion Quilting.

Review

I already had in my growing library of books her book Free-Motion Quilting. I grabbed it and decided to start working through it.
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Title:  “Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters”
Author:  Angela Walters
Publisher:  C & T Publishing
ISBN:  978-1-60705–535-8

This book has a great layout that builds on the knowledge you learn with each chapter. It starts with similar techniques as in her class however I was pleasantly surprised while the topic was the same, the patterns were different. Each design includes step by step instructions making it very easy to follow and practice.

The book includes circles, swirls, squares, lines, vines, arcs, and points. A great collection of designs are discussed.

My favorite section is in Section 3, in which Angela, helps you visualize how to use the designs in modern quilts. It provides great inspiration on how to combine different designs to highlight but complement the quilt.

I really enjoyed reading through this book as it was easy to follow which is perfect for a book that is an instructional guide and possible replacement/substitute for those who can’t attend a class.

Definitely a 4 out of 5.
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Project

My project is kind of different as it is a long-term project this time. I am committing to practice Free-Motion Quilting for 15 minutes every day from May 1st through May 31st. Practice…Practice…Practice. There are 4 main groupings of techniques in this book that fits perfectly with 4 weeks of May. You can see the daily progress on instagram @ ml_wilkie; and I will show you all a weekly recap on my blog right here.

This is where I am starting at:
Pebble_FMQ

and…Geometric_FMQ

I hope you can stop by and see the progress!!

Give-away

Giveaway time!! The winner will win a copy of Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters and a pair of Machingers quilting gloves (recommended in Angela’s book and I am loving my new pair already!!).
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All you need to do is leave a comment on either what you would like to learn in FMQ or what is your favorite FMQ tip or design. There is a second chance to win if you are a follower, just leave a second comment. A winner will be chosen at random and announced next Tuesday, May 6th after 6pm.

A disclaimer, all reviews and opinions of the books reviewed will be mine, unless otherwise stated. Please note, I may not respond to all comments due to volume and bandwidth.

Linking up with Lee Over @ Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday.

Sew Down Nashville: FMQ and improvisational piecing + Winner

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Sew Down Nashville was fantastic. Heather, Elizabeth and Jen, from The Modern Quilt Guild, organized the best weekend activity/conference, I have ever attended.

Friday evening, kicked off our sewing with open sew, where you could sew any project with others, in a social environment….like a giant bee. I worked on my hexagon (EPP) lap quilt which is slowly progressing; perfect when traveling. Can you believe it, I finished around midnight.
Hexagon_OpenSew The weekend did not slow down a second from then on. Each class exceeded my expectations. First up, was Angela Walters Free Motion Quilting class. If you ever get a chance to take her class – do….she has such a great flow and structure in her teaching…..she is funny and down to earth which made it a lot of fun. I know!! FMQ fun!!Angela_Me

This was one of her quilts she had on display….one of the quilts, you say, “When I grow up I want to be able to do this”:Angelas_FMQ

I struggled with the more curvy designs. Pebbling, which was our first lesson and my first time I have attempted it, was hard more due to the fact I got lost and didn’t know where to go next. Pebble_FMQ

My favorite designs for Angela’s class was the more geometric shapes. To get the points to be more prominent instead of rounded corners, she passed on the knowledge to pause and then move on so that the needle/stitch catches well. Great tip!!, now I just need to not keep my foot on the pedal and sew 2-3 stitches in the same place 🙂Geometric_FMQ

Practice, practice, practice. Angela talked about how she would for 15 minutes a day just sit at her sewing machine and practice…I think it will be my next months challenge (Sarah @ Berry Barn Designs….sounds like a 3030SC right??).

Victoria Findlay Wolfe, was up next for improvisational piecing. A fantastic class to take those out of their comfort zone, especially if you are a pattern follower. Of course, this one was right up my alley and loved it!

Victoria_Findlay_Wolfe

These were some of my favorite mini quilts that she had bought with her. I love that she has all these vibrant colors in her quilts. All those small pieces did not start out small, it’s all about how you piece the together…and then trim.Victorias_Quilts

In her class I learned how to do a Y seam…folks nice and easy – why was I freaked out about these before 🙂 Also, I managed to improv two blocks…I now have a new project in my head on how I would use these.Improv_YSeam_VictoriasClass

 

Saturday finished up with another open sew and can you believe it I was almost first one to breakfast each morning (7:30 am – yes hubby, I can be an early rising) and one of the last to leave each open sew.  I finished this open sew with a completed block!!
HST_OpenSewBlock

Final part of business today….the winner of Quilt Essentials (btw, I met the author at sew down!!)…is
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Who is Sarah @ For Russia. Congratulations, I will send C&T Publishing/Stash books your details.

I am linking up with Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Social (see button on right).