Free Motion Mavericks - Week 92 - Free Motion Sampler Quilt

Deadlines seem redundant when speaking of a project started over two years ago, but I was determined to finish this quilt this week. 

At last - the FMQ sampler quilt is finished!  It measures approximately 45 x 51 inches and is made up of all the experimental panels that I quilted using my stash of Oakshott cottons.  All the colours in this quilt have been discontinued, so it is my own little piece of fabric history.  Virtually all the fabrics are shot cottons, so they have a lovely sheen when the light catches them. 

Possibly what took me so long to finish the quilt is that I could never decide how to arrange the panels, so I selected the best nine and set the remaining two aside and shall probably use them for cushion covers.  Firstly I arranged them by size, so I could make a rectangle, then I placed the colours as best I could.

This is the darkest red, which ended up next to the darkest blue.

Next, I made sure that quilting designs that have a definite direction were all the same way up.  The most obvious case is the rudbeckia design, on the bright yellow panel.

All the quilting has been worked in variegated threads.  In some cases I aimed for contrast, as in the case of the leaves on the pale blue striped background, whereas there is very little contrast between thread and background fabric with the black bryony design on the right. 

The rosehips design on the left is one of my favourites, and I just love the rich shade of red.

 

The binding is the only fabric on the front that isn't from Oakshott.  I had a fat quarter in a dark blue shot cotton and managed to squeeze the binding out of it.  I cut my binding strips one and five eighths of an inch wide, so a fat quarter can go a long way. 

 

Now that I have finally finished this quilt I want to make another one using these quilting designs all over again.  Time will tell.  I'm not exactly Mrs. Organised.

 

 

Here goes for week 92...

 

The project in Week 91 that really caught my eye was Maartje's guinea fowl table mat.  It made me laugh, because I love guinea fowl.  Far tastier than chicken.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

 

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau and Russia have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Nina-Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.