Saturday 7 March 2015

The (Quilting and Blogging) Drought Has Broken

Finally! I have done absolutely no stitching since returning to full time work 5 weeks ago. Yes, it has been 5 weeks already. Unbelievable huh?

I have been desperately missing  doing something creative but have been so tired in the evenings, and had so much to do on weekends, that I just haven't had the time or energy to do anything.

That all changed today when I attended a 'Feathers and Fillers' free motion quilting workshop hosted by WAQA and facilitated by Sheila Pye. What a fantastic day! It was lots of fun and Sheila was soooo inspirational.

First we did a warm up ...


Don't look too closely. I didn't do a very good job here.

From there we progressed through the day trying different feather and filler patterns. I did get better over the course of the day but I still need a LOT of practice.

L-R: Hills and valleys, Wide feather stitch with circles, Feather stitch

A closed space filled with Feathers and Hills and Valleys
 
My pebbles got better as the day progressed

Stitching feathers around the outside of a shape was much more difficult

I quite liked the 'Puddle with Fish' design

Finally, by the last session of the day, I was feeling more relaxed and confident. We had a challenge to try and incorporate a range of things we had learned during the day. I was really happy with my end result, especially given I didn't follow a pattern.

I started with Hills and Valleys then let my imagination run wild.
It was a great day but quite exhausting. I admit to looking forward to going to bed shortly. Hopefully I will get a chance to do some more stitching tomorrow.

If you would like to see some of Sheila's work you can visit her blog, Pieces of Pye - A machine quilter's passion.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to participate in Friday Night With Friends this week but if you would like to see what everyone else got up to you can visit Cheryl's blog here.

Happy stitching,
Tracy

8 comments:

Maria said...

Sew pleased you got to do some sewing today.
Great work with your quilting....

Christine B said...

Well done on all that FMQ, I know from personal experience that it looks a lot easier than it is! You should be very pleased with how much progress you made during the day.... it looks great in the photographs! :) x

Jo said...

Tracy, you will adjust to work soon and somehow find a way to sew. Hopefully we may see some Quilty projects

Dasha said...

Going to a workshop like that stretches you and opens your eyes to possibilities you had not even thought of. We all tend to get in a rut, so doing something like this definitely widens your repertoire. Having said all of that I should do one too! LOL

Anthea said...

So much learning Tracy! Well done & I'm sure that when you have time to practice, you'll improve.
I love your Wild Imagination piece!

Did your Mum get herself on blogger yet?

Christine M said...

I think you've done a great job with that quilting, Tracy.

Lin said...

Great work and you are far braver than I! xx

Jeneta said...

Wow - your quilting looks great!! I LOVE the last pic! I won't be stopping by this week - I forgot I have a child home all week - but will swing past next week.