my first free-motion quilting

so, i ordered an embroidery foot for my sewing machine last week and it arrived the other day, so i thought i’d get a little more serious about this free motion quilting notion that had been tapping my shoulder for awhile.  i’d checked out a few books from the library and found “quilt as desired” by charlene frable to have the most detailed tutorial for how to get started with free-motion quilting.  i started there and did a few of her exercises, but then i started experimenting with this spiral pattern and found it to be way easier than her wavy line technique.  plus, i like the way it looks better.  then, i flipped through “free expression:  the art and confessions of a contemporary quilter” by robbi joy eklow and she’s got lots of ideas for more non-traditional free-motion quilting shapes so i tried out one that looks like pebbles:

i love the texture on this one!  the thing about free-motion quilting is it’s as close as you will ever get to doodling with your sewing machine.  you don’t have to sew only straight ahead, you can go back and forth in whatever direction you want.  very fun!  although my forearms got tired after just doing the two sample pieces above.  what’s the secret?  bigger shapes?  those grippy gloves? just relax?  i can’t imagine how much more tense i’d be if i was wrangling a whole quilt!  oh well, for now i’ll keep practicing on these small shapes.  they’d make great potholders, coasters, pillows, pockets….  i don’t like to waste!

now, i’m off to flickr and my bookmarked links of favorite quilts to get more inspiration.