Tag Archives: free motion quilting

Aussie MQG Zipper Pouch Swap

Lots of firsts in this pouch for the #AussieMQGZipperPouchSwap. This was a direct partner swap to encourage us to get to know an MQG member from another guild, my allocated partner was Amy from Badskirt who I’m lucky to already know a little, enough to know that I had to make something especially awesome. If you’ve seen any of Amy’s work you’ll understand the weight I felt on my shoulders.

Below is the sneak peek I shared before posting her pouch.

Aussie MQG Zipper Pouch Swap

It was my first time sewing with leather, just like sewing through butter on my Juki! I did learn that the thicker leather would probably be better with rounded corners.

These little geese measure 1″ across by 1/2″ tall, I made my own paper piecing pattern for these which will definitely get a workout again soon.

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I had to come up with something equally cool for the back so I had a go at some itty bitty quilting to create more mini geese, lucky for me it worked out pretty well (or I would have had to make another panel and think of something else!). May have been a little better with darker thread but I still like it.

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I pieced the panels, then layered each one with batting and a cotton back so that I could quilt 1/2″ straight lines and the FMQ geese. I then added on the leather bottom piece and from there followed my favourite zipper pouch pattern by Toni at Make It Perfect. I added a little pocket on the inside for a card or keys or coins but otherwise it’s just a basic quilted zipper pouch.

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It was a labour of love but I’m really happy with how this little pouch turned out.

Here’s the awesome pouch and goodies I received from Amy. The pouch is perfect for holding my C+S hexies and because… cats, especially grey cats.

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Lucky it passed inspection!

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This swap came about from a group of Aussie MQG Leaders talking about ways that we could build community and get to know one another from guilds around the country. We plan to run more Aussie MQG swaps in future as a way of giving our members more benefits and a greater sense of connection with each other, the first swap seems to have been a big hit!

Only a fortunate few of us can make it to QuiltCon and it’s luck of the draw with MQG Fabric Challenges, we hope that through these swaps every Aussie MQG member feels that they have the opportunity to participate in an event beyond their local guild and that over time more connections will be formed to build a strong Aussie Modern Quilting community.

Graffiti Quilting Workshop with Karlee Porter

This past weekend I was lucky to have a place in a 2 day workshop, hosted by the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild, we welcomed artist and quilter Karlee Porter to Wollongong for the final leg of her Australian  tour. Karlee’s signature style is called Graffiti Quilting, an approach to free-motion quilting that builds up a design from layers of elements, some which have been inspired by street art, some using common quilting motifs in a modern way.

On the first morning Karlee took us through 20 or so designs and techniques which we practiced in our sketch books, and then started to combine.

Graffiti Quilting Sketches
Graffiti Quilting Sketches

Left: Sketching designs, my leaves are terrible but I’ll keep working on them. Right: We all started with the same centre elements (black) then had 5 minutes to add our own ideas to kick off a design.

After lunch we put those ideas onto fabric with no real plan and only gentle direction provided by Karlee. My free motion skills were a little rusty but I slowly found a rhythm. I’d do a little bit and then stop and think about the next element, trying to pick something to suit the space or contrast a geometric design with a soft and swirly one, the whole while referring back to my sketch book and the fun analogies about the different designs.

Graffiti Quilting Day 1 Sampler
Graffiti Quilting Day 1 Sample – Aurifil 28wt blue varigated thread on black solid fabric from Spotlight.
Graffiti Quilting Class
Everyone concentrating hard on their quilt samples

That evening we were joined by more WMQG members for a trunk show where Karlee spoke about her background and a selection of her quilts, explaining the progression of her work, the highs and lows of entering shows and different experiments along the way. I particularly enjoyed hearing about her collaborations with other artists, having their designs digitally printed on fabric which is then quilted. Of course, cheese and wine with guild members and our guests made for a really enjoyable evening.

On day two we spoke more about materials, threads, fabrics and battings that suit this style of quilting and what situations they suit best. Karlee also took us through different layout options and then suggestions on how certain elements go together. I chose to try quilting in rows with a common circular element up the middle.

Karlee Port & I with my sample quilt
Here’s my sample at the end of the day, couldn’t have done it without Karlee’s encouragement

For my sample piece I’ve used black solid from Spotlight with 2 layers of cotton batting. The thread is Aurifil 28wt in a magenta colour and then a soft medium pink, the next two colours will be a light grey and then finally white. I found I really liked the geometric elements, particularly the columns and my curves were definitely improving with practice.

Graffiti Quilting Detail - Centre
The bottom centre circle turned out better than I could have thought possible, with just a few circle guides and I sketched the leaves first because I find them so tricky to get the curve right.
Graffiti Quilting Detail - Geometric Columns
Love those columns, they can be a city skyline, a stereo equalizer or local rock formations.

All in all I had a great time and really learned a lot from Karlee, she’s fun and genuine with lots of tips and tricks for creating our own unique spin on Graffiti Quilting. I hope to practice more and put together some smaller pieces that can be used for pouch & bag panels, and will most definitely keep sketching and drawing, I found I really enjoyed that part! Here’s a start on something in my sketch book…

Graffiti Quilting - New Sketches
A fresh page & textas, I no longer feel paralysed trying to envision the entire design, just add a bit at a time and the whole becomes much greater than the some of it’s parts.

Super Stars – A Finished Charity Quilt

Super Stars is my first quilt finish for 2014. It probably should have been my final finish for 2013 but just spilled over, oh well it’s finally done! It finishes at 60″ x 75″ using a 4×5 layout of 15″ blocks.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt

I used a 50w Aurifil thread (2021) to free motion quilt a pattern of loops and stars in the background and a wonky star in the middle of each of the pieced stars.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt - Quilting

This quilt was made as part of the Vintage Made Modern charity quilt challenge, issued by Rachael, the leader of our guild, to use up some of the huge stash of vintage fabrics we’d been gifted, as well as to help our favourite charities.

Some of the blocks were cut & pieced by fellow members of the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild at our dedicated sew day in August (yep that’s me, piecing away on my Juki and pulling a ridiculous face). We managed to get all the blocks cut and pieced in the one day.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt

Over the next couple monthly sew days I got all the blocks put together into a top and then basted the quilt. The floral print on the back was the first fabric I picked and then I pulled the other fabrics from there. All except for the yellows are a white-on-colour small floral print.

This was my first time doing free motion quilting on anything larger than a fat quarter, it was also my first attempt at machine binding. I used a 2.5″ wide strip for my binding to give myself a little extra to catch on the back. It’s a good method, I just need a little more practice so I can then reduce the strip width back to my usual 2.25″.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt - Backing & Binding

I’m linking up this finish with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.