Wrapping up the Free-Motion Quilting Idea blog tour…

Posted on November 11, 2015November 16, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 30 Comments

Note: The winner of the book for this post is Lori Morton – congratulations Lori!

Hi guys,

This is the last day of The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book blog Tour. (Say that 3 times fast)

By now you probably know all about the book…

That it was designed to spark your imagination so you could try some new designs and get those finished quilt tops quilted!
That most of the pages in the book are devoted to diagrams that show you how to accomplish quilting with ease

That you can look things up by family or by block.
That there is a coordinating sampler available for download on C&T’s site with piecing instructions for every block in the book.

That our Free-Motion Quilting Idea Sampler Facebook group is up and running! I’m sewing the sampler in Carina there but people are using all sorts of fabric and we are cheering each other on. (Please join us!!!)

That VERY soon (I don’t have an exact date yet) there will be an app with access to videos and animations for the allover patterns in the book in the iTunes store.
That all the videos were filmed on the BERNINA Q 24 and the BERNINA 790.
And that you have a chance to win a copy of the book right here by leaving a comment on this post before midnight on Sunday, November 15th, telling me your favorite allover free-motion allover pattern. It can be one you enjoy quilting or one you’d like to learn. (And don’t forget some stops on the FMQIdea Book blog tour are still accepting entries!)

One more thing… if you already have the book thank you for purchasing it and I hope you enjoy it! If you do, please consider leaving a review on Amazon’s site. I would really appreciate it.

Happy quilting!

Amanda

The Free-Motion Idea Sampler

Posted on August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 5 Comments

HI everyone,

I hope you are having a great weekend! I’ve been waiting to share a new release – The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Sampler! It is a companion piece to the Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book and the piecing directions for the sampler are now available as a download from C&T. The sampler includes piecing directions for every block in the book, so it is a fabulous practice piece if you are looking to improve your quilting skills. (And to make it a quicker sew, there are master cutting instructions included, so you can cut everything at once and then get sewing!) I hope you all will piece it and quilt it along with me this fall on Facebook!

I quilted this on the BERNINA Q 24 and pieced it on my BERNINA 780. To quilt each block, I chose a random pattern from the book – no rules – just whatever I felt like quilting each day. I used Benartex’s Color Weave fabric and Aurifil 50 wt. thread for piecing and Aurifil monofilment (with 50 wt. in the bobbin) for quilting. (There are suggested quilting plans organized by block in The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book.)

I quilted many of the allover patterns from The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book in the borders.

FMQIdeaSampler_1307_SM

I used Benartex Color Weave for the example and the SKUs are included in the pattern. I’ll be sewing it again starting this September in Carina. I’ve created a special Facebook group for this piece so we can share our progress. I hope you’ll join me if you are quilting along.

FMQIdeaSampler_Cover_SM

Happy quilting!

Amanda

Quilting BERNINA-Style: Free-Motion Panel

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 8 Comments

Some of you might have caught a glimpse of this on my BERNINA Q 24 Frame just days before BU.

Well, I was sworn to secrecy at the time but now I can tell you! This is the new Quilting BERNINA-Style Free-Motion Panel that I designed to help people become comfortable with free-motion quilting and it will be arriving exclusively at U.S. BERNINA dealers in October! (I’m not sure about availability for international customers at the time I’m writing this, but I’ll let you guys know if I hear anything, ok?) Whether you quilt on a long arm or domestic, I hope you really enjoy it.

I this many of my favorite allover quilting patterns – some of which can be found in my Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book. The coordinating app that is coming soon shows many of these patterns being quilted on a BERNINA.

After you get practice with many of the designs in the outer blocks, you can work on combining them in the central panels.

The panel measures 36” x 54”, so is easy to maneuver both on a long arm and a domestic. There is a smaller panel that will follow, perfect for making bags, pillows, and placemats. I can’t wait to see what you all make with these!

Also, for those of you who have written me, sign versions of The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book are now available in my shop. Directions for the coordinating sampler will be available as a download from C&T soon, and the app version with video of a lot of these designs being quilted on a BERNINA Q 24 will follow.

Hope you are having a great summer and happy quilting!

Amanda