Charming Stars

Once upon a time - maybe as early as Feb or March 2012 I started this quilt. And for some really odd reason it took me FOREVER to piece it. And then it sat for a year waiting to be quilted. This summer I basted it and started quilting it, then unpicked it, then started again and unpicked it. Both times using straight line quilting, trying to focus on echoing the stars, but the sashing kept throwing me off.
Last week I had 2 friends busily free motion quilting their quilts, both of them were having issues with skipping stitches or threads breaking, and they were asking me for advice. I had some ideas, but not real answers because I had never free motion quilted a real quilt on my domestic machine! And of course I needed to do so IMMEDIATELY! So I unpicked some more straight line quilting and went to town.

And guess what, I had threads breaking and stitches skipping - and for me it was learning the weight of the quilt and the speed of my movement and then things went very smoothly, until I forgot again.

I have quilted a few quilts on a borrowed long-arm machine, but I could never keep a consistent density of quilting or stick with a meander rather than adding in loops. It's a whole new set of skills I really want to learn, and obviously it will take some practice. If I can have a happily perfected meander that I am able to scale up and down as desired I will call it a success - if I never free motion quilt feathers or pebbles that will be ok. =)
And surprisingly, it was easier to control how things went on this quilt that when I've used the long arm. I added loops on purpose, but was able to maintain meanders when I wanted. I need to work on more fluidity of movements, and figure out how to make my meander look less like amoebas.

I love how the quilt crinkled, esp the texture from a distance. It's one of my favorite features in any quilt.

I used 2 Quilt Halos while doing my free motion quilting. I LOVE them! I might want a 3rd for a little more weight and control, but 2 worked really well on this project. If you haven't heard of them, go check them out! I usually use machingers when quilting, and for straight line, that are great, but the Quilt Halos felt like I had an actually steering wheel to use, and I felt very in control of my quilt. My hands never got tired, even when I spent an entire afternoon working on the quilt.

Quilt Stats
Measures: 62.5" square.
Fabric: Just Wing It! by Momo for Moda and Bella Solids White
Batting: Warm & White
Thread: Aurifil 50 wt 100% Mako Cotton Thread
Quilt Pattern: Charming Stars tutorial on Moda Bake Shop