Make your own Stencil/ Free Motion Quilting Practice

"Armadillos"

This is the end result of a series of NEW techniques for me. If you have read my previous posts you will know that I been making my own stencils in a Cameo machine. In the earlier project I modified one of their designs but now I've figured out how to do stencils from my own drawings. What a joy. 

I did a set of two: one for the main body and the other for the details. Used paint sticks over a silk-screened fabric. (do not pay attention on the lettering since the words has nothing to do with the armadillos (It is a leftover piece from another project that I wanted to use...ahem to make room for more fabric!!?).

Just bought a new sewing machine (Janome 7700), since my old one is behaving badly. It is a first for me to sew with this brand and I LOVE it! It accepts any weight thread without sacrificing the quality of stitch. Browsing the web, looking for tips on how to work with the Janome found a great site http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com   where Leah, the quilter in charge, teaches different quilting designs. I watched some of her videos and decided to practice two of them in this small quilt. 

This piece was hung beside a window where the sun was shining to show off the texture that creates this quilting design. Again, I used two kinds of batting: cotton and a split wool on top, 50 weight thread for the top half of the quilt and variegated 30 weight for the bottom half. I'm pleased with the end result.