Practice for Butterfly Wings

   I get questions and comments about free motion quilting all the time.  Often I am asked about practice.....do I really practice drawing?......do I practice stitching a pattern before using it on a quilt?   Of course, I do!  It only looks easy when I do it because I put in the time to practice.  I practice on paper.  It helps me break down the motif and figure out which direction to stitch first and how to end up in a position to move on with the design.   Then once I have some confidence in that I usually put the motif into thread on a small piece, like a table runner or small table topper often.

   I found Butterfly Wings ---she calls it plumify---motif  on LuAnn Kessi  blog under her sketchbook.  She also has them  on Pinterest, so you might have seen them there. She provides a sample drawing and also breaks it down into steps to learn.   You can barely see my first practice drawing on the bottom  of the page.








  I put together a very simple table runner.  Not too easy to see the stitching from the front.

  So from the back you can get a better view.  Individual plumes are stitched and then outlined to form that wing look.  Note----you end up back where you started stitching.  Generally 3 plumes, then outline to form the wing shape.  But sometimes you only have enough room for 2 plumes, and that is fine.
  The head of my plumes are about 1/2" to 3/4"...compare to the size of the bobbin.  I did have to remind myself to remember to change/alternate direction that the plume tilted.  This is a great all over design and filler, like for background or sky even.  Once you get the teardrop/plume shape down, I think anyone could do this with a little practice.

  The table runner still needs binding.   Add that task to the list  :-)

Quilting done on Hot Legs---my Tiara sit down machine.  And she got a little extra enhancement this past week.  I ordered another swing arm lamp with a clamp base.
    We wasted an afternoon running around town for a swing arm lamp with a clamp base.  Supposedly the "store" had them in stock.....what they offered me was a goose neck on a small base!  If I wanted to wait a week for them to order my item.....huh?  And they wonder why local big box stores are losing business......I went home and found exactly what I wanted on line, cheaper even with shipping in 10 minutes, and it was delivered in 4 days.  Done deal!   Sorry for the small rant ---sometimes these people scare me---because they are walking among us!
 So I have light on either side, and I can easily adjust the lights for my viewing pleasure.     Get those pencils out.....practice drawing, then happy stitching.

   Comment on comments.....I try to always respond to comments.  But lately I seem to have missed a few because they are not appearing in my mailbox as directed.  So if you do not hear from me that is why.  If you have  a question, just send an extra email and I will answer.  Thanks.