2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge: January Motif

If I stitch fast enough does it count as aerobic exercise?
–Unknown

I've misplaced a month. Does anyone know what happened to January? I had big plans for lots of finished projects this month, but as it turns out I have nary a one. However, I am slipping in by the skin of my teeth with the January FMQ challenge. To tell the truth, FMQ is still really scary to me. So I saved it to the very last day of the month so that I would just have to do it anyway. Procrastination at its best. Here are the results of my January practice.

First, I sketched out a couple of sheets of leaves in my “warm-up notebook.” When I felt pretty comfortable with it, I doodled out a page in my quilt journal so I'll have it for future reference.

Then I filled up about half of a practice quilt sandwich. I got some white muslin which is about 36" wide. I cut it at half-yard intervals and made 18” x 18” practice sandwiches. I used a bright green {polyester} Sulky embroidery thread so that the quilting would show.

The top two leaves here are the teacher's pets on my practice. And in the bottom right corner is the class clown, who doesn't have a stem down the middle and has something weird sticking out of the top of it.

Then I moved on to my Sampler Quilt. I picked two neutral Kona Cottons and did the 42” x 42” size. Since this is a sampler, I used AURIfil Makò 50-weight thread in an olive green color, so that the quilting would show. And show it does, for better or for worse.

This is my favorite leaf. It was the very last leaf I stitched today. I guess you could say it is the grand finale.

There is a bonus to waiting to the last day of the month to do January's exercise. I'm all warmed up now and tomorrow the February motif will be revealed, so I can get it done early.

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