Art Quilt Challenge Project – Quilted with 17 Filler Designs!

free motion quilting art challenge quilt

I’m a member of a local art quilting group called the Thread Benders and this is a photo of the fat quarter sized challenge piece I just completed for our upcoming quilt show in October.

We were using three dominate fabrics: Moda’s Basic Grey Figgy Pudding fabrics: Pinecone Brown, Juniper, and Grunge Blue.

It’s a really fun challenge and we all came up with very different pieces. I meant to bring my camera and get a photo of each one and the layout we ended up putting together, but I forgot it! I’ll definitely get a photo of the finished piece at the quilt show and update this post later.

So you’ve seen the photo of my challenge above. I decided instantly to do a very minimally pieced quilt and to show off a new Art Nouveau inspired design motif I’ve been working on.

This was quilted using Isacord thread in a light blue that contrasted very slightly with the fabric color. In the bobbin I mostly used The Bottom Line bobbin thread.

The greatest thing about this project is that it finally got me out of my Stippling / McTavishing rut and into using these new fillers!

Here are close up photos of each of the machine quilting designs in my art quilt challenge project:

Basic Spiral and Etch n’ Sketch

free motion quilting

Brain Coralfree motion quilting

Circuit Board and Wandering Clover

I find it very surprising how well Circuite Board worked against the smooth lines of the motif!free motion quilting

Double Pebble

free motion quilting

Echo Shell and McTavishing

free motion quilting

Feather Filler
This one can easily compete with even trapunto motifs!

free motion quilting

Pebbles in a Stream

free motion quiltingSwirling Flames

Notice that this does look different from McTavishing on the right of the motif?free motion quilting

Matrix and MicroStipplingfree motion quilting

Border – Gentle Flames

free motion quiltingBorder – Pine Needlesfree motion quilting

Border – Trailing Tears

free motion quilting

Border – Cartoon Trees

free motion quilting

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

7 Responses

  1. I just discovered your blog and I am so impressed! Love the fillers you've come up with so far, and love your challenge piece. I will be following your posts with great interest, and working on expanding my free motion skills.

  2. b.wild says:

    Wow. I am so inspired by your challenge piece. I can't wait to see what you (and I) do next! Thanks for sharing your exploration with us.

  3. wordmama says:

    I tried my own version of etch a sketch, but it is very crude. I was surprised at how it still does the job in filling in the background. In a piece that is functional, it'll do the job. I plan on getting more practice. I'll keep you "filled in." Har har…

  4. Patricia says:

    Your work is stunning! Thank's for sharing these chalenge pictures with us. I'm always looking for new machine quilting designs and you bring them all. The designs and how you incorporate them into your quilts is worth a daily visit on your blog.

  5. Aleeda says:

    These are awesome. I love doing the patterns on paper, training my brain to do the stitches on cloth.

  6. Shirley says:

    These are outstanding — I plan on using every one of your free motion examples in my art quilts. Some of the stitches will work very well into my landscapes. I will send you some pictures when I use them in my work. Shirley Paterson

  7. Anonymous says:

    Thanks for doing this, especially the videos. They are so helpful to me, a beginning FMQer. I am not so much into fillers, but your designs are making me interested in them, plus they can be adapted for all-over quilting designs as well. I am telling everyone I know about your site!
    Sally Simmons

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