FMQ Friday – Tales of Patience and Insanity

It’s finally Friday! Working from home, I hardly ever celebrate Fridays because they’re just like any other day to me, but this week I am because NEXT week is the start of school and the return of normal routines to our household. Quite simply: I love routine. Summer is great, but I have to admit I like my day a lot better when I have a logical reason to wake up at 5 am!

This week I’ve been mostly working on the video background quilt. Should I give this thing a real name?!

free motion quilting | Leah Day

I only have 4 more sections to fill with Basic Chevron and then I need to paint the letters so they stand out better. For some reason every time I look at the letters I have to stop and spell to double check that they are right. I don’t know why, but they just look funny to me…

It’s taken a lot of patience to stick with this background because I know 90% of the quilting is absolutely not going to show in the video. It’s mostly quilted to stabilize the background so it doesn’t get wrinkled and hang weird.

Of course, another project I’ve been playing with is requiring a whole different level of patience. I’d go so far as to call this insanity:

free motion quilting | Leah Day

Yes, this is 161 hexagons that are being pieced together to make the face for Express Your Love. The jury is still out on whether I’ll do this for the body and arm…I know I WON’T be using the 1/4 inch size again!

Just in case this isn’t clear how these guys come together:

free motion quilting | Leah Day

Yep, that’s over 100 hexies with the seam allowance turned and basted to the precut paper, then whip stitched together. At least the whip stitching is relatively quick!

So what insanity are you getting up to today? Remember, it’s not truly insane if you’re having fun and you’re excited about the finished quilt!

Simple rules for the FMQ Friday link up:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back here, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar.
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect.

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. Susan Owenby says:

    Those hexies are something else! I'm working on micro pieces and have all but had enough and less than 250 of them, total. 🙂

    It should be an effect well worth the time when it is all done though.

  2. Domino Marie says:

    Oh boy… Grandmother's Garden! I feel your pain… I made a wedding quilt with 1" hexagones a few years ago… hang in there! They are totally worth the pain. here's the finished product, "Cocorico!"
    https://plus.google.com/photos/115093042080270013638/albums/5164238080760810609/5186676013110074946?banner=pwa&pid=5186676013110074946&oid=115093042080270013638

  3. Leah hun 1/4" hexies OMG!!! What were you thinking holy goodness not be babe!!! I sure give you kudos for attempting this…

  4. Those sure are some teeny tiny hexies! I'll bet the finished product will be worth it. Can't wait to see it. No FMQ-ing here this week, but my next top is almost ready. Lots of crazy cut work and tiny zig-zagging on this quilt. Have a super day!

  5. Beautiful quilting, as always. Love the tiny hexagons! I've got a teeny, weeny hexagon project going, too … almost that tiny!

  6. Samantha says:

    Such inky dinky hexies! Oh my gosh!

  7. Anonymous says:

    Everything's spelled correctly, as you know!! 🙂

    Grrr….I can't link up again. I have nothing to show because I am working on a secret project that I won't blog about until after Christmas. I am telling myself I will NOT do this again because it's frustrating to be working on a project, excited to share it, but….want to keep it a total surprise.

    After I get done piecing this lovely beast, I should be able to get back to FMQ and blog about other things. I'm anxious to get back to my Express Your Love, too, and hope to have progress soon to share!

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