7. Quilt Circles in a 9 Patch Block

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.

15 Responses

  1. Unknown says:

    I still cant get into the group on FB, been like this since the superbowl

  2. Leah Day says:

    Hi Unknown – You'll need to email us through the contact page on LeahDay.com with your facebook username so we can check if something happened on our end.

    Cheers,

    Leah

  3. This block is the coolest yet! Also love the photo of the old quilt. I've got six of my husband's Lithuanian grandmother's quilts up in the cedar closet and do not know what to do with them…use them? Have someone evaluate them from a collector's point of view? Cut them up and make other items from them? They're a little rough with some very worn spots and uneven stitches, but also pretty cool and have actual flour-sack backing.

  4. Sandra J says:

    It's never too often to be reminded that we have to lighten up, and be okay with imperfection. We are not robots or machines. What you said about your great-grandmothers'(more than one, right?) quilts – loving them all the more BECAUSE of their imperfections really resonated with me. Thanks for the gentle reminder to not be so hard on myself.

  5. Gladys says:

    Very great block, Leah! And thank you very much for sharing all with us! I love your old quilt! I dream to see one in the future, the patchwork is very new in my country.
    And thanks for reminding us in every video that we must enjoy and be free from our mistakes! After three years, I have learned to not feel frustrated with my quilting and really enjoy it thanks to your teachings! Have a beautiful day!

  6. susan k says:

    What kind of a marking tool are you using? I can't quite see the writing on it.

  7. Leah Day says:

    Hi Susan – It's a fons & porter marking pencil. You can find them in our quilt shop at http://www.LeahDay.com

  8. Colcar says:

    Thank you Leah! I just bought some stuff on LeahDay.com. My small way of supporting you since you have taught me so much. I will go to you first when I need supplies.
    Carole

  9. Sue Maxon says:

    I once told a guy I work with whose wife is into quilting that there is no such thing as a perfectly sewn or quilted quilt. He thought the Amish were perfectionist, but next time he went with his wife to an Amish quilt shop, he reported back I was right. Some of the stitches were not precisely uniform. I told him it's because fabrics is like fluid, it moves, shifts, shrinks and stretches.

    I then realized the perfection in the quilt is the whole finished project which can be used as art, dressing a bed, or to keep warm and, most often, was made with the recipient, your mom, your grandmother or great-grandmother in mind. As some would say, "made with love."

    Thank you, Leah, for helping me see that so I could get on with learning how to free motion without stressing about it too much. This is my joy, stress reliever, and creative outlet.

    Also, keep in mind, that once you wash a quilt, the quilting itself can be less obvious, because of the puckering, quilty look. Most people don't look at the individual designs or stitches (just fellow quilters!) but look as the quilt as a whole and call it beautiful, georgeous, or awesome!

  10. Veri M-C says:

    can you tell me, which pencil you took for marking the blocks. I only have some you cannot see on dark colours 🙂
    greetings -from Germany – Veri

  11. Veri M-C says:

    it's ok, I found your post with the pencil – thanks – Veri

  12. nannnanna says:

    Hi Leah, Love your videos and the relaxed attitude toward making mistakes. I am looking to buy a new sewing machine specifically for free motion quilting, can you give some pointers on what to look for? I have a Husqvarna (older) and the new one I tried out, clanked when free m/quilting? I loved the new foot for fmquilting, but, the noise really bothered me. Thanks for any help.

  13. Jessim says:

    Will the semi-circles on the border get covered up by the binding when the quilt is put together?

  14. Leah Day says:

    A bit…when I designed this I really didn't anticipate that quilters would be so bothered by that idea (I've learned my lesson!). So the choice is yours to cut the blocks down to 8.5 inches instead and have the design not be overlapped at all, or cut them to 8 inches to hide any stitch issues that happen right along the edges of the block. Either way, it's going to look just fine!

  15. Jessim says:

    I think I might just go back in and quilt smaller semi circles inside the big semi circles. That way they show on the finished quilt.

    I think I'm more 'bothered'- that my semi circles (which look a lot better than my circles) aren't going to show 🙂

    I'm really loving this project. I've learned that while I travel stitch pretty well, my stitch in the ditch needs a TON of work. You'd think it was mostly the same skill.

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