Machine Quilting Monday - Free-Motion Meandering Blog Hop Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of the Free-Motion Meandering Blog Hop! Kristin, Vicki and I are spending February with Angela Walters's newest book.

Let me start off by saying that, if you have always wanted to try free motion quilting (FMQ), or if you are just beginning, this is the book to get first. Angela's other books are wonderful, but this one really starts from scratch with details like how to set up your machine and which thread to use.

This week we're practicing the meander and the loopy meander. I love how Angela's illustrations show you every step of the stitch. She also walks you through some troubleshooting, explaining common problems and how to avoid or fix them. 

I practiced all the designs in this book on the Michael Miller quilt that's flying to QuiltCon right now. In this block, I did a basic meander. Meandering is great for getting the hang of FMQ, for letting yourself relax and play with the fabric and thread. Angela has helpful diagrams, photos, and instructions for when you catch yourself traveling in only one direction or repeating the same design over and over again.

I have no idea why the color is so off in this picture.
The pink sashing is the same on all the blocks.

Once you get the hang of meandering, you can add loops. You can see from these two blocks that changing the size gives it a different feel. You can also see from the block above that smaller loops are harder to keep smooth than larger loops. But that's why we practice!

Angela shows some fun ways to adapt this meander to the space you're filling, including borders.

Quilt along with us and be sure to share pictures of your progress using the hashtag #freemotionmeandering!