Free Motion Quilting at Symposium

As most of you know, I don't do Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).  Well, I didn't until I spent a day in Deborah Louie's class at Symposium.

We learnt lots of different patterns, and I now feel ready to start FMQ'ing some of my own quilts.  I won't be pushing huge quilts through my Bernina, but I will certainly feel more confident about tackling some of my smaller quilt tops.

Deborah took us through a class that she has taught many times.  She also covered thread choices and batting.

Batting
Deborah likes Matilda's Own 100% cotton batting because it's cuddly, but has a low loft.  Her second favourite batting is Matilda's Own 60% wool / 40% cotton batting.  It drapes nicely and is great for bed quilts.

Threads
Deborah explained how cotton and polyester threads are constructed differently. Her favrouite for FMQ is Mettler Poly Sheen because it sits flat and won't form a lump if you quilt over the same spot multiple times.

All of the symposium tutors were very giving with their time, and happy to give advice on other aspects of quilting.

Deborah's class is actually available to purchase on her website if you want to watch it at home.  Once you've purchased it you can watch it again and again forever! I might be buying it myself if I forget all she taught us.

Here are a few of my examples, all stitched by me during our six hour class.

Deborah bought along some great quilts to show us examples of the possibilities with different styles of FMQ.  I took lots of photos so I can use some of the patterns for inspiration in the future.

I really enjoyed this class and was pleased that I had chosen something outside of my comfort zone.  It would have been easy to pick comfortable classes, but I think it's good to chose at least one challenging thing when there are so many experts available to learn from.

Many of the tutors bought quilts for the Tutors' Exhibition which was on site at St Andrew's College. This is Deborah Louie's quilt.