Fabric Story - FMQ Challenge

I'm participating in Leah Day's FMQ Project.  This week I was to quilt a whole cloth to practice traveling.  I wasn't at first quite sure how this was FMQ, but Leah explained why traveling is one of the skills a free motion quilter needs to know.  So here's what I did.  Leah wanted us to practice on a whole cloth block, but I didn't want to start a new project.  Instead I pulled out my DDIL's quilt that I am slowly quilting for her and made the quilting pattern Leah provided as the pattern for one of the blocks.  This is a big quilt - there are 20 blocks and they measure 15" square.  I had to modify the pattern to fit.  I did this by taking off the outer side of the feathers.  My other problem was how to mark the pattern.  I couldn't put it up to a window and trace it as this quilt is sandwiched.  I decided to use freezer paper as I did for my UFO - see last tuesday's post.  Here's how it went.  I assembled the pattern from Leah's pdf.  I then traced it onto a piece of freezer paper where I would have a nice edge around the pattern.  Then I found the center of the block and marked the center of the fabric.  Before I ironed it to the square, I cut out the center and the inner hearts.  I then ironed the pattern onto the top of the block and followed Lean's suggestions for quilting the center.  I chose to break the threads between the small hearts.  Here is the center done.  I then loosened the pattern around the hearts and cut out the dead space between the intersecting square.  Picture 1

Following Leah's suggestions for how to travel around these, I then moved onto the feathers - again cutting out the dead space and cutting around the feathers down to the spine but not along the spine. In the photo you can see what it looked like - all frilly. I then reironed it flat and proceeded to do the feathers.

Once the feathers were done, I cut off all of those pieces and got ready to do the first outer line.  It wasn't as easy as Leah showed us because I could not turn that huge quilt as easily in all directions, but slowly it got done.  Then did the same for the outmost line of the spine.   

I then cut out the inner hearts from the larger hearts in the corner and reironed them back onto the quilt - I had labeled them to get them back to where they were.


 

And here is my finished quilting using Leah's pattern.  I'm glad I thought of cutting the pattern up as I went (of course leaving a little bit attached so the integrity of the pattern would remain), and the margin of the freezer paper helped to keep the pattern in place.  The paper was a cinch to remove. 

I'm linking to Leah's FMQ Project, Connie's Linky Tuesday Party, Fabric Tuesday by Quilt Story and Esther's WIP Wednesday.  You'll find the buttons on the sidebar.  Do visit them to see how others are doing and their wonderful eye candy.