Hey hey hey blog readers. Today is Sunday aka my rest and relaxation day. Let’s catch up. This week I worked on my Tiled Stars quilt top and I’m proud to say I finished the top and its quite cute if I say so myself. Look for an upcoming blog about it. I’m excited to share it with all of you.

Yesterday I took a big step in my learning to quilt journey by taking a free motion quilting class. Oh yeah, I said it. Free motion quilting! I want to start quilting my own quilts and not just with the walking foot but with a free motion foot. I feel like I could save quite a bit of money if I did. No disrespect to the quilt shop, but my wallet could use a break on all those quilting costs. They add up too fast for my taste.

The class was 3 hours long and cost $55. It was well worth the money. I enjoyed myself as did the other three ladies in the class. The class took place right after Hurricane Ian blew through NC. Thankfully the quilt shop never lost power. I didn’t either but it appears as though I have a small bit of roof damage. During the 3 hour class, we tried 9 different quilting designs. I found that I have some spatial issues when it comes to the spirals design. I’m not giving myself enough space to get out of the spiral. Surprisingly I did very well with the meandering/stippling design. which is odd because I am not a fan of it. We also traced stencils and worked on waves. It was an informative and interesting class, to say the least. My goal is to practice various quilting designs every week, whether on paper or fabric, so I can get better. Practice makes progress, right?!

So while my class was going on, I happened to have noticed that my Iridescence (http://ericasjourney.com/index.php/2022/08/11/the-easy-colorful-iridescence-quilt/) quilt sandwich was on the longarm machine. I was so ecstatic to know that I would be taking it home by the end of the day. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the quilt machine. During the class breaks, I would go out to view how it was all done and to see how far along it was. It was impressive. Depending on the size of the quilt, it could take 4-6 hours to quilt. I was so excited to finally be getting my very first quilt back. So excited in fact that I stayed around for an extra 90 minutes after the class ended to wait for it to be finished. They quilted it and trimmed it for me, but sadly I have to add the binding myself, which FYI I am not a fan of. Once they handed me my completed quilt, they closed up.

I was so ecstatic and couldn’t wait to get home to open it up and view it in its entirety. I must say it turned out beautifully! The quilting is top-notch. The flowers and swirl design was the perfect choice for the quilt top. It allowed the quilt top to be the star of the show, but yet can easily be seen on both sides. For the thread color I decided to go with a light gray thread on both the top and in the bobbin so that the thread blended into the fabric.

I am in awe of the craftsmanship, both of the quilt top (my work) and the quilting (the local quilt shop). What are your thoughts? Comment below. I can’t wait to curl up under it with a hot cup of coffee/cocoa and a good book/Hallmark movie. Ohhhh I’m excited. Tis the season to be cozy and comfortable. Cheers!