Eeek and if you really like the quilting you do first time it'll be gone for ever. Think I'll stick to paper and pencil first time but it is good for machine trapunto. I remember reading Jenny Lyon's blog where she made a special competition piece and had got her threads mixed up. I felt her pain as her quilting began to vanish. I do have some but not opened it yet.

Now I've thought it would be good to do your guidelines and you could make adjustments for your errors as you go over it with permanent thread. I wonder which show it was?

Free motion quilting can be nerve wracking. After all, you've put so much time and heart into it and then along comes I thread nest or skipped stitches,or any other number of things! I just watched an older show where Ricky used water dissolveable thread and a printed pattern to get they "feel" of how you move around the design. Once your design is done with the. Wash away thread, you can do the actual stitching with the permanent thread of your choice, and if you go off the lines it's never going to show, once the quilt is washed. I'm going to try this method very soon.
If anyone else has tried this, I'd enjoy hearing about your experience.
Have a lovely day,
Luann

Yes I dyed the solid pieces, but not the grey. I used a cotton/silk blend. I really love the feel and it was very easy to turn the cathedral window portions back. The interesting thing about the dyeing was that one side was not always the same color as the other. In fact one piece came out a beautiful bronze on one side and the other side was a greenish red (don't know a better way to describe it). I love dyeing fabric and lately it's truly a passion. Everything from ice dyeing to shibori folded and into an indigo vat, I get a real thrill out of seeing things that I plan or when it is totally serendipitous!!
There are some pictures on my blog: Www.letscreatetoday.blogspot.com
I think the sample folder or bucket might just be the way to go. I could include a note as to what I have done, where I thought it was going, and why it's in the "what to do with these?" Bucket. As long as I don't need a fork lift to move it about,,,hmmmmm

That is lovely, Lorna--so spring-like, and yes, I recognize the borders, even though I did not make that BOM...

Looks like a lot of work, but it sure is beautiful, Lorna! And I, too, recognize the borders.....

Lorna, oh yeah, I know those borders! I have some just like them here. A UFO at the moment but I still love it! Your center is beautiful!

Welcome, AnnieLu! And, you are so right about moving on from class projects. I even tossed one that was a UFO for years, and when I revisited it, all I could think was....."What WAS I thinking!" It was really ugly!

Terrie, what a fun quilt! Whimsical indeed! Did you do your FMQ on a domestic machine? That is a challenge right there, and you did it well, for your first time! I am able to do small FMQ okay, but the big sweeping motifs, like your hearts, are hard for me! You did good! Congrats!

Dawn

Beautiful fresh looking quilt Lorna.

Welcome to the forum AnnieLu, so glad you have found us and joined in. Love the pictures that you tried out for your profile and avatar.

Beautiful lupins Lorna. Yes recognise the border

I like your quilt, Terri.

Good for you, AnnieLu. Not sure where I first heard that advice, but as I cleaned out before my last move, I also unloaded some unfinished projects. Same thing--started in a class, learned what I needed to learn, but didn't care for the project enough to finish.

Here is a project I've been working on. Slow going as lots of pieces. Recognize the borders?

Hi AnnieLu, how about putting them unfinished in a sample folder to refer back to. Do you have anyone to pass your projects on to unfinished?

I love the fabrics on your profile, did you dye them?

I'm a little late joining in, but just found the discussion. This year I have decided to go for culmination of projects. I'm very good at starting things, but have difficulty seeing them thru to the end. I have decided that if I truly do not want to finish something it is OK to pass it on. Sometimes I only wanted to learn the technique and after I did, or during the process, I know it isn't something I will continue with. So, by December 31, 2015 I want less in-progress pieces in my studio.
Anyone interested in my glass bead making supplies? LOL

Great quilt Terri. I like the hearts. Good for you to go for it with FMQ.

Looks great to me!
Barb

Great quilt Terri. One of the best sort - finished

I once read that if you make all of your motifs whimsical, then none of them look out of place... It must be true - I read it in a quilting book