Free Motion Bird

I have been wanting to try free motion quilting for years, so when I wanted a technique to add interest to my bird bodies, I decided to give it a try. I found a wonderful blog by Leah Day with great instructional videos: The Free Motion Quilting Project.

Of course I'm not making quilts, so I really didn't want a quilt sandwich, but also wasn't sure if a single piece of cotton fabric would have enough body to take a lot of stitching. First I tried a piece of cotton with a piece of thin cotton batting - that worked okay, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to sew and turn the bird. Next I tried a piece of cotton with a lightweight non-iron on interfacing.

I stitched up a 10x10 square with a pattern of elongated e's. I didn't think to take a picture - I was too excited to get to the bird making part!

Finished Bird

Close up