free motion: take 1

While I appreciate all of the high-end, computerized machines that can embroider and quilt exactly what a human on the other end programs, I really admire the skills of incredibly creative folks out there who are able to use their sewing needles like fine paintbrushes.

Free-motion quilting seems to require an endless amount of practice and patience.  I have not yet attempted it on a quilt, but I am determined to learn how to do it.  I have been playing on smaller bits of fabric with the feed dogs down just to get a feel for it.  It's harder than it seems...I found it very difficult to control what I wanted the needle to do.  So for now I'm "drawing" on the fabric just for fun.

Here is my first attempt at a quilt block with some fabric scraps.  As you can see, there's a bit of bunching and stretching of the fabric.  I need to learn how to minimize this because it distorts the block. And while this is more like free motion scribbling than anything else, I am looking forward to practicing and (hopefully) improving in the process.