practicing

I purchased my longarm quilting machine August 2009.  This year I upgraded to the APQS Bliss system which makes it glide smoother.  I also got a new hopping foot.  The hopping foot that came on my 2003 Millenium was very thin and not suitable for ruler work. 

Having the longarm is a wonderful tool, but there is, at least for me, a big learning curve.  August -  December 2009 I quilted 18 quilts.  Many of those quilts were small donation quilts that others had pieced.  This year I have only quilted 4 quilts, so I want to get back working on quilting to improve my skills.

A couple weeks ago, I decided I needed to learn a new free hand design.  I reviewed all my longarm dvds and decided to practice Nicole Webb's bottoms up hearts.  I have a couple dvds of hers, but I also saw this posted on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JzHGWwZ2bg

My first attempts looked more like droopy, sad hearts.  I have learned from many other quilters, that it is important to draw on paper to practice.  I practiced on a piece of muslin also.

I have also loaded a practice quilt, so below is my 5th quilt for this year.  I am doing the bottoms up hearts in the blue border, but they don't show up in the pictures.  I am getting better.

It is a simple 9 patch.  It will be a donation quilt.  The feathered square wreath is a Patsy Thompson stencil. http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/   I just freehanded the swirl in the center.