January FMQ Challenge

Holy cow, how is it the end of January already?!  I thought December went by fast, but January is on a mission!

I've been practicing the January FMQ Challenge hosted by SewCalGal.  Frances Moore challenged us with free-motion leaves.  At first I practiced on my white board with a dry erase marker.

Then I decided "what the heck, I'm just gonna practice on my quilt!"

I'm too lazy/busy/overwhelmed/responsibly working on UFO's/impatient to make quilt sandwiches just for practice sake.  I'd rather just make a quilt.

This is my H&I's quilt.  It's a Floating UFO. No plan. No destination.  It just hangs around until I decide what is going to happen.  Perfect for this project!  I picked a block in the middle.  I picked some variegated Aurifil thread and went to town!

Hey, I like it! It's a very thick thread (Aurifil Mako Cotton Variegated Thread in Fiesta).  It says 50MT, but I can't figure out what that means by looking at Aurifil's website. It broke on me a few times, so I think I need to use a larger needle.  Look at these gorgeous stitches:

I love the texture it gives this quilt.  Between the quilting and the backing, this is going to be the softest quilt ever :) I just did the one H (or I, depending on which way you hold the quilt!).  I think I am going to try Frances' Elements on a different block this month.  I have 30 blocks, which will make a perfect FMQ Sampler.

I think they actually look like leaves :)

Tomorrow is my birthday.   Nothing  special planned. 

If I could, I would take the day off work and sit on the beach.

But I already did that too many times this month. 

Commute. Work. Read blogs. Eat healthy. Make dinner with the hubs.

Maybe quilt a little bit if there's time. 

And be thankful for my bloggy friends.  

That's you.

<3

Check out the Quilty Fun!

Do you follow SewCalGal? If you don't, RUN over there right now to see what she's doing! SewCalGal is always up to some quilty fun. She scours the web to share with us new books, classes, techniques, and notions. She is the brainchild behind such fun events as Pets on Quilts Quiltshow, Golden Quilter Awards, Quilter's with Tools database, and many more.

There are two major events coming up that SewCalGal is kindly coordinating.

I am super excited to be playing in the FMQ Challenge. Take the pledge, post the button on your blog, and wait until the first project is posted. I am determined to become an award-winning quilter one day! Thanks SewCalGal, for all the help you've given me to get closer to my dream :)

The second fun event is the Christmas Quilt Show! Yikes! I need to put my sewing machine pedal to the metal to get it finished to post in the show! Talk about Motivation!! As usual, SewCalGal has gotten a ton of sponsors for this show and there will be prizes. The show opens Monday, November 28.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Christmas quilts and can't wait to check out the eye candy! Yum!

Thanks SewCalGal! You rock!