my happy 'quilted' yarn bag

Over the weekend I decided to try a new quilting technique.  Don't all people get quilting adventurous after a few days of high temperatures and flu symptoms?



It's been long time coming as I've been admiring various quilts by talented quilters.  Free motion is the name and in this case, stippling is the game.   Gulp.  Yup, I felt that knot in my throat too when I began to contemplate this new learning curve.  Yeah, it might by scary, but it's time to take the plunge.  What's the big deal right?  Gulp, gulp.



Well back in January when I had my machine serviced, I ordered a free motion (or darning) foot.  So you know I've been thinking about it for a long while.  Not wanting to overwhelm myself, I practiced at first on 3, 12 x 12 squares of fabric, batting and more fabric.  The size of the square was ideal for this novice as there was a start and a finish to it quite quickly.  After finishing up the squares I wanted to move onto a more permanent project without having to wait to complete an entire quilt.  It was then that I remembered, two irresistible little girls (a few months back) decided to take turns sitting inside my stationary yarn bag.   Now giving these two little munchkins a break here, the original fabric on the bag was a light weight poly-cotton with a nylon lining, hardly durable, at least not for my girlies and I had been wanting to redo it for a while.  Rip, tear, went the bag.



With a quick search for the right fabric, I turned to my current favorite: Wee Play by American Jane, muslin for the lining and cotton batting, a bit of ironing, then basting, and I was set.  I began the stippling.    The practice squares really helped, a lot!  I set to work at it and other than a few start and stop points it felt rather natural.  Almost like free motion, hence the name. After all the quilting was done I finished sewing up the bag, covered the inside seams with bias tape and added a few cute buttons to brighten my happy yarn bag before filling it full to the brim.



Now I'm on a mission.  I keep looking around the house trying to figure out what other items I can stipple.  Placemats, clothing, pillows, cushions...Ahhh, I think I've created a monster, a happy monster.