Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Free Hand Fans



I am in love with fans! Thanks to Tonya and her free hand fans I feel like I can actually get some tops finished now. After getting home from Paducah I felt really motivated to accomplish something but after looking at my kid’s schedules I didn’t know when I was going to be able to fit quilting in. It would have to be a project I could carry around with me. I had wanted to try Tonya’s fans for quite awhile, plus her no hoop handquilting. I had a small valentine top that I had made my daughter a few years ago. So I pulled it out and basted it really good with thread and just started marking the fans free hand with my new Generals brand sketch and wash charcoal pencil (that I love). It was so easy and since I am definitely a primitive girl I didn’t have any problems with things not being exact. I did echo quilting in the center first and then moved to the bottom right corner and started the fans from there. Since the project was small I had no problems quilting without a hoop. I have already started a second small project and once it is complete I hope to move on to something a bit larger to see if I am still comfortable quilting without the hoop. Bonnie has a great tutorial on her site. This is so easy, if you haven’t given it a try you definitely should! Thanks Tonya!

12 comments:

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh very cool Laura! You did wonderful! Hmmm, whats the sketch and wash charcoal pencil?

Sweet P said...

That quilt is adorable. You may have inspired me to try no hoop quilting with fans.

YankeeQuilter said...

Congratulations! You will have fun with this technique. Looks great.

Libby said...

I'll have to give the no hoop a try. I stumbled on the tutorial a while back, but tried to work the fans in a hoop . . . disaster. I love how yours has turned out.

Bonnie K. Hunter said...

They look so GREAT! Mine are so wobbly when I do them freehand! But I'll keep plugging along. It was the perfect choice for your red/white border!

Bonnie

Tazzie said...

Great job with the fans, I'm way to nervous to try them.
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)

atet said...

It looks lovely! And it's always nice to try new things and have them work out!

The Calico Cat said...

I have that valentine print in blue...

Tonya Ricucci said...

they look great! I'm glad to hear that they were easy for you. I keep trying to tell people that they can be fun to do.

Tonya Ricucci said...

they look great! I'm glad to hear that they were easy for you. I keep trying to tell people that they can be fun to do.

Lily Mulholland said...

Oh you did a great job Laura! I just finished my first no-hoop freehand fans too :)

Patti said...

Looks wonderful Laura! I have so many quilts that I think are calling for fans. I dondt' think I'll make them freehand, but I'm thinking about marking them the way our foremothers did - with a chalk pencil tied to a string with knots along the string. Should work very nicely.