Thank you for everything Carol!
Today is my day to participate in another fabulous hop from our little quilting community. “Show Your Wings” is sponsored by the amazing Carol from Justletmequilt.com.
For this blog project I started with a beautiful paper pieced “Silvereye” bird. The bird is from Tartankiwipatterns and is available on her Etsy site. It was only $3.19 and is one of a series of birds that are native to New Zealand. The PDF pattern comes with instructions for copying it in different sizes. I highly recommend you check out her site for adorable and well executed animals, birds and other things.
This is an actual silvereye bird. His true colors are not blue, but anything goes in art, right!?
After making the bird I opened up a jellyroll that I found last week at Tuesday Mornings. Using my detective skills, I discovered that the “unlabeled” roll is by Maria Kalinowski by Benartex: Kanvas Studio and is called “Kanvas Koala Baby Eucalyptus Leaves”. I love the colors and modern designs but it would be even cuter with some koalas as well. I kept the design simple to frame the little bird. I may need to make another one now with a koala. This little doll quilt will naturally be sent to Amy for A Doll Like Me.
I always learn something new with each blog hop. This time I finally used the walking foot on my fancy Babylock Crescendo!!! With lots of aggravation, and probably an hour or more of trying various things, my hubby came to my rescue and “walked” (see what I did there!) me through the process of attaching the foot. I had been following instructions on the machine’s screen which were for a different walking foot. Babylock…that is so not cool!!! I successfully used the walking foot and ended up with a smooth quilting finish so yeah me! It’s my first project using the foot and I am so happy!
Here is the electric Walking Foot attachment for the Baby Lock Crescendo machine. It’s one of the more popular features of the machine and now I can see why.
Now for the giveaway, which can be the best part of a blog hop! The list and photo below shows what one lucky winner can win. The magazines are intact, but from the last few years. I have read through them but now you get to browse through through them too. The “gifts” have never been used so all the pieces should be there. Finally, the fabrics are nice size pieces of scraps, but not all are as large as a fat quarter. In my humble opinion, this should be a fun box of goodies to get in the mail.
TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on my blog post mentioning if you have ever used a walking foot. What did you use it for and did you find it helpful? The deadline is on or before Monday, February 25, 2019. I will pick one lucky winner and mail the quilty bundle below.
GIVEAWAY BUNDLE:
8 Quilting magazines
7 fat quarters or fabric scraps
50 half hexagon paper pieces
a booklet on quick-make gifts
booklet & pattern packet for some foundation paper piecing.
TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on my blog post mentioning if you have ever used a walking foot. What did you use it for and did you find it helpful? The deadline is on or before Monday, February 25, 2019. I will pick one lucky winner and mail the quilty bundle here.
Finally, please check out the many talented bloggers and their projects from this fun blog hop. See all the entries below and click on a few of us for more inspiration. If you wish to see the Show Your Wings Instagram post, click the link.
February 18
What About Rheema?
Hill Valley Quilter
Nutz For Redwork
Kathy's Kwilts and More
Melva Loves Scraps
Creative Blonde
Keepsake Moments
Whims And Fancies
Quilt n Party
Seams To Be Sew
February 19
Patchouli Moon Studio
Vroomans Quilts
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Songbird Designs
Quilts Fabric and Thread Tales
Kathleen McMusing
Life in the Scrapatch
DesertSky Quilting
Clever Chameleon Quilting
February 20
Creatin' in the Sticks
MooseStashQuilting
The Joyful Quilter
Home Sewn By Us
Selina Quilts
Websterquilt
Beaquilter
Cynthia's Creating Ark
Ms P Designs USA
Bumbleberry Stitches
Mageez Room
February 21
Just Let Me Quilt
Sew Incredibly Crazy
Sew Fresh Quilts
Quilt Fabrication
Words & Stitches
All Thingz Sewn
Kathy’s Quilts
For The Love Of Geese
Two Maker Chicks
madeNcorrea
That Fabric Feeling YOU ARE HERE, I AM THE CABOOSE!!
linking up to my usual fun sites.
That Fabric Feeling 
Pingback: Charitable December Sewing | That Fabric Feeling·
Your bird quilt is fabulous! I love her paper piece designs too and I enjoy seeing “the winged” creatures from different habitats. That’s for sharing you creation, kudos!
I too used to be hesitant on the quilting but I keep on stretching my techniques and am seeing improvements all the time. Keep at it, you’ll see.
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Thank you for your sweet comments. I like how this came out but it does make me want to sit and sew all day…doing nothing else. I have so many tops to quilt, this could be a 24 hour endeavor.
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What a beautiful bird quilt!!!
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thank you so much.
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Hi there! I have two walking feet (haha – one for each machine type, and I am terrified to use them! So many failed attempts to quilt. Sigh.
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Oops forgot ) after haha…
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(-:
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I hear you…keep trying and you’ll see that it may be worthwhile. I have tried FMQ with only meh results. This works so much better. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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Love your little bird! He’s got such great fabric to showcase the blue, and he sits with some really wonderful leaves – well done!
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Thanks so much.
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I love your project! So cool! Birds rock! I used a walking foot on my ragged flannel quilt! It did well. Thank you for sharing! Enjoy your day! angielovesgary2 atgmail dotcom
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Angela, That flannel quilt sounds so cozy! Does it shred or leave lint at all? Or do you have to wash it several times to get it right?
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I use my walking foot for straight lines and lattice all over quilting. Since learning fmq and becoming more comfortable with it, I don’t use my walking foot as much.
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Melva, I envy you on mastering fmq. I’m not quite there yet!
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I have used a walking foot, both in quilting and garment sewing. I find it can be very helpful.
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It’s a lovely accessory and I am going to use it for everything from now on just to learn.
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Very cute wings project. I use my walking foot for heavy piecing and for lots of quilting
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Thanks, Sharon I see why it’s great for quilting.
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Your bird looks so pretty. I am not a big fan of paper piecing, but I sure do love the results it gives you. Thank you for sharing today.
Yes, I do use my walking foot all the time. I use it every time I quilt. It makes beautiful, even seams with no puckering. I had a hard time putting mine on the machine at first because it was so big and awkward. But after I figured out the best way it was easy. It is great for sewing on binding, too.
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Joyce, I hear you on paper piecing. We all have our favorites and I’m not into applique but I do appreciate the work of other people. It was hard to get this attachment working. I agree that it was big and awkward. Thank you for that comment since I know i’m not the only one. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
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Cute project and your quilting is great! I love using my walking foot and use it in piecing bags too. It’s also great for vinyl covered fabrics. I use it a lot, in fact.
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Vinyl fabrics would definitely be helped by this!!! I will even try the foot with knit fabrics since that was a disaster with the regular machine foot. There’s no serger for me and I would love to see how this baby works with stretch fabrics. thanks so much for stopping by.
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Thank You for Hopping and sharing your Wings.
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and thank you for stopping by.
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I love my walking foot. I have used it for machine quilting. I also use it when sewing repurposed flannels. I love doing organic wavyline quilting with my WF and before doing FMQ I will machine baste a quilt with my WF. Full of 💕 love 💕. Janice.snell@gmail.com
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Janice, thank you so much for the helpful hint on using flannels. What is it that you repurpose? Is it shirts? I also love the idea of using the WF before FMQ work. I am amazed at everyone’s comments on using this walking foot. I’m so late to join the club but at least i’m finally here!!
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I love your little bird! The colors you chose are great. I use my walking foot all the time to quilt. I’ve never gotten comfortable with free motion quilting, so straight line walking foot quilting is my go to. You actually can get quite creative with it as long as you are willing to rotate your quilt a lot to make your straight lines follow the lines of your blocks.
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Joan, Thank you for the sweet comment. You are so right, it’s a lot of turning and twisting the quilt. So far the doll quilt was the perfect size to start with. As for a larger quilt, we shall see.
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Pretty bird. I use a walking foot frequently for quilting and sometimes for general sewing. I like mine. It’s very helpful. The one thing I don’t like about it is having to unscrew it every time I switch back to my regular foot.
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I hear you, yes getting the attachments on and off is a pain. I do think it’s worth it once you know how it goes. It was the learning part that killed me.
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Very pretty birdie! Your walking foot question brought back a funny memory of how I came to first use one. My hubby bought me an inexpensive sewing machine when I started teaching myself to quilt. It came all packed in a molded foam form in the box. For some reason the walking foot was tucked into a niche in the very bottom under the machine and I did not even see it there for a year or two. I quilted two or three quilts with my regular foot and read about walking foots online and thought “maybe I should try to get one of those for my machine.” One day when I was packing my machine to send it to be serviced, I found the walking foot. It did take some time and reading the manual to figure how to attach it but it did make quilting much easier. The machine I use now has a built in heavy duty walking foot and I love it. Thanks for joining in the hop … 🙂 Pat
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Pat, that’s a great story!!! I love things like that when it’s been under our nose the whole time. Truth is that you weren’t ready for the walking foot right away so maybe it was a sign. Thank you for sharing that funny story. I”m so glad you have become a walking foot enthusiast now!
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Yes…the walking foot makes nice even stitches. Especially with double batting!
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I know!! I just discovered that myself for the first time. Not that I doubted the tips and perspective of others, but seeing is believing!!!
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Such a bright cheerful quilt. Funny, I went from a Singer Slant O Matic to a Juki. I purchased a walking foot for the Singer and used it a couple of times for small projects. Because of the movement and my frequent bouts of vertigo I prefer not to use one. My Juki came with a walking foot but it has not left the package.Funny your husband had to assist, mine taught me how to use a sewing machine.
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Denise, sometimes looking at the same instructions just feeds anxiety. I asked my hubby to look at it and tell me if I was missing something. Turns out, the directions were for a different walking foot!! Sometimes those spouses can be very handy to have around!!!??? LOL
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Love the walking foot and the chunka chunka noise it makes. I think I may have broken it though on my last project sewing on a heavy tapestry. I ignore the rules of sewing and using the right needle (and pay for it). tvonzalez@gmail.com
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Tami, you go girl!!! You show that machine who is boss!! I hope it isn’t broken but yes, we do expect a lot from our machines!! You crack me up with the “chunka chunka” comment. Thank you so much for stopping by. You have me a wearing a huge smile !!!!
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I don’t have a walking foot, but sounds useful!! I’ll have to get one and try it out ! Love your little bird !
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I don’t think they’re very pricey. As someone who was late to the walking machine world, I recommend you give it a try.
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I use my walking foot often to quilt small projects. I also use it to make bowl cozies, they sew up quickly using the walking foot. If sewing with flannel the walking foot is great to keep it from stretching or puckering.
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Donita, I have never made a bowl cozy but I may want to try one. Do you have a tutorial that you love using for making them? And if I may bug you as well, do they wash well? I’m sure my boys would spill all over them so they would need to be sturdy. Now something else I can use for the walking foot! Thanks so much for stopping by.
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I use my walking foot to put on binding (both the attaching and the finish sewing) as well as when sewing through lots of layers when my regular foot pushes the top fabric. I haven’t used it for quilting yet, but I have a quilt sandwich ready to go! Love your bird…now to go check out her other patterns!!
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Good for you on having a sandwich ready to go. I didn’t do much practice because I was too excited to finally learn how to attach the darn thing!! Yes, her patterns are so fun. I”m loving the emu and his funny face. That may one that I try as well.
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Good Morning! I use my walking foot fairly often. I used it mostly for straight-line quilting, especially when I want to end with a crosshatch pattern. I mark the quilt initially with masking tape from corner to corner and then stitch next to the tape. Once it’s been removed, I decide on the distance I’d like between each stitching line like an inch or an inch-and-a-half. I use the little bar that attaches to the walking foot, measure the distance away from the needle and then stitch back and forth using the first line as my guide. Another thing I’ve tried with the walking foot is some freehand geometrical designs like rectangles in a border, continuously running around the edge. Good luck! ~smile~ Roseanne
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Roseanne, I would love to try the foot with the designs you mentioned. I thought it would be more difficult but it was actually fun. I would love to do some “Angela Walter’s-like” dot to dot quilting with it but we’ll see. I think it’s best for me to start slow before jumping in over my head. Thanks so much for stopping by. It’s always great to hear from you!!!
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I use my (integrated dual feed) walking foot nearly EVERY TIME my machine is running. LOVE that Pfaff feature!!! Using artistic license to change your creations is well within your powers as a quilter. Your bird turned out great! Best of luck to all readers. I, for one, would SEW love to win your purse bundle! Thanks for offering the opportunity.
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I am so glad you love the walking foot for everything. I may keep mine on for awhile and see how versatile I find it to be. I think it’s a great giveaway too and I am shoving a few more things into the box for some surprises.
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I have used a walking foot although not electric. Love it for machine quilting and for putting on binding.
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Thanks for sharing. I did like it for binding as well.
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What a bright and cheery quilt. Thank goodness for husbands who can talk you off the ledge when needed. I’m just a bit jealous here. My hubby wouldn’t have a clue. LOL!! I have an old Pfaff that has a build in walking foot. It’s been years since I used that machine. Thanks for the reminder. I forget what my old machine can do. I’ve not invested in a walking foot for my newer machine.
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Joan, You are so right! He walked me off that ledge all right!?? I was in good stead since it was my birthday week and a few days before my eye surgery. I got some extra pampering that I was completely ok with!!! When you have time, do take out that walking foot and give it a whirl. Everyone seems to be talking them up and it could be a game changer.
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Hello, I like your bird. I think a whole line of them in various colors would look great! I do have a walking foot but have not used it yet.Thanks for sharing!
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Wendy, In all honesty, I wanted to make the bird smaller but didn’t realize that it came with directions to reduce the size. In that case I would have added a few of them, perhaps in different color schemes. Oh well, live and learn. I love the emu now and that’s been on my mind. Check out her site and see his funny face.
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Your bird is darling and I love the colors you chose for your quilt. I use a walking foot all the time to quilt small quilts and bags, that is unless I want to Free motion quilt instead. I do love using a walking foot to quilt wavy lines.
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Daryl, Thank you so much. I am still a newbie at FMQ and my stitches sometimes really annoy me in how uneven they look. This walking foot is a nice option that I may stick with for awhile.
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this is such a sweet doll quilt. i love the bird, and the fabrics to make it all so special. i have used a walking foot for quilting my sandwich together and i love how it all comes out. thanks for inspiring and sharing today. quilting dash lady at Comcast dot net
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Thank you for the sweet comments. I can see why you love the walking foot!! What took me so long!?!?
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I love your bird and how pretty he looks on your quilt…sweet! I use my walking foot for quilting and adding my binding. Can’t imagine not having one! Thanks for sharing your “wings” with us and hopping along.
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Carol, Thank you for everything and especially for the last minute addition. I will be sure to check for a return email next time!! I’m always so glad to be a part of these hops. You’re the best!
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When I began quilting, the walking foot was the easiest and most reliable way for me to quilt tops. Just returned to using the walking foot for quilting about a month ago. I bought a smaller, lighter weight, older (but well loved) sewing machine for the RV and classes which came with a bundle of extra feet. The walking foot worked great for grid and straight line quilting. Nice work on your wings piece. I liked the color and the hopefulness it gives during this snowy winter.
Connie
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Connie, Sewing in the RV must be so fun. I get antsy when I don’t have a sewing machine close by. Thank you for the sweet comments. I do love the colors as well. I couldn’t pass up a good deal on a jelly roll with bright designs.
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I use the walking foot for quilting on my quilts. However, next I want to learn how to do FMQ. But I won’t stop using the walking foot.
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I’m so new at FMQ. My stitches are very uneven and I never seem to like the results. I’ll keep with the walking foot for now but one day I”m determined to take a class with an expert FMQ quilter.
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I love your bird quilt. It is so bright and happy. I use my walking foot all the time when I machine stitch straight line.
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Thank you for stopping by. I see now why it makes straight stitching so easy!
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Love the bird and his simple but not really background setting. I have a brandy new babylock solaris. I think I have the same walking foot as you but I haven’t tried to put it on the machine yet. On all of my past machines I have had walking feet and always used them for my quilting. Always liked the outcome. Never tried it for bindings. Will need to look into that.
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Selina, I agree with you. I never tried it until now. It made the binding easier but the real win was quilting lines. I can’t believe how even and unpuckered it all was in the end.
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Yes I use a walking foot almost all the time for piecing, attaching binding and free motion quilting (straight Line). Love your Silvereye bird and his colorful leafy strip environment.
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I will need to try it for piecing now. Who knew?? Thanks for the lovely comments.
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Your quilt is amazing!! I love the vibrant colors, it just gorgeous! I do use a walking foot, and I do find it helpful for projects with more layers to them. 🙂
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Thank you so much. IT’s not my favorite quilt but I do like the birdy. The important thing is to keep on learning and this was a big win for that!
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I love that quilt with all those lovely fabrics! I use my walking foot a lot, not just for quilting, but for sewing extra-thick multiple layers together too. I also use it when sewing on the binding.
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Carol, I’m a convert now to the walking foot as well. I guess you just keep yours’ on at all times. I’m going to try that and see if I like it for other things.
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Yes, I have used a walking foot. I have it installed on my Singer and it is there sort of permanently. I sew regularly on my Kenmore and I think the walking foot is for the Singer so I don’t want to have to take it off and on every time I want to use it. I use the walking foot to quilt with and sometimes just to sew a seam.
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That’s a great idea to keep it on the machine if you have several. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
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Yes I have used my walking foot many times with my Babylock Espire. Its a older machine from the earlier to mid 2000’s I still love my machine dearly even if its getting older. It stitches like a dream the walking foot makes a huge difference for me when quilting to help keep it all together and moving along instead of ending up with a mess. My walking foot looks a little bit different from this one . Buts its a earlier model. Never used it to do he binding with. I will have to try that next time. Your silvereye in the sky turned out beautifully
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Thank you so much for stopping by. I think the walking foot is lovely but then, i’ve never tried other ones. It’s a keeper for me.
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Your bird quilt is so charming! I use my walking foot for the small amount of quilting I do on my home machine. It’s really essential to keep everything together and moving smoothly. Thanks so much for the giveaway chance!
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And thank you for the kind comments and for stopping by. It really does make the finish so smooth!!! What a great find after several years of owning my machine Next I need to try the wand feature, but that will have to wait while I soak up the fun with the walking foot.
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So pleased you are now a fan of your new walking foot. You will get a lot of mileage out of it now you have done the hard part of working it out and testing it. Love your silvereye paper piecing too.
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Thank you. Yes, I am so glad to finally have it set up properly. It wasn’t even hard, I just had the wrong instructions….darn!! Thank you for the sweet comments. It may be ironic too cause I just had cataract surgery yesterday so I’ve had “eyes” on my mind. SILVEREYE could have more than one meaning, right?
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I love your bird. My walking foot is a must for sewing bindings on and whenever I have bulk.
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It’s becoming clear to me why it’s a must!!! I’m sold, now I just need to quilt all the tops that I’ve piled up around here!
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Silver eye in the Sky is such a sweet mini quilt for a doll. What a lovely idea! Great job on the quilting! I use my walking foot almost every day. I use it when quilting the QAYG backing for my project bags or the pile of UFO’s I have to finish before I can start any new projects. I do all of my quilting on my domestic machines so my walking foot does get a workout. Last count I think I’m on quilt #427! Just don’t ask for pictures of them. That’s my weak spot!
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OMG!!! 427 quilts!!! You are prolific!!! I am in awe of that. No wonder your walking foot is used almost every day. I can’t imagine how all your friends and family must be wrapped in quilty love. You’re forgiven for not having photos when you can count that sort of output!!! That’s incredible. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story a bit. Now I want to get sewing again asap.!!
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Along with quilting and binding, I use my walking foot when sewing layers of flannel — works like a dream to keep everything lined up where it’s supposed to be.
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I will need to try that the next time i work in flannel. Great idea.
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I use my walking foot when I sew binding to my charity quilts by sewing it on the back and flipping it to the front to sew down by machine.
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Cindy, That makes a lot of sense. I usually do the same but this quilt was so fun to make that I stitched the binding by hand on the 2nd side. There’s something so soothing about watching a fun TV program (Victoria) while sewing on my bed.
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Thanks. I used it for the binding this time too and it was much easier. Who knew!?? I’m finally getting around to the fan club of this accessory.
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Your bird is gorgeous!
I have a Pfaff with a built in walking foot so I use it all the time!
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Thank you. That’s just like the Babylock one that I have. It does make it so much easier. I can see why some quilters never sew without it. I’m not there just yet, but the stitching is so easy that I will certainly give it a try on lots of things from now on.
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I have used my walking foot for quilting often. Straight grid
designs and stitching in the ditch — much easier using that foot.
Your bird is great — am planning to check out the site where
you purchased the pattern.
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Dorothy, I did a little stitch in the ditch and that was good too. Babylock make a different foot for the walking foot that’s just for stitch in the ditch. I wonder if it’s even necessary since the 1/4″ foot is doing a nice job already. You will love the patterns on her site. I wish she had many more but the ones shown are really quite nicely done.
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I use my walking foot a lot. I always use it when sewing on binding. Love your bird.
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Teri, thank you for stopping by. I found it helpful for the binding but need to try using it for both sides. This time I hand sewed the binding on the 2nd side. I guess I wanted a hand stitching project while watching one of my favorite shows, Victoria!
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What a generous giveaway. And thanks for sharing the link for these fun patterns. BTW – Your version is very nice.
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Thanks so much. Those patterns are so cute and the best is that they are so well organized. It’s a breeze to make her designs.
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