Quilting Arts - February-March 2016_

That’s why I argue that, no matter your

level of expertise, cultivating your free-

motion quilting skills is vital to becoming a

better art quilter.

Art quilts are a great place to show off

beautiful quilting. Creative motifs invite

viewers in to savor the details of your

work, highlight your craftsmanship, and

show that you value quality. These stitches

add texture, color, and extra layers of

meaning to an art quilt.

If you are new to free-motion machine

quilting, or if you just want to add more

motifs to your repertoire, the circular or

curved motifs featured here are a great place

to start. Just pop on a free-motion foot, drop

your feed dogs, and let’s go!

Finding inspiration

It’s well known among artists that the more

you practice being creative, the more creative

you become. It’s fun to invent your own

original motifs. Using your own designs

makes your art more intrinsically yours, and

it usually makes it more fun to quilt.

Look for inspiration wherever you go—in

your house, on your commute to work,

while you walk your dog, as you scan a

magazine. Brainstorm or mindmap ideas on

paper. Pick a day and designate it “circles

day” and look specifi cally for things that fall

into that category all day long.

Wheels Buttons Washers

Another approach that works for me is to

think about categories, and work within

them. For example, in coming up with new

circular designs, I considered the categories

of sports, food, mechanical, natural, and

household. I gave myself fi ve minutes to

brainstorm. (Hint: Timing yourself helps the

brainstorming process because there is no

time to overthink.)

Not all of the ideas you generate this way

are of value—and not all of the ones on my

list are good, either—but the practice of

collecting, sorting, considering, and playing

with ideas is extremely valuable. First,

make sure you write down or sketch out the

motifs you see. Choose the most intriguing,

and then practice doodling them on paper

without lifting your pencil or pen. This

exercise forces you to draw the motifs in the

same way you’d free-motion quilt them.

Illustrations by Susan Brubaker Knapp