Making Connections: A Free-Motion Quilting Workbook Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to my stop on the Making Connections blog hop! Dorie Hruska's new book is filled to the brim with variations on the classic Continuous Curve design. If you've wanted to learn to incorporate continuous curves into your quilting, this is the book for you. If you already use continuous curves and want to mix things up a bit, this book is also for you! Dorie does an excellent job of teaching readers how to navigate around a quilt and incorporate any desired variety of designs. I especially liked how she brings the designs out of the middle of the quilt and into the borders. Continuous curves are usually done in grid-based areas, and Dorie shows you how to mark grids anywhere you want to take them.

One design in the book that I especially liked was Connecting Brackets. The example above is from the book. As this is a workbook, there are practice pages to doodle and draw and work on muscle memory. This particular design is made of two basic S-curves, going in opposite directions. 

I was recently working on a custom quilt for a client. It was set out like rows of bricks in a kind of herringbone pattern, and she had specific ideas in mind for how she wanted each row quilted, except for two. One of the rows seemed like the perfect candidate for Connecting Brackets. The understated design added some nice texture without distracting from the fabric. 

 I used a variegated thread that blended nicely without disappearing or drawing too much attention to itself.

 I was a little surprised at how difficult it was for my brain to do this design, but I love the final effect in this particular quilt. I can see so many applications for designs from this book in nearly any quilt. They are so versatile!

 Fortunately the photography in the book is much better than mine and the designs really come to life.

And here's a shot of this area on the back.

Would you like your own copy of Making Connections? Leave a comment below by Saturday, September 16th telling me what part of your quilting you would like to improve. Mr. Random will pick a winner that night. If the winner lives in the US you will receive a physical copy of the book; international winners will receive an e-book version.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the other stops on the blog hop!

Friday Sept 1st:C&T - www.ctpub.com/blog/

Monday Sept 4th:
Holly Anne Knight - www.stringandstory.com/  IG: stringandstory

Susan Arnold - www.quiltfabrication.com  -  IG: quiltfabrication

Tuesday Sept 5th:

Becca Fenstermaker - www.prettypiney.com  IG: prettypiney
Teri Lucas - www.generationqmagazine.com IG: genqmag 

Wednesday Sept 6th:

Sherry Shish - poweredbyquilting.com  IG: poweredbyquilting

Pam Morgan - www.mysweetlittlestitches.com  IG: sweetlittlestitches

Thursday Sept 7th:

Laura Piland - www.sliceofpiquilts.com  IG: sliceofpiquilts

Katy S - www.katyquilts.net   IG: katyquilts

Friday Sept 8th:

Suzy Webster - websterquilt.blogspot.com  IG: websterquilt

Bernie Kringel - needleandfoot.com/  IG: needleandfoot

Monday Sept 11th:

Jamie Mueller - www.sunflower-quilts.com  IG: sunflower_quilt

Nancy Scott - masterpiecequilting.blogspot.com   IG: masterpiecequilting

Tuesday Sept 12th:

Sherri Noel - www.rebeccamaedesigns.com  IG: rebeccamaedesigns

Anorina Morris - www.sameliasmum.com  IG: sameliasmum

Wednesday Sept 13th:

Yvonne Fuchs - www.quiltingjetgirl.com  IG: quiltingjetgirl

Barbie Mills - thequiltingmill.blogspot.com  IG: thequiltingmill

Thursday Sept 14th:

Afton Warrick - www.quiltingmod.com  IG: quiltingmod

Kathy Bruckman - kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com  IG: kathyskwiltsandmore

Friday Sept 15th:
Susan Arnold - www.quiltfabrication.com    IG: quiltfabrication

Dorie Hruska - www.forever-quilting.com/blog  IG: foreverquilting