"Freehand Filler Patterns" by Sue Patten
Have you ever starred at a quilt top and wondered how to quilt a block? Sue Patten’s book, Quilting Possibilities . . . Freehand Filler Patterns, offers possible quilting solutions for 36 different blocks of different degrees of difficulty chosen from Electric Quilt Company. There are three to four different quilting possibilities for each block. Some of the blocks include Joseph’s Coat, Road to California, Dresden Fans, Orange Peel, and the common four-patch and nine-patch blocks. There are even sashing and corner stone suggestions for some blocks. In addition, Sue offers tips and tricks, has design placement suggestions, and even ideas for background fillers. Her designs work well for any type of free motion quilting, both at he domestic sewing machine and the longarm quilting machine.
Sue began piecing and hand quilting in the early 1990′s and got “plugged into” machine quilting in 2000. I (Joyce) took a class from her in 2011 and found her to be a dynamic teacher who approaches quilting with flair. She encouraged us to use threads with color and contrast, including veriegated thread, and to try to make our patterns continuous saving time with starts and stops. These ideas are reinforced in her book.
Next time you complete a quilt and the directions say, “quilt as desired,” don’t panic. Pick up a copy of Freehand Filler Patterns, by Sue Patten, and quilt that top with confidence and creativity.
