Free-Form Continuous Feathers with Sue Rasmussen.

 I had a big day taking two classes yesterday. The first was machine quilting free motion feathers with Sue Rasmussen. As sue's background is as a textile scientist we also learnt about the composition of thread and how to use it effectively. The benefit of Sue's method was that with practice you won't need to pre- mark the feathers but will be able to free motion quilt them, adding additional swirls of feathers from the original stem.
     Sue's sample as shown in my first photo, was quilted over wool and doesn't include any trapunto. Using large feathers with smaller filler stitches between them, makes the feathers pop when using wool.
     Sue was a lovely teacher, very knowledgeable and I feel like I finally "got it" when quilting feathers without marking. She also had lots of suggestions for troubleshooting problems. We practiced stitching the feathers on paper at first and now I need to practiced so I develop muscle memory and confidence. I can really recommend the class.
Hugs, Jan Mac