Athena - Block of the Month Sampler Quilt

I told my hubby how much knowledge was gained from start to finish on this quilt and he suggested I name her Athena, the goddess of knowledge.  Pretty clever, I think.  So here she is.

 

 

This is my first sampler quilt and was started last year when I took the2012  Block of the Month class at Craftsy.com.  Amy Gibson was the instructor and she was so inspirational.  If you want to learn basic piecing, this is a great class to take and it is completely FREE.  The class has instructions to download as well as videos to take you from fabric selection to binding the quilt.  It is still available to use anytime.  I added lattice and cornerstones to make this a full size quilt.  I wanted more of the teal color and thought the stones brightened it.

 

I blogged about all the blocks: January; February; March; April, May and June; July, August, September, and October.

 

 

 

When it was time to begin quilting I decided to go ahead and purchase the class by Leah Day,  Free Motion Quilting a Sampler on Crafsty.com because this is the quilt that is used for the class and I really want to be better at FMQ.  Leah is a great instructor and I have followed her blog for over a year.  She gives lots of tips on everything from basting the quilt, tweaking your pressure foot, thread, to making free motion shapes your own.  I learned over 16 shapes and used them in over 30 ways.  This class isn't free, but is worth every penny.  She encourages you to quilt your blocks the way you want but you can follow her exactly if you please.  There are course materials for download and hours of fabulous, up close videos of Leah's quilting action.   Leah is very encouraging and after the class, I feel like we are great friends...lol

 

 

Athena Stats:

Size:  68" x 86"

Pattern:  2012 Craftsy BOM

Quilting:  FMQ on my Janome 6600 (with instruction by Leah Day class)

Started- February 2012 Finished- April 30, 2013

Made in Dodge City, USA

 

Look at all the bumpy goodness on the back.  That's a lot of quilting..

Athena through the trees

The sun is shining and maybe spring will stay,



 

Linked up with FMQ Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP?, Richard and Tanya Quilts.