Thank you Don Linn for providing your expertise as
April's teacher for Sew Cal Gal's 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge.
As I have been quilting for a long time, learning Don's stencil method had me feeling like an old dog learning a new trick. Generally, I do not mark my quilt tops. I very much prefer practicing the design on paper then drawing the design with thread directly on the quilt. I've had limited success by tracing the design on to parchment paper then sewing through four layers of parchment paper with no thread in the machine to make a pattern. The parchment paper design was then attached to the quilt top and quilted on. This works well except I find removing the parchment paper bits messy and a pain you know where.
Here is my photo journal using tulle, permanent marker, Dritz purple fade away marker and an embroidery hoop.
I don't own a wooden round embroidery hoop, so I used the large hoop from my Pfaff Creative 2 sewing machine.
I drew my own design in pencil then went over it with a purple permanent marker.
Good visibility, it was easy to trace the design onto the tulle.
I did set the black permanent marker with an iron before tracing it onto the fabric.
Purple fade away pen traced onto my sample quilt.
This was also easy to do.
I used variegated multi-coloured threads and started stitching in the centre.
Back view.
After I finished the block, I waited 24 hours and noticed that the fade away marker was not really fading away.
The package said the purple marker was water soluble.
Back view of finished block.
I wet the top side with water and applied a wet wash cloth to the fade away marker. It took a fair amount of effort to remove the purple marker.
Next I tossed the quilt into the dryer to dry it. Oh boo... it came out wrinkled!
In order to get a lot of contrast between the butterfly and flower, I restitched the butterfly lines.
As you can see, I need more practice retracing the same lines , the inside of the butterfly wings are a little sloppy. Perhaps, I should rip it out and redo it.
My second attempt, using a plain unbleached cotton quilt sandwich.
The tulle method provides excellent visibility for tracing the design onto the fabric.
This time I used a soft pink Coats embroidery thread to stitch out the whole design. The first photo is the back of the quilt.
Then orange, turquoise blue and dark brown thread on the butterfly.
It is easy to tell the front from the back because of the purple marker. Again after waiting 24 hours the purple marker did not fade away. I used water and a wet wash cloth to remove it. Then dried the quilt sandwich in the dryer and ironed the wrinkles out.
I think the end result is quite pretty. However, a lot more work than I'm willing to do on a regular basis.
I'm still not completely sold on the concept of marking the quilt top.
Below is a close-up the stitching on the backside.
Close-up of the stitches on the front side.
I enjoyed learning to make a tulle stencil. I would love to hear from other quilters who use stencils and mark their quilt tops. Is there a better marking tool than the fade away pen?
Diane at Pine Point Designs used cardboard from a cereal box to make a permanent frame for her tulle stencil. Her idea is brilliant and I definitely plan to try it out.
Happy quilting all.
Update: On May 9, 2012 three out of four bags were mailed. Debi R, I need your address please. 
