Thursday, September 14, 2017

Making Connections: A Free-Motion Quilting Workbook Review


I'm excited to be joining in the Making Connections Blog Hop. Dorie Hruska of Forever Quilting was kind enough to allow me a sneak peek at her practical workbook. 

Making Connections introduces an entirely new approach that can be applied to specific shapes or open spaces marked with a grid. Dorie shows you how to employ 12 different connecting designs while minimizing starts and stops by using intentionally planned continous paths. She walks you through the steps with numbered diagrams and spaces for you to sketch out the designs. The cover quilt pattern is included and ties all the skills within the workbook together. Dorie's aim is to help you build muscle memory of the process, as shown in the following YouTube video.


I enjoy quilting that accentuates the piecing in a quilt or creates a meaningful secondary design, rather than simply going over the top with no regard for the piecing. Making Connections gave me new tools for making that happen.

I also appreciate how Making Connections made me more aware of more efficient options for charting my course across a quilt top, which saves me numerous lose threads to tie off or a whole bunch of backtracking.

Whether you're very experienced or a free-motion newbie, Dorie's workbook pushes you to add skills to your repertoire. You can scratch the surface by trying out some Connecting Loops or Connecting Curls on a charm square quilt. (The following two images below belong to C & T and are sections of Dorie's work.)

Or you can navigate complex piecing without tying off using an assortment of multi-path designs.


You may remember my shamefully put-aside floral sampler quilt I finally wrapped up. I was able to test out the Connecting Waves design in the red squares. Unfortunately, since they were isolated squares, this quilt did not take advantage of all the book had to offer.


Eager to try out my skill at navigating a continuous path, I began quilting another member of my UFO society, my Hungry Caterpillar quilt, with the Connecting Brackets Design.


So what's next? You may have picked up on a continuing theme here --- UFOs. I have another Saturday Sampler that's been hanging out (in the literal sense of being on a hanger in my sewing room closet) waiting for me to give it the time of day in terms of free-motion. This one is especially suited to Dorie's technique for approaching pieced sections. I opened a photograph of one of the blocks in Preview (a Mac app) and ran through a connected path using free-motion designs introduced in Making Connections. Every block is different, so I'll be doing some more playing around in the days to come. Drawing helps me chart a course so I'm mental prepared when I approach the actual quilt. Fortunately, I'm more steady with fabric under a machine than I am with the mouse pad on my laptop.


I received an electronic review copy of the book, but I would recommend choosing the non-electronic version since it is a workbook filled with practice pages that will otherwise need to be printed to complete. If the idea of marking in your book feels too rebellious for your tastes, use an overhead sheet placed on the page and a wet-erase marker to practice the designs while leaving your book as good as new. Another option is to practice in a graph paper composition book.


You can purchase a signed copy of Making Connections from Dorie, or buy the book from C & T (30% off when you sign up for the newsletter) or Amazon (affiliate links).

Also, check out the wonderful projects all the other participants have been making.

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70 comments:

  1. "UFO Society" You just made my day. No need to enter me in the giveaway, but these appear to be great tips and suggestions she gives in her book. Quilt on!

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  2. This is a great book. I've certainly been inspired. My tip would be - don't forget to breath and relax!

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  3. I follow your blog by email

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  4. I have enjoyed this blog hop. All the tips have been helpful as I'm currently quilting a large quilt with many blocks. I have planned out my path and I am quilting my way across the top

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  5. I follow your blog by e-mail.

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  6. And I follow you via Bloglovin.

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  7. I would like to learn how to plan continuous quilting across a quilt. The less threads to bury, the better.

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  8. I want to learn how to keep my stitches even. That's my biggest fear that the stitches will be all over the place.

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  9. I follow you on bloglovin

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  10. I would like to learn which design to use on each quilt to make it more appealing to the eye.

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  11. I like the idea of continuous quilting, as burying threads can be a pain.

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  12. I have been longarming for a few years, but you just never know when someone else has a great design or tip!

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  13. I follow you through bloglovin.

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  14. I am very new to FMQ, so I'm pretty much a blank slate. Even the basics of making a quilting plan for the entire quilt top will be very helpful to me, and not having to bury all those threads sounds like a fantastic gift.

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  15. I follow your blog by email (wordygirl at earthlink dot net).

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  16. There is so much for me to learn -- how to move over the quilt without getting trapped, design, keeping stitches even. This looks like a great resource!

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  17. I find that I have difficulty transitioning from a test block to the actual quilt. I do have a table set behind my machine to hold the weight but it's a challenge to maneuver the quilt under the needle.

    anndunn24(at)gmail.com

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  18. I receive your posts via e-mail.

    anndunn24(at)gmail.com

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  19. I want something that will make the job seem like fun. This book may do that for me.

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  20. I too have UFO's I need to finish by quilting. I like this concept of continuous quilting and not having to stop and start new threads.

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  21. I love the idea of continuous quilting. I am looking for techniques to help me get more comfortable with FMQ on my domestic machine.

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  22. Very nice variety of quilting on this. Enjoyed the video too!

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  23. I am new to this so I need to learn everything. For example I have a block in front of me what do I do.

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  24. I have lots of ufo's. My tip is draw out a plan. Then practice, practice, practice.

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  25. I am following you via email.

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  26. My tip is that you have better control over your stitches if you relax and slow down.

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  27. I need to jump back in and practice practice practice!

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  28. I'd like to learn to wing it. Right now I can only produce acceptable results if I follow a marked line or a ruler.

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  29. I use a supreme slider when I free motion quilt and it seams to help alot! mumbird3(at)gmail(dot)com

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  30. I want to learn everything about deciding what to quilt in each block or to just do an all over quilting design.
    I will be using a home machine and this book would help me get confident enough to finish off my quilt tops. Thanks so much
    djcutting2(at)gmail(dot)com

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  31. I follow you on bloglovin.
    djcutting2(at)gmail(dot)com

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  32. I'm really needing help on being brave and diving in!! :-) And continuous line quilting on a domestic machine. I gotta work with what I have!! :-)

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  33. And I follow you via email. Thanks for sharing through your blog! Hugs, H

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  34. I want to learn some beginner techniques. I have done meandering, but would love to try some other designs.

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  35. I follow you on bloglovin!

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  36. I like to use a clear plexiglass with dry erase marker to lay over my quilt to "test drive" a design before I actually sew it. Saves a lot of ripping!! Your quilting designs are great. Thanks for sharing the excellent giveaway too.

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  37. I'd like to learn free motion feathers.

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  38. I follow your blog on my blogger dashboard/GFC.

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  39. I am excited to learn to travel over the quilt with a quilting design starting and stopping at the same point. Right now I do mostly meandering.

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  40. I follow the blog with bloglovin.

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  41. I'm not a real accurate FMQ and that's what I'd like to learn. I can do a lot of the designs but they aren't crisp and professional looking. Thanks.

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  42. I really like those Connecting Brackets design! Good work on those UFOs and checking them off the list, too! I know practice is what's needed here to avoid the jerky and skipped stitches I get so often. I'm hoping this book would help!

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  43. I follow your blog on Bloglovin!

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  44. I already follow you on bloglovin

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  45. I love FMQ but I struggle with choosing designs to quilt so I whine up with the same designs over and over again

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  46. Would love to own that book. With FMQ, I also struggle with not getting "stuck" into my standard go-to, allover meandering. It is pretty, but would love to venture into some new quilting designs.

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  47. I follow via email and Bloglovin'

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  48. I struggle with how to make my quilting more continuous and not quilt myself into corners which is why I have to have this book! Please pick me!!!
    cathylouwilson@gmail.com

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  49. Well, I'd like to be able to quilt great designs with fewer starts and stops. That means less ends to tie off and bury. Thanks for the opportunity.

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  50. I would like to get more FMQ motifs into muscle memory. Quilting more continuously would definitely go a long way towards this goal!

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  51. I'm a new long arm quilter and the only continuous dsigns I can do now is a simple meander and a loopy meander. Boring! Think this book would help

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  52. I need to learn continuous design quilting, so I don't have to backtrack or stitch in the ditch to move around. Dorie's book sounds like just what I need!

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  53. I just need to practice more often! I've got to get a copy of this book! lutzcats (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  54. I have not done much fmq, but need to practice. I should get out UFO's as you have done! Thank you, peterstankovich@comcast.net

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  55. I am now following on bloglovin, thank you, peterstankovich@comcast.net

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  56. I haven't yet tried FMQ so this book would probably be helpful.

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  57. I'm always eager to learn new continuous quilting designs. This book sounds like just what I need!

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  58. I need to learn how to do more continuous quilting. I'm always stop & go, stop & go......trotskyn@att.net

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  59. I am pretty new to free motion so I have a LOT to learn! thanks for the giveaway! Cotten.gloria@gmail.com

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  60. I follow you via Bloglovin. Cotten.gloria@gmail.com

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  61. I would like to improve selection of quilting designs for different projects.

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  62. I'd like to be able to skip the beginner chapters and head straight for the advanced quilting stitches so that I can wow everyone but considering that I haven't done much fmq, I'd better start at the beginning. This book sounds very interesting. I've spent a lot of time burying threads on the quilts that I did get fmq. kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com

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  63. I follow by Bloglovin. Thanks, kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com

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  64. Think I'm late coming. But this ties in nicely with my current objective to begin with the end in mind!

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