The Mandala Project by Kim Jamieson-Hirst

Hi! It’s Kim Jamieson-Hirst of Chatterbox Quilts. 

When I ask quilters what technique they find the most intimidating, the answer I most often get is free motion quilting. You might be one of those quilters! 

I also used to find free motion quilting intimidating and I worried about not getting the “perfect” result that I wanted on my quilts but…I realized that if I wanted to turn my quilt tops into actual quilts, I had to bite the bullet and learn how to free motion quilt.

Now, my favourite part of making a quilt is the quilting part. I find that it is so creative and it’s the perfect way to put your personal stamp on your project. There are so many possibilities and an infinite number of motifs that you can use on your quilts.

I didn’t become proficient at free motion quilting overnight – I’m not a prodigy – but with practice, I soon saw improvement and started to look forward to this part of the quilting process. I found that the easiest way to learn this technique was to take small steps and to manage my expectations. I realized that my first results wouldn’t be pretty (and they weren’t) but I persevered and soon saw improvement. That spurred me to continue learning and one day I realized that I was no longer afraid to free-motion quilt my projects but that I was actually looking forward to this process. 

I created The Mandala Project course to help quilters not only learn how to free motion quilt but to create a beautiful wall hanging. I chose practical free motion quilting motifs that can be used in future projects. I strongly believe that it’s important to learn designs that you’ll use in your projects – there’s no advantage to perfect a design that you’ll never use!

One of the designs that you’ll learn in The Mandala Project is pebbles. These are small connected circles and you can have lots of fun with them combining pebbles of different sizes. Pebbles are the perfect background fill, adding texture and interest to your project. You’ll use this motif in the mandala centre as well as a background fill.

Of course free motion quilting isn’t the only way to quilt your projects. There is walking foot quilting and ruler quilting (free motion quilting with templates/rulers). I often combine different quilting techniques in my projects and you’ll learn how to use a walking foot to do some echo quilting in The Mandala Project.

If you’re quilting, you need thread, right? You’ll get to choose 5 different thread colors when making The Mandala Project. It’s your chance to use your favorite thread colors or even to step outside your comfort zone and try combinations that you’ve never used before. You might even want to make more than one mandala with different thread color combinations!

This is not just another quilting class. It’s your chance to create a modern whole cloth design and learn free motion quilting motifs that you’ll use again and again in your future projects. You’ll have the chance to practice the motifs as you are creating The Mandala Project.

By the end of The Mandala Project, you’ll have gained confidence in your free motion quilting skills and you’ll have a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind whole cloth quilt. 

Whether you're brand new to free motion quilting or want to add new quilting motifs to your skill set, The Mandala Project is your chance to try something truly creative, modern, and uniquely YOU.

Join me and let’s create a stunning mandala together one motif at a time. 

Blog post by Kim Jamieson-Hirst