Jul 14 13

Borders on the Chrismas Wall hanging

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The outermost border on this wall hanging was different than normal borders for me.  I say that because it was made up of multiple “zones,” so I felt like it might be fun to do something different inside each zone.  I started in the dark green center zones and these went very fast as I subdivided the section into 4 quadrants and then stitched figure 8’s in opposite orientations:
 
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The narrow inner border and the 2 short gold sections were made by stitching an inch worm in one direction and then going back in and stitching an inchworm in the opposite orientation:
 
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The light green sections were the largest and the places where I had fun experimenting.  I created this section by using acrylic templates that are used with long arm quilting on a  frame system, except that I used them on my HDSM using the push-through method.  I started by drawing 2 design  options on paper:
 
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I decided to go with the top drawing only because it seemed more unexpected.  The tool I used to push my foot against as I worked is called the 6 1/2 inch Fine Line Continuous Curve Template.  The design is created in 3 steps and this is the first step:
 
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In this next shot, I’m creating the channel and you can see how this system works.  Notice that the free motion foot is right up against the template:
 
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(That template is not there in order to trace a line.  It is literally held up against the free motion foot as the quilt is being moved and it allows you to create a very smooth curve.)  This curve comes in 3 sizes and this is by far my favorite size.  Here’s a shot of what it looks like once all the channels are done:
 
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…and here’s shot of them after they’ve been “filled in” with some stippling.  I really like the texture this created:
 
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I’ll do a more thorough blog post on this technique sometime down the road when i have more samples to show.  This is not as hard as it might seem and I think it will open up lots of new design opportunities for the sitdown/push through quilter.
 

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5 Comments

  1. Leslie McNeil Says:

    is this on a longarm patsy? can you use these templates effectively on a domestic machine? {beautiful patterns}

  2. Patsy Thompson Says:

    Hi Leslie,
    No longarm and no frame system here! I am using these templates on a regular home domestic sewing machine and quilting just as I normally quilt. I am holding the ruler, moving the quilt across the machine bed, and applying pressure between the ruler and the free motion foot all at the same time. I could never achieve these wonderfully smooth curves by marking a line and following it!

  3. Barbara Showell Says:

    Argh!!!! I just found these rulers online 3 days ago and have been obsessing about them. I really don’t have the spare cash now and seeing what a lovely job you did with these isn’t helping! Very nice.

  4. Pat Says:

    Patsy – definitely looking forward to the technique posting when you have time. I was always under the impression that these templates cannot be used by the traditional HDSM quilter. I should have known you’ll be pushing the envelope. Would love to see a short vid if possible on how you actually hold the template and push fabric at the same time.

  5. Pamelyn Says:

    Hi Patsy! I just got circle and melon templates and have been practicing up with them like crazy. LOVE the results I’m getting with them! Thanks for showing your creative ideas. I will keep them in mind for future uses!!!
    Pamelyn of pamelynspostings.blogspot.com