Oct 28 15

Part 2 of Ruler Work in the Round

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I was finally able to get back to this fun experiment today!  This began as my first experiment playing with the Westalee Circle Rulers:
 
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I started by creating a series of concentric circles (this was pretty easy using their ruler system) and then I went in and began filling in with some free motion work.  (You can read Part 1 of Ruler Work in the Round by clicking here.)  I actually ended up taking out some of my stitching because the designs I made just didn’t seem to fit the space as well as I’d hoped, but I’m liking the end result.  I had to think about what I wanted to replace those designs with, so I just moved on and added the swags around the circles.  Those are easy to do.  I  used a Quilters Groove Ruler and created my first “row” of swags.  I then went and added multiple channels (a 1/4 in channel, then 1/2 in channel, then another 1/4 inch channel.)  I threw in a string of pearls inside the 1/2 inch channel and then went back in and added the remaining designs inside the  wide inner circle I’d made earlier.  Here is a shot of when the entire inner circle had just been filled.  I did this by stitching 2 different featherettes, each in an opposite orientation:
 
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Here is a tangential shot:
 
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My original plan for the outer circle did not pan out.  Instead, I ended up stitching a design called “fingertips.”  This is laid down very quickly and the only thing you need to pay attention to when you’re using this design is the orientation of the fingertips:
 
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(I know the color just changed dramatically but this photo was taken in a different place than the others.)  The last thing I did was to fill the shallow swags surrounded by pearls.  I swapped to a different thread color again (just because it’s fun to have all this color) and here’s how it came out:
 
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I had plans for another “zone” but I’m kind of running out of space here so I’m not sure if I’ll go any further with this or not.  I DO know I can’t wait to try playing on another one!
 
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8 Comments

  1. Peggy Says:

    Wow. Just plain wow!

  2. Duane Wiley Says:

    Beautiful as usual! Is the center circle from an embroidery machine? I was noticing the dots and the and the rest of the design there and I’m thinking I can’t do that on a regular machine. Still, you are amazing!

  3. patsy Says:

    Yes, the center design is one of the built-in designs on my embroidery machine. I am finding that starting with a cool center design that I don’t have to really do anything about other than push a button is a great way for me to experiment. So much of what I’m doing in trying to advance my skills with rulers involves creating a framework or series of borders around some central motif and this is a quick way to generate something symmetric to frame.

  4. Diane Evans Says:

    Gorgeous, gorgeous! I especially love the fingertips. Every time you post pictures of your progress, I want to run right into my sewing room and have at it!

    Diane

  5. Debbie Says:

    What a great idea to practice around and build on basic embroidery designs as a skill builder. Thx for sharing- beautiful as usual !

  6. Gloria Cotten Says:

    This is beautiful work as usual, Patsy! Are you using a stabilizer or is the quilt batting enough to stabilize your fabric?

  7. patsy Says:

    Thanks, Gloria! I just used regular old batting and it worked great.

  8. Penny Says:

    Do you use polyester thread, if so, what weight. It always looks so fabulous.
    Thanks!