Oct 31 13
Something's Cooking in the Sewing Room!
I’ve had a fun couple days in the sewing room. Here’s a shot of the front of a knitting tote bag I’ve just started. It uses the same pattern as the Tulip Tote (that uses wooden sewn-in handles) but I substituted the 11 1/2 inch wreath for the tulip quartet block in the center block:
The quilting on this is no big deal, but this was my first attempt to divide up a space into geometric subdivisions using a straight acrylic ruler on a HDSM. I love how it has completely changed that center block! Sometimes it is really hard to get a photo that shows the quilting and I took this in the dark with only a little light creeping in from the neighboring room. You can see it a little better on the backside:
See what I mean? It’s very simple yet interesting all because of those straight line divisions! I got mixed up as I was doing it and my lines aren’t even symmetric but I think it still looks ok! On a completely separate note, I finished the stitch out of my new MEA border design and I love how it came out:
This flowing floral border makes me think of a fairy tale kind of garden. The problem with the flower has been resolved, as you can see below. The photo below is from before the file was revised and you can see some magenta thread poking underneath the splayed petals:
And in the next photo, those errant stitches are gone!
I LOVE this border! It’s very versatile because it can be contracted for use on a shorter quilt or expanded to be used on a really wide quilt! I am psyched because this weekend, I get to start 4 of these border panels for a “real quilt!”
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Beautiful work Patsy — as always. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.
Karen
Lovely Patsy. Looking forward to when we can get together and talk about FMQ and ME. Love your designs.
SewCalGal
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
The quilting is great! Good inspiration. Being a Facebook fan, I kept wanting to hit the LIKE button on the photos. Thx
I have tried using a ruler with my domestic machine but not with much success. What ruler did you use and how did you use it?….an idea for a blog post for you I am thinking.
Hi Lynn,
I’m planning on more blog posts (and maybe a short video tutorial if I can get enough time for it) on using these rulers, but here are some links to blog posts that I’ve already done:
https://blog.patsythompsondesigns.com/index.php/archives/4457
https://blog.patsythompsondesigns.com/index.php/archives/4509
You can use any long arm acrylic ruler on your HDSM but you must use the rulers that were devised for this specific use. If you try using a ruler that’s meant for rotary cutting, it’s only a question of time before that ruler will slip beneath your free motion foot and the needle will hit the ruler and throw it out of timing.
My absolute favorite rulers for this are the fine line continuous curve rulers. Here is a link to one so you can see a photo and description of one of them:
http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/shop/product/fine-line-template-continuous-curves-6-12in/
These all come with a set of small handles on them and I have grown to love those handles. You don’t have to have handles but man, it makes life easier! They also have a heavy duty set of grippers on the bottom that help keep the ruler from slipping. If you are thinking of starting to play with rulers, I would start with the smaller rulers first. I say that because the smaller the ruler, the easier they are to hold. I personally like the 2 smaller curve rulers and I like the 6 and 8 inch straight rulers by the same company.
This can really change your quilting in big ways, so if you are even remotely considering learning how to do this, I would jump right in!