Quilting with a Ruler Foot

I've been having so much fun checking out the entries for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, I can't resist adding another one! I love making all kinds of quilts, but baby quilts are my favorite to create and gift. They are the perfect size to make (big enough to be a satisfying project, yet small enough that they actually get finished!) and it is just plain fun to make something for a new little person.

This one is on its way to the new little girl of a wonderful friend from college. It's constructed entirely from half square triangles (I have a bit of a thing for HSTs...) in a herringbone pattern and made in Gooseberry fabric by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique.

This is the first time I quilted a quilt using my ruler foot. There is a learning curve on this technique, to be sure. I'm still learning to love it, but I think we'll be friends with time. I like the design possibilities that it opens up, as I am not one of those people who can free motion beautiful designs. For this design, I used the large curve on Piece 'N Quilt's 4-N-1 Machine Quilting Ruler. I'm still trying out different rulers and seeing what I like best, but I certainly like the flexibility of this one!

Some tips for ruler work:

Practice! Spend some time playing around with samples and getting a feel for the technique.

Though it never seems to make a difference for me with free motion quilting, dropping the feed dogs on my machine helped a lot with ruler work.

I needed to put more pressure on the ruler than I initially thought. Simply resting one hand on the ruler resulted in a lot of slippage. Really get a good grip on that ruler!

Happy sewing, everyone!

New Pattern on the Bakeshop and a Giveaway!

Two exciting announcements to share! First, I'm thrilled to announce my third pattern is available on the Moda Bakeshop blog. This pattern was created using a new fabric line, Flight, by Janet Clare. The fabric is gorgeous, with deep reds and blues and lovely small scale prints. There are planes, clouds, an awesome diagonal stripe and all sorts of goodness.

My pattern is called "Runway" and it's inspired by the markings on a runway. I particularly enjoyed photographing this quilt. A trip to the Outer Banks coincidentally coincided with the completion of the project, so I took some photos of it at the Wright Brother Memorial in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. What a perfect backdrop!

After peeking at the pattern, I know you'll want some Flight fabric of your very own. I had some pieces leftover, which the awesome folks at Moda kindly allowed me to offer as a giveaway! 

To be entered to win, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below and leave a comment telling me about the best trip you've ever taken or a trip you've been daydreaming about taking. The prize is five fat quarters of Flight fabric in the delicious cream colorway. 

I'll randomly select a winner on July 30. U.S. residents 18 and older only, please.  

Click here to enter using Rafflecopter!

Book Review: Wanderlust Quilts

I've long considered the connections between architectural details and quilting. Floors, mosaics, arches, tiles...these all have influenced quilt designs. The author of Wanderlust Quilts: 10 Modern Projects Inspired by Classic Art & Architecture takes this idea and runs with it. 

Author Amanda Leins studied classical Archaeology and her depth of knowledge is evident in her patterns and her descriptions of the thought process behind her design choices. I love Leins' assertion that modern doesn't mean simple. She employs many advanced techniques in her patterns, with contemporary results. 

This book is brimming with creativity. Several of the designs are irregularly shaped, and some of Leins' patterns are more descriptions of techniques that specific step by step instructions. She employs innovative piecing techniques and encourages a creative style of quilt-making.

My favorite project in the book is Aqueducts. It's a bright, happy quilt and I was intrigued by the idea of made fabric and her descriptions of getting together with friends to piece scraps. 

While there wasn't one quilt that jumped out at me as one I just had to make, the book is a great resource for the creativity it inspires. The projects really get the creative juices flowing!

I'm a Chef!

I am incredibly proud to have a quilt featured on the Moda Bake Shop. My Charming Peels quilt was a fun project. An orange peel quilt has long been on my quilting bucket list, and it did not disappoint. I love machine applique, and this quilt would be a great introduction to the technique! Check out my pattern, Charming Peels.

Experiments in Marking

While planning my half square triangle quilt, I knew I wanted to quilt it with straight lines running diagonally across the quilt. I usually use the guide on my walking foot to quilt straight lines, but suspected that technique wouldn’t cut it for this project. The combination of having the lines running diagonally and wanting the lines to intersect with the peaks of the triangles meant that I needed something a little more precise.

I decided to mark my quilt. I have a hera marker and use it often for quick marking needs. I love that it will never run out and that it works on all colors of fabric. (For those who aren’t familiar with hera markers, they put a crease in the fabric that serves as the mark. I use this one.) For this project, however, I wanted to try something that would give me a clearer visual guide.

I tested two types markers, chosen based on positive reviews on Amazon. 

The three contenders!

The first were these pencils, made from clay, wax and pigment. I liked that there were three colors of pencils in the package. I also tried this pen. I was a bit hesitant to try a micron pen, since I’ve heard so many horror stories from fellow quilters. 

I drew lines on a swatch (including a line without any marking, for the sake of comparison) and quilted over the lines. The pink and blue were both fairly subtle on the cream fabric, while the pen was a shocking shade of purple. I felt downright mischievous drawing a dark purple line on such light fabric.

My marked lines.

The instructions for both types said to rub the marking off with a wet towel. Though most of the pink and blue markings came off, I had a difficult time getting them off fully. I think because I quilted over the line, some of the markings remained under the thread. I cold see a hint of color after rubbing. 

The ink from the purple pen disappeared completely! In fact, an area that I marked but didn’t wipe with water was gone the next day, as the ink is air soluble and truly disappearing ink. 

The lines after rubbing with water.

The clear winner for my needs was the purple pen. It worked great for quilting, with the caveat that you have to quilt your project very soon after marking, or your lines will be gone! I marked four to six lines at a time, quilted, and then repeated the process. The disappearing nature of the ink was a great bonus for me, as there was no work required to remove the ink after quilting.

The pink and blue pencils would probably be good for general sewing needs, but I did not find them great for marking quilting lines. I can’t imagine rubbing every line of quilting on a larger quilt—that would be quite time consuming! 

I'm glad I took the time to mark this quilt. My quilting lines are straight and evenly spaced. The time spent finding the right tool and marking the quilt top was definitely time well spent!

Please note: I purchased these products at a retail location. I received no compensation of any kind from any of the companies mentioned. These opinions are all my own!

Straight Up

I’ve spent a lot of time quilting straight lines lately. My fallback quilting choice is usually to stipple my quilts. I love how quickly I can get a project done with stippling and I enjoy how it flows. Lately, however, I’ve been inspired to try other quilting designs.

I recently finished a half square triangle quilt top. I quickly knew I wanted to quilt it with straight lines, diagonally across the quilt. I wanted lines to intersect the peak of each triangle, and figured out lines spaced 7/8 of an inch apart would be close enough together for the effect I wanted. This translated into a lot of lines.

Was quilting so many straight lines monotonous at times? Certainly. Probably a bit more monotonous than stippling, but not much. It went fairly quickly and was pretty easy to accomplish on a domestic machine. 

I love the modern look it gives the quilt. It adds dimension and texture, but works with the orderly look of the half square triangle quilt.