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!

Neat and Organized

I recently shared a pattern for a thread catcher over at the Moda Bake Shop. It’s a quick, fun little project that is finished without any sewing. I find it’s handy to bring around the house with me when I’m sewing binding or burying threads in my quilts or working on any other activity that results in piles of thread! The borders are also a handy spot to stick needles or wonder clips.

I had a bit of the fabric I used for the thread catcher left, and decided to make a matching pop up bin for my sewing area using this great pattern by the Fat Quarter Gypsy. The pattern was well written and resulted in a bin that is the perfect size to sit on my sewing table for the bits of trash I accumulate while sewing. I like that I can fold it down and throw it in my bag to bring to retreats or classes. 

Happy sewing!

Please note: I purchased the product mentioned. I received no compensation from the company mentioned. These opinions are all my own!

Binding Trick

I happened upon an easy trick to keep your binding neat and tidy when finishing your quilts. My machine (a Bernina 350) has two spool holders--one vertical and one horizontal. The vertical holder is perfect for placing the rolled binding while you're attaching it to the quilt edge. The usually unruly mess of binding sits neatly and unrolls easily. Happy quilting!

Secrets to a Perfect Half Square Triangle

I finished my half square triangle quilt and just love it. The quilting came out just how I envisioned, and it's a great size for my reading chair. Perfectly cozy!

I'm a big fan of half square triangles. Pretty much any fabric works for a half square triangle, you can make them big or small, and it's such a flexible block with so many layout possibilities. I figured the handy half square triangle deserved its very own quilt!

I always make my half square triangles a little big and take the time to trim them down to the size I need. It's a time-consuming extra step, certainly, but it's so pleasant to work with perfectly sized squares. I sure some quilters are able to achieve a perfect half square triangle without trimming, but I'm not one of them! Trimming is a nice task to do away from the sewing machine. I call them "TV-watching tasks." Trimming half square triangles is a perfect activity to do while you're doing something else.

Another secret to perfect half square triangle is to press before you cut the two halves apart. I always give them a quick little press with the iron before cutting them apart and pressing them open, and it seems to help them lay nicely. They, of course, take another trip to the ironing board after I press them open.

Here is the completed half square triangle quilt, featuring fabrics from several of Denyse Schmidt's lines.