Week in Review 2019 – 06/28

I first saw ruler work when I was scrolling through Pinterest for quilting motifs. Many motifs I choose to pin include ruler work. The more I pinned, the more I knew I had to try this myself. Next step, buy a ruler foot and start playing.

Turning a No…

Unfortunately, my machines are old enough that converting them to accommodate the ruler foot required didn’t appear to be doable. That was several years ago. Recently, I looked into it again. Seems my Bernina 1260 could be adapted to accept a ruler foot. Hurrah!

… Into A Yes…

Shopping spree, here I come. I bought the shaft adapter, the foot, and several rulers. That one sentence translates into hours of obsessively perusing the possibilities, especially which rulers to invest in. I opted for Angela Walter’s rulers for several reasons:

  1. The marking lines consist of alternating black and white dashes. This allows the markings to be seen on light and dark fabrics.
  2. They have a roughened backside with transparent stickers. The result the ruler is less likely to shift on the fabric. Every teacher recommends doing something to avoid ruler slippage. Yet, most rulers are slippery.
  3. They are sized for domestic machines. Thus, the ruler fits in the harp of my machine, allowing me a full 360 degrees ruler positioning.

… With New Products and Videos

There are quite a few free tutorials online for doing ruler work. What I had difficulty finding were any that helped with working out motifs. I discovered Bernina has a series of videos, based on a sampler. Perfect.

Ruler work speaks to the organized, neat freak in me. It is easy to get smooth, straight lines that parallel, perpendicular, or even at 45 degrees. Next week I tackle curves.

I bought solid color cotton fabrics in every color Jo-Ann Fabric had on sale, when my children were in primary school. They are now 35 an 39 with children of their own. Time to put that fabric to good use. I used them to make the sampler top and backing. Now that my quilt sandwich is prepped it’s time to start. Sure, I can see a flaw or two, but not bad, not bad at all for trying something new.

I am linking up with Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Fridays.

By Gwyned Trefethen

I am an artist who uses fabric, thread and miscellany to create designs gifted to me by my imagination.

4 comments

  1. Good for you for trying something new. I only bought one ruler awhile ago and was amazed at what I could do. I look forward to seeing your progress.

    1. Thanks, Margaret. It’s proving to be a steep learning curve. I’m a natural for moving the work so the ruler and foot align. All those years of FMQ, I suppose. It didn’t take long to shift mentally to think of the needle following a parallel line 1/4″ inch from the ruler. The struggle is with how best to place work and ruler for maximum efficiency. What I wonder if I will ever be able to understand instinctually is where to stop and start on a ruler in order to continue an undulating curve, for example, so it looks as though it was one long ruler. I do love a challenge. 🙂

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