Good Morning, Quilters!
Yesterday we looked at my beginner attempts at ruler work. Ruler work is challenging for me and I can only concentrate on it for an hour at a time. It’s too early to tell if I’m struggling because I’m a beginner or because this technique is not one I’ll ever enjoy.
After working on Amanda Murphy’s ruler work project , I let myself “free” to explore the project from a “hand-drawn” perspective. My goal was to stay faithful to the original design, but see how I could do it without rulers. (See my hand drawn version of Lesson One: An Alternative to Ruler Work HERE)
Ruler work does involve some marking, so I allowed myself to use marks for the free motion version as well.
In Area 4, I added the same tick marks to keep the spacing of the darts even. Instead of straight lines, I stitched slight curves and I couldn’t help myself–I added a three loop embellishment.
Area 5 is diamonds. I replaced the ruler work diamonds with a motif from my new book called Deirdre’s Diamonds-(named after my daughter who is getting married this year!) To create Deirdre’s Diamonds, I drew a centerline and tick marks to space the diamonds evenly. The result is not as perfect as the ruler work version, but I like the hand drawn look. (Diamond tutorial HERE)
Area 6 in Amanda Murphy’s project is overlapping circles. I started with two lines in the center–for the overlap distance as well as tick marks for the placement of the circles. Again, I would say this method is not as perfect as ruler work– but easier– and I don’t mind the imperfection.
Area 7 is three circles. The ruler work version required drawing a placement line down the center of the space. For the free motion version, I drew two lines to mark the top and the bottom of the circles. In this case, my hand drawn circles came out better than the ruler circles-but I’m sure with practice the ruler circles would be more precise. The question remains which do I like better????
Amanda Murphy’s quilt-a-long is excellent. Her instructions offered free by BERNINA are very easy to follow. Her project is a great way to learn this technique–at least well enough to find out if we want to pursue it. As many of you have mentioned, there are a sea of rulers out there… the question remains, which rulers do we absolutely need and which ones can we find a free motion alternative for?
Still pondering…
What about YOU?
Do YOU enjoy ruler work?
Would YOU rather free motion quilt or use a ruler?
Do YOU have a ruler you can’t live without?
Any other tips or suggestions?
We’d LOVE to hear!
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Happy Quilting!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
19 comments
Lynn Schoenfeld
OK Here goes! I have completed the straight line ruler work and have to admit I do like the ability to create straight lines. I found the ruler easy to handle and the end result was very nice. I do love the free motion ability to fill in the designs I am creating so the best of both worlds. Am anxious to see how the circles work. I may be back with a renewed sense of bravado! Fingers crossed.
quilty2
I am having nothing but problems with your site today Lori.
Adele
Lori I am a beginner with ruler work. I just got my Baby Lock Crescendo, I was unable to do ruler work with my older Baby Lock. It is a learning process and marking take some marking. I’ve been following Angela Walters ruler work videos. I’ll check out Amanda’s too. My goal is to feel comfortable doing ruler work by the end of the year. Do so enjoy your posts!
Chris
There is probably a place for ruler work, and as with all things quilty there is a great array of skills and techniques to try, but i have to say Lori that your ‘squiggly’ free motion lines have so much more character to them. i thought using a ruler would be easier than free motion quilting straight lines, but then a friend suggested just ruling lines as needed and i found that it worked perfectly well without having to learn another skill. Being able to free motion quilt a straight line is not much different from learning other motifs and after practice it comes more naturally. for me there are still lots of motifs to learn and practice and not being bound by equipment is very liberating. thank you lori for presenting different options. i know there are lots of quilters for whom this will be their new joy.
Ellen McKinley
If my free motion looked like yours, I wouldn’t bother with trying to learn to quilt with rulers! However….I am not there yet. I wonder if using the rulers would contribute to my ability to FMQ, e.g. muscle memory? I will have to pay attention to the movements next time I practice to figure that out. I still will be using FMQ mixed with rulers–I just like doing my own thing too much! Besides, I think FMQ is faster much of the time.
Betty M Monroe
Lori I like the embellishments e.g. wavy lines echo you added to the patterns. I have had some experience with rulers and like the straight lines they produce. I will be starting the Amanda Murphy sampler soon.
helen
I like using the rulers for straight lines, especially something like horizontal stitch in ditch. I like the Line Tamer ruler for the straight lines since it prevents my wandering away from the side of the ruler. It’s sometimes a little long for a domestic machine. Westalee has some shorter rulers similar but you have to remove a key to get into the channel and then replace it which I find to be a pain. I haven’t had as much success with the curved rulers. I’m not very good at estimating where to position the ruler 1/4 inch away from the stopping point. I’m sure practice will make better but not perfect. I don’t think I will ever enjoy the ruler work as much as I enjoy FMQ.
Kathy
I’ve used rulers on my DSM, my Sweet 16 Sitdown and now my longarm machine. I have to say it is considerably easier on the long arm. Having said that, I did enjoy having the option on my Sitdown machines to use a ruler. It takes practice and I think the biggest tip I can offer is to relax your hands so that you are not putting unnecessary downward pressure on the ruler, which in effect causes drag and difficulty moving your quilt sandwich. For Sitdown machine ruler quilting you need a good grippy tape on the back of your ruler, more so than on a longarm, because you are trying to move both quilt and ruler in unison. 99% of my ruler work was done with a 2″ X 10″ template ruler on my Sitdown. I like the crispness in the look you get with those clean straight lines on a quilt. I now use a few curved rulers on my long arm as it is easier, but my go to ruler is the same for straight edges. I don’t enjoy the marking part either but some is necessary. I much prefer free hand quilting with a few guidelines when needed, like you instruct Lori. I’ve found that specially shaped ruler templates are not for me and find it much easier to follow a drawn line of whatever shape I need. Happy quilting!
Delina Aberle
I love the sticky tape for the backs that Handy Quilter sells. It is almost clear so your lines are not interfered with on the rulers. And it hugs the fabric so well!
Barb Herreid
I’ve just recently started to use rulers with my Bernina 440 QE. I love the look of FMQ but as I’m not an artist, I have always struggled with it and trying to figure out where to go next. For me, the rulers were much easier to adapt to even though it takes some practice to get used to moving them along with the quilt itself. I found that using a Super Slider as well as tacky shelf liners (instead of quilting gloves) really helped to give me the control that i needed. I just finished my first “real” project using the rulers and am quite satisfied with it. Lori, your work is beautiful but hard for me (not being an artist – I can’t even doodle well on paper!) to re-create. But i’ll continue to read your blog as I love the inspiration!
Vivian Lewis
Tell us more about using tacky shelf liners instead of the gloves, sounds interesting. It is always difficult to learn a new skill, must keep practicing if the skill is worthwhile to you to master.
Delina Aberle
Yes – the tacky shelf liner is a grid of sticky, rubbery material. I have that as well as machingers and those purple gloves. The advantage to the shelf liner is that you can thread your needle and do other chores that you probably would take the gloves off to do. Plus there is no heat build up. I also use some of it to put under my foot pedal so it doesn’t slide around. You can also use the rubbery material they use under rugs, although there is so much of that in a package you’ll have tons left over. See which you can find at Dollar stores or other discount stores.
Terry
I believe she means the waffle looking shelf liner. I’ve seen people use that instead of gloves. You cut two pieces the size of your hands and just lie they on the material. I’ve tried and it works well, but I also have machiner gloves.
sunnysewsit
I like the look of ruler work on a finished quilt; what I don’t like is all the marking and moving the rulers. I am also beginning to suspect it might be easier for long-arm quilters who can move the machine and not the whole quilt. I am willing to give ruler work a fair chance with more practice, but I, too, am a died-in-the wool free motion person who loves the freedom of FMQ!
Gail
You thought you might like it. You gave it a try. But in the end…..Do what makes your heart sing!
Maureen B. in B.C.
Lori, do I recognize the resistance of an old dog to new tricks? Although I’m not calling you an old dog, you understand, 😉 however, since you have mastered FMQ in a monumental way, I commend you in fighting to embrace this new-ish technique. Hell, I’d just like to master one of them, let alone two! We all know you love a challenge, and now that you have the bit in your teeth (oops, now a horse reference) you won’t be happy until you crack it. By now I might have been using the rulers to prop up a pile of fabric ????
Kudos to you!
l84quilting
Good morning, while I love the look of straight lines on some quilts, the ability to do free motion, as you have taught so many of us with that artistic flair that is free motion, is what I love. I hate having to take the time to mark too much and thus the ability to FMQ, is just FREEDOM! It may not always look perfect, but as the Amish are always letting us know: there is only but one perfect! “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and that is a big reason I started following you: You make it so that I am not afraid to FMQ! THANK YOU to both you and Amanda, but don’t lose sight of yourself. I absolutely love your instruction and design. I tell everyone that tells me that they can’t FMQ, to check your website out, because your work is soooooo forgiving and gorgeous! With that Lori, I hope you decide on YOUR work.
quilter1522
I recently used Angela Walter’s Slim and Shorty rulers by Creative Grids on a quilt where I needed to have straight lines without using a walking foot. While it takes practice to use rulers on a home machine (I use a Bernina 770QE with a #72 ruler foot), I was happy with the results. I was able to quilt long-ish, straight lines and switch right to free motion work like swirls and loops without changing feet. I haven’t tried any round or curved rulers as yet. Lori, I like your free motion sampler better than the ruler one as it has more movement and interest. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Amanda Murphy’s quilt-a-long.
susanstitch
I LOVE the way ruler work looks and I like the ability to make straight lines with the ruler. However it takes a lot more time and is more difficult for my machine. I have an Artistic 16 sit down, and the ruler foot is VERY tight — I have trouble getting it over seams. Fussing with that and the ruler is just too tedius, so I use rulers where absolutely necessary and free motion the rest.
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