Squeaky Feet

As the holidays approach and we wait patiently for our new granddaughter to make her arrival any day now, I've been keeping myself busy by working on my ever-growing stack of quilt tops waiting to be quilted.

A few months ago, I purchased this special foot for my Juki that enables me to do ruler work on this sit-down machine.  It is a hopping foot just like the ones you see on a long-arm machine and it is a full 1/4" high so it rides safely along the edge of the 1/4" high quilting rulers (I use these rulers).

I am slowly gaining confidence as I get used to doing ruler work, and I just love the control that I have with these rulers.  But, as always, there was one thing that was bugging me...

The noise!

As this foot hops up and down, it rubs against the side of the ruler, producing a chirping/squeaking noise not unlike fingernails on a chalkboard.  Now, I admit, I am probably much tenser than I should be, and am holding the ruler way too tight against the foot...  but I'm afraid if I lighten up my grip too much the foot will lose contact with the ruler.  I've tried relaxing, but the squeak keeps coming back every few seconds.

But wait - there's a solution!!!

That's right!  Good old car wax!  I just rubbed a light coating on the outside surface of the foot, where it contacts the ruler, let it dry to a haze, then buffed it out with a soft cloth.  The squeak is gone!!!

Plus, there's an added bonus!  The foot glides along the ruler much more smoothly now.  I didn't realize how much drag and resistance was created when it squeaked.  The car wax reduced all that friction and my quilting is much smoother, and QUIET!

I'm sure I'll have to re-wax it from time to time, but it only takes a couple of minutes, and is really worth the extra effort.  So if you have a squeaky foot, try the wax!

Cheers!

Tasting Table Tuesday - Bee Happy!

Before I show you Today's Tasting Table project, I have to share just one (ok - maybe two) family pictures with you.  My granddaughter LOVED all the little gifts I made for her 2nd birthday.  It was so fun to watch her open everything and play with them.  She put the apron on all by herself (yeah!)...

...and gave her mother and me a lesson on how to diaper and dress a baby doll.  So cute!

Now for Today's Tasting Table post...
Another finished project!  Woo Hoo!  I'm happy to say that I'm totally thrilled with my new quilting rulers!  I finished quilting the entire quilt using gray thread to match the background fabric, but still thought that the four gray pinwheels in the center needed more movement.  I really wanted them to look like they were spinning, so I got courageous and added some more curved lines using (yikes!) gold-colored thread!!!

It took a lot of nerve on my part because I never use contrasting thread for free-motion (too afraid my hiccups might show), and I didn't use the rulers for this last bit - just freehanded it, using the previous gray curves as a guide.  But I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out - it might not be perfect, but it suits me just fine.

And I used a cute bee fabric for the back, which explains why I've named this quilt "Bee Happy".

Listed in my Etsy Shop here...

Now I'm on a mission to make a new purse for ME!!!  Check back next time for more details on that!

Cheers!

Tasting Table Tuesday - Free Motion Quilting Rulers for Domestic Machines

I have a new Tool on my Tasting Table to Tell you about Today.  I have always been drawn to the perfect quilting that longarmers can achieve on their machines using rulers and templates.  I have always assumed that you can't use rulers while quilting on a domestic sewing machine, because you need both hands free to manipulate the quilt.  I assumed wrong...

A few weeks ago, I looked around the internet to see if any such rulers existed, specifically for domestic machine quilting, and found this website - Accents In Design.

As many of you already know, I'm a drafter.  I learned to draw (draft) in the late 1970's the old-fashioned way using tools like these...

Now you understand why I was always frustrated when my free-motion quilting looked like sketching.  I wanted my circles and arcs to be perfect, not oblong or wonky.  I wanted them to look like they were stitched with templates - just like my drafting.  I know - with practice, practice, and more practice, I might eventually get them almost good enough.

So now I'm using tools like these...  (Continuous Curve Ruler, and Straight Ruler)

and these...  (Quilter's Template Set)

I'll be totally honest and tell you that this is the first time I've used these rulers - or any kind of quilting ruler - and I'm amazed at how easy it is and how well they work.  What makes these rulers different is the strip of velcro on the underside of the ruler, to keep it from slipping, and the two pegs on the top of each ruler.  This makes the ruler very easy to hold in position, while still being able to maneuver your quilt.

This is the Continuous Curve ruler and there is an outward curve on one side, and an inward curve on the other, so I just flip it around from side to side to quilt this curved line design.  (feed dogs are lowered)

There are handy guidelines on each ruler so you can line it up with your seamlines, or any other guides in your quilt.  I moved my index finger out of the way in this shot so you can see the guidelines a little better.  Even though the guidelines aren't on top of my seamlines, you can still "eyeball it" and make sure that they are parallel to the seams, and the center line runs right through the intersection of seams.  This ensures that all the curves will be uniform.

And just as an extra little bit of info - here's how I plan my quilting designs.
I printed an extra copy of my EQ7 drawing for this quilt, then clipped a sheet of transparency film on top.  Then I can play around with different quilting designs using a dry erase marker.  If I don't like a design, I just rub it away with a tissue or scrap of quilt batting and start again!  Then I hang it from the shelf right next to me so I can refer to it as I quilt.

So that's what is on my Tasting Table Today.  Time to head back down to my Cotton Cellar to play with these rulers some more.  I'll share the finished quilt with you soon, and hopefully have more good comments about these rulers - but so far, I'm very impressed and can't wait to try the rest of them out on my next quilt.  If you're interested in learning more about these rulers from Accents In Design, visit their website by clicking here and be sure to watch their videos too.  One shows the rulers used on a longarm, and the other demonstrates them being used on a domestic machine.

Cheers!