Bernina Q20: Ruler Work for Easy Quilting

I've made two quilts this week, both class samples for Fall classes.

The Creative Log Cabin was started about a week ago, using the 8" Log Cabin Trim Tool from Creative Grids:

It's about 55" square and is asymmetrical on purpose. I find that hard to do but really love other quilts that I see done that way so I forced myself to make this one off-center. My husband asked me when I was going to finish it when he saw it on the design wall--"It's crooked."

As I learn to do more ruler work I watch You Tube videos to see new designs and techniques. I came across an Angela Walters video while making the Log Cabin blocks that seemed to be the perfect way to quilt these blocks:

Square Spiral by Angela Walters. I liked how simple it was to execute, no marking at all, and my favorite ruler, The Line Tamer by Four Paws Quilting would work perfectly.

I did connect the X in the middle of the red square to the four sides of the red square when I noticed on the back that the X was just hanging there if  I didn't go around the red square. This involved backtracking on one line of stitching the red square and I did that pretty well most of the blocks--one start, one stop for each block:

The back:

I did a simple half circle Amish-style border design, one I enjoy hand quilting too. It was easy to stitch, using a 6" circle template--the only marking was a chalk line down the center of the border so I could place the template correctly. I took no time to figure out the corners so each is "unique":

I put the binding and sleeve on by machine then hand stitched it down on the back. It still needs a label, that is tomorrow's task.

Today I made another sample, a "Flip N Sew Throw", that is pieced and quilted at the same time:

Starting with one yard of back fabric and a crib size batt, I worked from the middle out, laying two strips right sides together, then sewing through all the layers: 2 strips, batt, and back. When both sides of the middle strip were sewn, I pressed them over onto the batt, then added the next two strips, on either side:

The Line Tamer ruler, placed so the needle is 1/4" from the raw edges

By using the Bernina Q20 sit down long arm machine, I had the speed of free motion and enjoyed the 78" of table space I have when both table extensions are in place. It only took a few hours to completely cover the batt/back. Fast and easy.

Working out from the white center strip

I only used pins to keep the strips in place until the ruler was put on top of that area 

This still needs a label--tomorrow. I applied the binding to the back, brought it around to the front, and stitched it in place by machine--fast and secure for a baby quilt:

These strips were cut 2" wide and no additional quilting is necessary--unless I want to add more. Some time ago I did a tutorial for this method, using wider strips because I needed a larger quilt for a relative going to chemo treatments:  Snuggly Cuddly Strippy Quilt. This project is great for charity quilts, baby quilts, wheelchair quilts, any time you need a simple, easy pattern. Just choose the batt size you want to cover, make a back that same size, and cut strips in your choice of width and length, to cover the batt/back.

The delightful Stella came to visit this weekend and we had fun with her. She is 26 months old and strings more words together than just 6 weeks ago when we saw her last, like "No, Pop Pop, no help, I do it!"  And she is a techno-baby:

She knows how to "swipe right", which icon is the Photos file, where she can find Instagram videos, it's scary-amazing. My husband erased 300 "photos" from his phone that she took, she's good with the Burst button. She rarely holds still for a photo with BB but I managed to grab one:

Now I'm on to a bed-size class sample, that's this week's job.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Ruler Work--the Basics

A new FINISH:

I call this "X Marks the Spot". There are a few blog posts I've done about this quilt, like this one and I did a tutorial on now to make it, here. This is a great block for a swap group because the recipient will trim their own blocks to whatever size they want. My blocks here came from a swap with 6 other quilters in 2012.

The top was finished in 2013 and I machine-stitched in the ditch on all the black sashing seams on my domestic machine, with a walking foot. I hand-quilted a simple design across the top row, so I could add the sleeve and binding and use it as a class sample. I also hand-quilted a few center blocks, fully intending to get back to it "later" to finish all the hand-quilting. Well, life goes on, hands get older, new quilting machines get bought, and this became a good piece to practice Ruler Work Free Motion Quilting with my Bernina Q20.

A more accurate term for rulers is "templates". Rulers are used to measure things. Templates are shapes we trace/stitch around. Don't think your regular rotary cutting rulers will work. These templates come in at least 3 thicknesses--my Bernina Q20 Sit-Down Long Arm machine requires the 1/4" "longarm" style templates.

You also must have a "Ruler Foot" that works specifically on YOUR machine. The Q20 has #96 and there is #72 for domestic Berninas. The 72 will work on the Q20, the 96 will NOT work on the Bernina domestics. Do your research for your machine before you buy. All of these gadgets are costly so you want to get the ones you need for your machine. Expensive machine repairs are not what you want as you learn how to use templates--be sure you have the right foot/templates before you begin.

RULER WORK LESSONS LEARNED--these will sound like common sense to most of you:

1. Figure out the design you want on paper first.You can also use Press n Seal plastic wrap or a large piece of plexiglass with a wash-off marker to audition designs directly on the quilt. It takes practice to figure out the needle is 1/4" away from the template edge. Eventually, you will know where the stitches will hit, especially at corners/intersections.

2. Use some form of gripper on the bottom of the templates: I like Stable Tape by Westalee, or Handi Grip from HandiQuilter. You could try double-stick tape and some people like to spray 606 Spray and Fix--that will make your templates tacky and eventually you'll need to wash it off and reapply.

3. Hold Tight! Put enough pressure on the template to hold it in place. This is easier than it sounds.

4. Stop, before you reposition the template. Don't stitch and move the template at the same time, this could spell disaster. Stop, with the needle down, then move the template as you need to.

5. Check your thread tension/stitches on a quilt sandwich made from the same top and back fabrics and batt used in the quilt. I'm learning to make a "sandwich" for machine quilting from any quilt I make that I plan to Free Motion machine quilt--it's a lot easier to make this right as I finish the quilt than to go searching some time later for that fabric and what batt was that again? Nothing fancy, just a few of the top fabrics quickly sewn together, a scrap of back and the same batt--mine are usually about 8" x 10".

6. Use good quality batt and thread. I really like Quilter's Dream 100% cotton batt, Request weight, and use it most often, but not always... The thread here is King Tut for the top and Bottom Line for the bobbin, both by Superior Threads--great thread and a wonderful US company. My machine loves it--there is no tension adjustment needed at all for me with these two threads--the default is perfect.

7. Use a good chair, with good support for your back. If you don't have a cabinet or table to drop your machine in, be sure you are sitting up high enough to relax your shoulders. Stop every 20-30 minutes, even if just to stand for a second and work out the kinks in your arms/back/neck. Good ergonomics will keep you healthy and quilting longer.

8. Learn from the experts. I took two excellent Craftsy classes, both by Amy Johnson, to learn the basics, particularly how to operate the machine safely when working with templates and the basics of design. Many free videos are available from the likes of Kim Brunner,  Jamie Wallen, Lisa Calle, and many others, all of whom teach at quilt shows. They make it look easy. Look for videos from template companies too, like Westalee. These will give you confidence and knowledge on how to do this relatively new technique on your sit down machine.

Some photos for illustration:

I love the Line Tamer Ruler from Four Paws Quilting. It has a channel that is the perfect size for my Ruler Foot, #96. As long as your ditch is straight, this is an easy way to Stitch in the Ditch (SITD). Above shows the way I started, STID around the X on the block.

I didn't rotate the quilt, I simply changed the direction I stitched using the Line Tamer. Here I am coming down, back to where I started.

After the X was completely STID, it was time to do a little curvy stuff:

This is the Westalee 12" Arc, a great little template. It's about 7" long, which is perfect for most of what I quilt. Longer is not necessarily  better--longer templates move more easily and need more pressure to keep them stable and in position.

Above I am preparing to stitch the 3rd arc in this design. The template edge is 1/4" away from the bottom corner so that the stitches will meet right at that intersection. Most of the time, anyway--perfect is NOT my middle name when it comes to free motion quilting, at least not yet.

Here you can see where the template was placed--the stitches are 1/4" away from the edge of the template. This takes practice but most times I got the corners where they were supposed to be.

This quilt is not going to be entered in International competition, it just is one I love for the wonderful reproduction fabrics and the great friends who helped me make it. The fact that it has some hand-quilting and some machine quilting is fine with me--I call it the "hybrid method". Even on quilts I will mostly hand-quilt, I often choose to STID by machine--no one sees those stitches if you do it right, and I'm trying to save my hands for the showy quilting. I usually hand-quilt with wool batt--it is so easy to needle and feels great to sleep under.

Here you can clearly see the machine quilting on the left and hand-quilting on the right. It is not as noticeable when looking at the entire quilt:

Detail 

Detail 

 Since this quilt was "finished" in 2013 it was bound then and had a label in place. Today I added "2017" to the label:

Detail of the back and label

So, this one is now officially "done" and it's time to get back to Stella's Splendid Sampler--50 of those 100 blocks still need to be quilted.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Playing with Rulers

It is so much fun to free motion quilt (FMQ) using rulers. Some people call the plastic devices used for this purpose "templates", which is probably more accurate. They are used to quilt around as a guide for the quilting designs, they are not used to "measure" anything like a ruler typically does.

Hand Quilting on the right, FMQ on the left

This quilt has been languishing since 2013. I did Stitch in the Ditch on all the black sashings, then hand quilted simple shapes along the top row so I could bind the quilt and attach a hanging sleeve. I have taught this X Block quilt several times since then, always intending to get back to the rest of the hand quilting each time I brought the quilt hone from the shop after class. Realizing that was probably not going to happen, I decided to FMQ all the remaining blocks so it can be done now, not years from now.  I have a Tutorial on this block here.

There are eight blocks in each row. I am quilting one row a day, only seven more days to go and this quilt will be done. And, sometimes, "Finished is Better than Perfect". Here is how it's going:

I LOVE this Line Tamer ruler for Stitch in the Ditch (SID).It's by Four Paws Quilting.  The channel is 1/2" wide, the right size for my Bernina Q20 Ruler Foot #96. If your ditch is straight, it works great.

 After stitching the X with the Line Tamer, I use this Sew Steady 12" arc template to do the curves on the triangles. There is Handi-Grip on the bottom of the template to help prevent slipping. It works great.

The outside triangle edge is longer than the two inside edges so I made the outside line deeper than the other two. I suppose I could have made them the all the same but I like this look. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

A finished block

The back:

A busy back is the machine quilter's best friend, until you get REALLY good.

Like most things, there are a few rulers I find myself using a lot, the others I have to think about how to use. Here are most of mine:

Here are a few more photos of Ruler Work from the Random Ohio Stars quilt I wrote about here. These were taken after the quilt was washed and dried:

And the finished quilt:

Let's Quilt!

Barbara