In November I posted about the fun I had using rulers to quilt our new, king size bed quilt. After finishing it I wanted to machine quilt some more – can you believe it!?!
We have a friend who is going through a particularly difficult time right now. He recently showed quite a bit of interest in my quilting, so I decided to go through my pile of unfinished class projects, layer one with plush fleece, and finish it to keep him warm this winter.
This ricochet method will work well with a walking foot on a domestic machine, but I had fun using it with a ruler on my mid-arm. I know quite a few quilting friends who have purchased the ruler foot for their home sewing machines, along with the necessary quilting rulers, but they have been hesitant to try them out. I highly recommend jumping in – but do it on a lap sized or smaller quilt 😊.
The lap sized top I chose was in my favorite warm shades of orange and brown, and was made up of oodles of half square triangle blocks.
I could have gridded the entire quilt on my home sewing machine with a walking foot, but this time I decided to have some free-motion ruler fun! I quilted all the long diagonals on the quilt with my channel ruler, connecting the corners of the blocks “free-motion”.
Each time I completed stitching the diagonal of a square, I’d slide the ruler down to the next intersection and continue the quilting line.
Now here’s the fun part – when I reached the edge of the quilt I simply repositioned the ruler on the perpendicular diagonal and “bounced” up in this new direction, as if the stitching was ricocheting off the edge of the quilt. If you are using a walking foot on your home sewing machine, the quilt would simply need to be rotated in the new direction.
I continued to bounce around the quilt in this manner and only had to stop and restart 4 or 5 times to complete the quilt. In a matter of a few hours it was done! I trimmed the fleece around the quilt at 1″, and folded it up to make a nice soft self-binding.
And here’s the quilting from the back. I think the quilting looks great on the fleece.
We gave it to our friend and he seemed quite pleased! What a blessing to be able to give a gift of love and warmth. I know so many generous quilters who make quilts out of love for others and I’m sure you all understand the joy that comes from giving a gift from your heart! Praise the LORD!
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And here’s a quick follow up to the 3D quilt instructions I shared a few weeks ago (click here to link to that post).
I’ve had many comments and questions about this pattern. I was thinking it would be fun to play with the dimensions of the Lover’s Knot blocks: what if they were made smaller – perhaps cutting the strips 2″ or even 1 1/2″! By making more blocks, the design could become even more intriguing.
Also – once the blocks are made, they can be arranged in many different patterns. If you decide to make a quilt, please don’t limit yourself to the layout I chose, but play around… and then send me pictures 😃!
Carolyn Parrott says
Chris,
The channel ruler looks like fun! And helpful, too. Where can it be purchased? It will be used on a Babylock. Enjoy your tips and your news.
Thanks,
Carolyn
clkquilt says
It’s called the Line Tamer from Four Paws Quilting: http://fourpawsquilting.com/pages/template.html
I have the smaller one for my mid-arm and I love it because of the extra control!
Janet Sabol says
I’d like to know where to get the channel ruler, too. I have a Bernina 770QE. I have purchased Westalee rulers & taken a class but need to practice!! There’s always so many patterns I want to piece.
Judy says
Where do you purchase your fleece? Do you need a special needle to quilt thru fleece? Judy
clkquilt says
I purchase the fleece at JoAnns. It’s really the only option close to me, and I’ve been happy with the results. I used a sharp needle and it worked great.
Lisa Giesfeldt says
Thanks, Chris, for the information on what looks like a very useful tool. I’m putting it on my birthday wish list.
When you say small, was that the 7 1/2” one?
clkquilt says
Yes!