Ruler Practice Quilt #2

With the baby quilt finished I went back to my ruler quilt. Used spray basting to put it together...this time a bit more careful, so that I did not get that sticky stuff all over the floor. Worked well.

I did go over the whole thing with the basting stitch of the Sweet 16. Probably not necessary but at least then I'll know that it will not go anywhere.  

Also wondered whether my marking in the border would remain with handling and smoothing it all out and was happy to see that that worked.

Looks a bit faint in the photo but is easy enough to see. I used Roxanne's Quilter's Choice Chalk pencil and am a bit impressed with that (more on that in my next post about markers). My border design is from Cindy Needham's Border stencil collection...as you can see I chose the zigzag lines to keep it a bit simple...might dress that up a bit once I have the basic design down.

Then I went ahead and started stitching-in-the-ditch using the HQ Ditch ruler. That came as part of the first Handiquilter Ruler Club and I had not really tried it out that much on an actual quilt. Must say, that ruler is very nice and very easy to handle...like it!

It has got these rounded off notches on either side which you align directly on the seam to get your 1/4in space and it guides you along your ditch in a very consistent manner. Also discovered that if I place the notch next to the foot when starting off I can avoid that wobble you sometimes get when having stopped and starting again. Very comfortable to use and very helpful. Ever since I have got this machine I have basted and stitched-in-the ditch on it as this was one of the reasons I bought the machine...to make things easier and quicker. While it has taken some time to get used to the machine I do find it is much quicker and easier to stitch-in-the-ditch with the Sweet 16...you have got more room, can see better, manoeuvre around your less than perfect seam lines and once you got the hang of the rulers, stitching-in-the-ditch becomes almost effortless. Similarly with the basting...I have used this function on every quilt since I have got the machine...just so useful. 

My plan is to finish off the stitching-in-the-ditch and then put the structure of the border design down. As this quilt will lie around for a while and will get handled a fair bit, I am unsure whether my white lines will continue to be easy to see or whether they will become fainter with handling etc. Don't want to risk this as this would be a nightmare. In terms of thread, I am stitching in the ditch with purple Rasant thread, not sure what I will use for the ruler work that is yet to come.

Karin