Let's Do Some Ruler Work Linky Party #4

Another 2 weeks have gone by and the world has become a somewhat scary place. Hope you are safe and well and keeping your spirits up whether social distancing, self-isolating or in actual quarantine.

I have not been blogging for the past 2 weeks mainly because my blog has been the target of spam galore. Initially I tried to limit this with word verification however that did not work at all and eventually I put on 'comment moderation'...something I have not had to do since I have had the blog, but it just got too much. So, for the moment, I will run with the 'comment moderation' to see whether it subsides. Very annoying.

Anyway, today I tested the Heart Shaped Ruler of the Handiquilter Ruler of the Month Club 5. Still have not got my new machine so I am doing this on my domestic sewing machine, the trusted Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2.

The HQ Double Hearts Ruler

This ruler is the only ruler from Handiquilter (as far as I know) that you actually turn over to complete the heart. Usually you only use the side with the writing facing you otherwise your design would not come out accurately as the lines are scored on the bottom side and turning it around would distort alignment.

Obviously can be used to make motifs in a hurry and also heart designs in a sashing or border space.











So, here it goes...did some sashing designs to start off with by just shifting the ruler along (using the smaller heart shape). The full smaller heart in the second line comes to 2-1/4in, so fits nicely in a 2-1/2in space.

Then I did the motifs. The bigger motif with the nested hearts (love this!) comes out at 6-1/2in and the smaller one at 4-1/2in. Very handy to quickly put a motif into a square, something which I do quite often in the baby quilts that I make. I actually have a heart stencil that I normally use for this, however that means drawing it out, then going over it etc. ...this ruler makes the job much easier, all you need to do is put in the cross hairs to quickly and accurately stitch out the design. Even on this little practice sandwich it came out very accurate. Also did the hearts running up a center line which could be used in a border by stitching one side first, turning the ruler and then going down again on the other side. Too easy!
Stitching this out on a domestic machine though was interesting. The ruler is quite big, i.e. 7in x 4-1/2in, so it is somewhat awkward to hold. Also, as you are turning it over, I did not put the Handigrips on. Let me show you what I used instead, something that I use quite often with all rulers (even if they have the Handigrips on) for added stickability.

I bought a roll of this white rubber-like non-slip liner from the hardware store that you can use in drawers and under the carpet. I usually have two little rectangles that I slip under the rulers to help prevent them from slipping. Works really well, however I have been known to sew them to the back of my quilt, as I keep losing them as I go along! Something to watch out for...

Very handy ruler to quickly do some heart designs!

Time to share what you have been working on with rulers whether it is an old post or something you have done recently. Similarly, any tips or tricks that others could benefit from as they embark on the ruler quilting adventure would also be great.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Karin