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Old 04-15-2016, 08:16 AM
  #20  
CanoePam
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Cedar Falls, IA
Posts: 918
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Originally Posted by loisf View Post
Wow! I am so impressed with your quilt, especially the quilting. It's lovely. I have pieced an Asian quilt that I love, but I haven't had the courage to start quilting it yet. A meander didn't seem right, nor did straight-line quilting. Your choice of the Baptist Fan pattern is spot-on, and now I know that I will use that pattern too, but the thought of it is so daunting. I have a Tiara sit-down, which is identical to the Sweet 16, I'm told. I've read up on the half-circle ruler set, but some users say it's really hard to use with a sit-down machine. I've read that there is a better ruler set than the HandiQuilter set, but no one seems to know the brand name. I guess I'll keep looking for a while. Thanks for posting your beautiful project. You have inspired me.
Rulers are one of the main reasons I bought a sit down. I can meander and do all over designs with leaves, flowers, stars etc until the cows come home, but sometimes I really like precision. First get a Line Tamer straight ruler; you can find them online. Put the skateboard grip or HandiGrip (from HQ but more expensive) on the back of the ruler to help with control. Practice using it for stitch in the ditch; it is life changing! Then get the half circles. As long as you practice a bit first and only use the smaller 3 of the arcs, you will be fine. Look at the videos I mentioned in my post; they are very helpful. You can do it! Give yourself permission to have stitches of uneven length. Mine vary from 8-14 stitches per inch (guesstimate), and the quilt still looks good. Even stitches come with practice (I don't have the stitch regulator).I have used the bigger half circles for gentle arcs, and they are good for that. I just won't try to use them in a Baptist fan again!As for better rulers than Handiquilter ones, everybody has their own preferences. I tried the ones with the little handles, and the handles broke off. DH glued them back on once, but they fell off again later so I just used them flat. The trick to flat rulers is the grippy stuff and learning to hold,them with your fingers while moving the fabric. HQ has some good videos.Note: I had line breaks when I entered this on my iPad, but they disappear in the post! Sorry for the lack of breaks.
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