OMG! why didn't I try this sooner?
 

Ok I know I am a newbie even though I have had my machine for over 5 years. I keep learning different things. Well one thing that I did was to mark my quilts where I wanted to quilt them. I have been on my hands and knees marking for straight line quilting..... I have done many quilts straight line quilting and marking all of them.

Then today I have a quilt that has a lot of dark and when I mark with chalk it tends to rub off .... so I broke down and tried the quilting bar that came with my machine. I mean duh!!!! Why didn't I do this sooner???

I know its silly but I just wanted to share my excitement and say something in case there is someone else out there who hasn't tried that yet. Just try it!

But now I am wondering if they make bigger ones??? So I can quilt 4 inches apart instead of just 2" or less apart.. hhmmmmmm.... time to check the internet :)

Isn't it fun to learn new things especially those 'light bulb' moments?

I have a Husqvarna and the bar that comes with my walking foot doesn't screw in...so it actually shifts a little as you use it..... what machine do you have?

I have a Janome 6600 and this bar doesn't screw in either. I have been watching it to be sure I catch if it does shift, cause I can see that happening

:cool: I love those light bulb moments!

I do not know why more people don't use their decorative stitches for quilting there are so many stitches and they are beautiful.

I don’t use the decorative stitches for machine quilting because the stitch length is set for two single layers of fabric and is too tight for the additional thickness of the batting. It doesn’t produce a nice smooth stitch and causes puckers in the quilting. Some may be able to use them successfully. I cannot.

The quilting bar on my older Janome 4800 also becomes loose. I think the problem is that the screw can only turn one or two threads at most which loosens with the vibration of the machine.

My lightbulb moment was when I used my 1/2" ruler (used for marking 1/4" lines) as a quilting ruler for echoing around a border. I used a normal foot, just being careful not to push the ruler under it. I then echoed that line by putting a the ruler against it, giving a gap of about 3/4".

I have since used my 6 1/4" square ruler for wider gaps. Tape can be put on at different measurements to give various widths between rows of stitching.

Even though I now have quilting rulers, I still grab the ordinary rulers for simple echoing or crosshatching on smaller projects; it saves changing the foot too.

I have found that my quilting bar has a tendency to move somewhat...making my straight lines somewhat wonky. So now I get out my green frog masking tape and securely tape that thing in place. Of course I may have to redo it each time I'm quilting a new project with straight lines as sometimes I want them smaller or wider...at least they are no longer wonky.

You can use any length of quilting bar as long as it fits in the hole designed for the original. You can mark off the size you want with brightly colored tape. I can use a straight part of a coat hanger since my quilt bar is secured by a screw.