Video Post: Pointed Oval Ruler and Freehand Feathers

Here's a video I created from the live Facebook footage from the Amish Bars Quilt-along. It features both quilting with rulers and free hand feathers. It was a lot of fun to do!

I've been adding videos to my YouTube channel nearly every week, so if you don't do Facebook, you can still see some of these segments. I love doing these free motion quilting videos!

Amy's Amish Bars QAL: The Videos

Here are all of the FB Live videos from Amy's Amish Bars Quilt Along on the AmyQuilts FB page

This QAL got off to a rough start. I started in a rush and didn't like what I did and it had a pucker on the back so we're starting with this video instead.




Absolutely adoring these whirling curvy feathers!



Next comes some tiny feathers.



Next is some geometric looking ruler work. The ruler used is one that comes in the Janome Ruler Work Kit which is a nice assortment of high shank rulers.



And more feathers.



Crosshatching using my Low Curve Mini. Can also use the QPC BFF ruler.



Some dithering about with this video as I design on the fly what I want to put into this inner border. I change my mind a few times.


Still working out this design....



Finally in the below video, I figure it out and stick with it.



This project might need to be named the Indecisive Quilt! Below is a great design for a border, but again I changed my mind.



The below video is a quick follow up to the above video as I decided to change things up!




Loving the use of this Double S ruler for my outer border!



Fair warning on the below video...I change my mind on the feathers afterwards!



Time for some curved crosshatching...



Trading the feathers for some straight line work!



Whew! What an adventure we've been on! It's time to move on to our next series, so this shows the last of the Amy's Amish Bars QAL. It will be back in its finished glory in an upcoming post.

Roses and Arrows Quilt Along Series Videos

We've been having a blast with the Roses and Arrows quilt-along over at the AmyQuilts Facebook page. Have you been quilting along? It's not too late to enjoy this fun and laid back project to improve your free motion and ruler work quilting skills. I even have a few kits still available and all the videos have been posted after the live broadcast finished.

Below are the videos so you can find them easier than scrolling through the FB page and watch them without having to be on FB. Though I suggest you check them out on FB to see peoples comments, questions, and my responses. These can be pretty helpful too.

Remember that these live videos are a little more ramble-y than my Youtube videos. I'm not sure how much of these videos, if any and when, will be added to my YouTube channel. Most are around an hour long. Feel free to skip ahead through the chit chat, but keep in mind, sometimes FB doesn't load things well when you skip ahead.

To purchase the Quilt Along Kit and the Backing Kit.
There's also a thread kit which gives you a choice of two top threads and a great color to use on the back with our backing fabric.
Finally, we're using a few rulers on this panel and they are the QPC #12 and BFF or my new Low Curve rulers #12 and Mini. I've put those into a Starter set. Plus you'll want to use a straight ruler and this is my favorite straight ruler.

First we started off with piecing the panel and borders. That link is to the blog post with instructions. Here's the video on Facebook: Roses and Arrows Part 1, which is a bit of an introduction

An Intro to McTavishing

For our next video, due to a brown out at our shop following a big snow storm, I did a video at my new studio and I demonstrated the McTavishing design I will be using in the center of the panel. Drawing this design really helps! Watch this video in Facebook or watch it below here on the blog.

Beginning to Quilt the Panel

Posted on January 23rd, watch on FB or below. Showing a little stitch-in-the-ditch followed by McTavishing in the center of the panel and discussing how to work around and through the letters across the panel.



More McTavishing....

January 26 video is about more McTavishing and another way to work around those letters to make things extra swooshy.

Starting with Ruler Work!

Next we introduce simple straight-line quilting. I'm keeping it pretty basic for folks who are new to quilting with rulers. This video was shot January 30th.

Adding in Crosshatching

This video was done February 2nd and we continued with straight ruler quilting and added in curved crosshatching.



The below 2 videos had a little technical problem and was shot in two parts on February 13th. and focuses on stitching with rulers in the flying geese.





Below, February 16th is a bit of a review.



February 23 is working a very simple design in the narrow inner border.

Curved Echo Border

February 27th, my first video in the new studio! In this video below (watch in Facebook) I show a great border design.



March 6th is a follow up to the border design. Watch it on Facebook, or below.



Starting with the video below, I move to a 3 video per week schedule: Wednesday at 1pm and Fridays at 1 and 5pm. Watch this video shot on March 8th below or directly in Facebook.




The 5pm video below or watch in Facebook. I start stitching some backgrounds fills around the "pieced" blocks.



This next video, shot March 15th at 1pm, includes another background design as well as a tutorial on thread tension and free motion quilting. Watch below or in Facebook.




Next is the 5pm video from March 15th showing a design worked around the flying geese units. Watch below or in Facebook.



In the below video, we revisit the flying geese units with a stitching path that allows the entire row to be stitched continuously. Watch this March 20th video directly on Facebook.



That's nearly all the videos, there will possibly a review video before the final one. Sections of some of these videos will be edited for use on YouTube eventually.

On March 27, at 1pm I revisited the narrow border and dressed it up a bit! Enjoy the video below, or watch directly through FaceBook.



That's the last video on the quilting folks! At least until I get one of mine completely quilted and bound.

We're gearing up for another quilt along which will start April 24th. Here's a direct link to purchase the kit for the American Valor Quilt Along.

Amy's Quilting Juggling Act

Hard on the heels of teaching at the Janome Education Summit, I've been dabbling in quite a few quilty projects, though only a few or them involved quilting with rulers or ruler work. Click on the above link to read about the summit and links from other fabulous participants.

Janome passed along some photos from the event, so I thought I'd share them with you too. The Summit was my biggest class yet in teaching free motion quilting with rulers. Thank goodness we all had the same machine (Janome 9400), ruler foot and the Janome Ruler Work Kit for our rulers.  That made it a lot easier even though some of our participants hadn't done free motion quilting before.

Here's a great shot of Sarah Ann Smith! It was an honor to have her in class as she's been an inspiration over the years. She totally did her own thing with the project and gave a fabulous write up on the quilting with rulers class segment on her blog.

Have you seen the Jelly Roll Rug yet? Just had to make one of these fun things. I used a jelly roll and two rolls of pre-cut batting strips, but it's an excellent project for using up scraps of batting.

The trick to getting a nice flat rug instead of a ruffled thing my husband said looked like a swimming flounder is to make sure to sew on a large flat surface (pattern gives a suggestion how to set up machine next to a table if you don't have a machine cabinet) and to ease the fabric around the curves. I loved using my Horn cabinet for this.

As soon as I returned from the Summit, I had to get cracking on my shop's Row by Row pattern and project. Row by Row (aka rxr) is like a giant shop hop, all across North America (possibly elsewhere? Unsure) where travelling quilters collect either free patterns or buy the kit from shops. If you are the first to show a finished "row" quilt with 8 patterns from row shops, to a participating shop, you will win a bunch of fabric. It's something really fun to add during your summer travels.

My "row" is actually an 18 inch block as they are allowing different pattern sizes this year. I played with my machine's decorative stitches and a couple of different weights of Aurifil thread on it. I'll write up more about Row by Row closer to the launch date of June 21st. 

I'm really excited about this fabric line by Hope Yoder that we've got in the shop, especially the panel. I decided to order two more bolts of the panel in the thoughts that this might be the basis of my first either Quilt-along, or a new online class. I've got kits for this quilt featuring the panel in the shop right now, but I'll let you know more about what I want to do with it soon. Need to get the additional panels in before I launch something online.

Speaking of hosting a Quilt-along or a new online class, I'm working on two big changes for you  and my business/teaching.

Ever since we bought our bricks and mortar shop, Sew Simple of Lynchburg, I've been neglecting this blog and my video making. I've been scattered in several places online too and it's been quite a juggling act. To make up for my lack of blogging and video making, I've been shooting more live Facebook videos and they certainly helped me feel more connected to you in my online audience, but I've really been spread thin. Live videos are fun and easy to do, but lacking when it comes to organized instruction.

I finally reached out to a pair of mentors of mine and asked them what to do with my websites. I was afraid to hear how bad my sites were as I'm the one who set them all up, so they're a bit amateurish, though fit for my tiny budget. Their advice? It was that I need to condense the various sites into one site if possible and shorten the url. If you've ever heard me struggle in a video to say "I'm Amy from Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures," you know they're right!

So....I'll be transitioning everything over to AmyQuilts.com!

I'm excited about the change though it will take a lot of work and a bit of time to get everything moved. If you follow the blog via a feed reader like Bloglovin' or something else, I'll let you know when the blog makes the switch and you'll want to change your settings to the new blog. This blog will stay online, but I won't be adding to it once I make the switch.

Lastly, I'm looking at doing some of my own online classes! These will fit somewhere between the highly scripted classes I did with Craftsy and my very casual, informal Facebook live videos, or even my YouTube videos. This will give me better control over the content I teach and how I teach it. Some classes will be free, others will be paid. All will be full of great information and taught in my laid-back style.

I'm very excited about these changes and I hope you will be too! Let me know your thought in the comments.

Janome 9400 Ruler Foot and Upgrade

So many people have been asking me about a ruler foot for the 9400 and I can finally let you know that it's almost ready to launch. Dealers have already gotten this information, so while I can't really tell you all about it until the public launch, I can tell you its on the way and I'll give you full information about it shortly!

Quilting with Rulers: Orange Peel and Continuous Curves

One of the neat things about being a Craftsy Instructor is it's a great source of questions regarding quilting with rulers on sewing machines or sit-down long arm machines. Good questions, even those that someone might think is a stupid question (and I don't think there's such a thing), let me know when there's an area that needs a deeper look and better explanation than I can do in seven 20 minute somewhat one-sided lessons.

I've had a few questions over the years as to what size ruler to use for orange peel or continuous curve designs in squares of piecing, usually with someone asking for a ruler recommendation for a particular sized block.

It's quite a difficult question to answer with words, or at least explain the 'why' of the answer. But today, I just felt like giving this question a fuller explanation and since it's longer than really can fit in the Q&A portion of the Craftsy platform, I figured I'd tackle it here. (Of course leaving a link in the class platform.) So here goes....

Q: What size ruler do I need for an orange peel design on a field of 4 inch blocks?

A: It depends.....

See? That's why it's hard for me to answer in words! If I were a ruler making company, I'd probably tell you exactly what size, or sizes for each block size, and a handy link to buy said rulers. That's why my second Craftsy class (instructor affiliate link) is all about making the most out of rulers you may already have.

I do have a shop that I sell rulers from, but I'm first and foremost a quilter, and the frugality that's been a huge part of my life as a stay at home mom and now, as a small business owner makes me leery of adding stuff if I don't need it. But IF I think I'll use it, I do love having the right tool for the job! (Anyone needing proof of that can look at my car and then look at my wonderful Janome 15000 and see where my priorities are....ahem.)

I managed to work up the following graphics to illustrate my point. For a series of 4 inch blocks, it might seem like the answer is a circle or arc that reaches across the corners of that block, or whatever sized block.

The problem happens when you realize that the desired circle would have the same diameter at the diagonal of that square. In the case of the 4 inch square, having brought out my long neglected Pythagorean theorem, is that would be a circle measuring 5.66 inches. Which you aren't going to find a ruler in that size, not even an arc (arc rulers have the same sized curve as the circle they are named after).

The more likely measurement is to use an arc or circle (I prefer arcs when you go to larger sizes, BTW.) for twice the size of the block. This gives you the orange peel in a diagonal orientation which is the traditional orientation of the orange peel block.

  So for this 4 inch block, an 8 inch arc is used. Which is an easy sized ruler to source. My favorite on my high shank machines is the QPC #8. Westalee makes an 8 inch arc as well, for those with low shank machines.

But what if you don't necessarily want that diagonal orientation? Maybe you are going for more of a "continuous curves" design? The diagram below* shows some different options. In my second class with Craftsy, I show how you can play around with the rulers you may already have to test sizes and blocks on your quilts to see if they will work for the design you have in mind.

*Partial patterns shown for clarity's sake.

In the red, that is a curve close to what is drawn up in red in the first illustration, but it's not quite. It represents what a 5 inch arc might look like, but it won't quite make a perfect circular shape and you aren't likely to find a 5 inch arc. There's the Westalee Circles on Quilts template which gives a large range of circles with their rotating template, but I personally would find it tedious to do this design if I had to set the pin every time.

In blue you'll see how a larger arc or circular ruler might look going from corner to corner. You lose that rounded shape to that of a more squared off shape, but the effect is still pretty fabulous.

In the green are 4 inch circles. You can see that they dip in too far to work corner to corner, but would work in a diagonal overlap for 2 inch squares or for completing the entire orange peel within the 4 inch shape.

Whew! There's my exhaustive (exhausting?) explanation of what seems like a simple question. I hope this helped.

Quilting with Rulers: Ruler Thickness Revisited

I was poking through some of my websites and videos recently and came across one of the videos I did just before ruler work really hit the mainstream of the quilting world.

I think this was shot with prototypes of the Westalee ruler foot and rulers, just as they were bringing them into the American market.

It's a bit rough and loooong....but does a good job at showing why I don't toe the line when it comes to what rulers work with a low shank sewing machine. This was done on a Janome 3160, a smaller Janome machine with a low shank. Thicker rulers are easier to hold while quilting, so I like to use them as much as possible.

Enjoy.

Quilting with Rulers: an Update

I taught another Quilting with Rulers class this week and it gave me an opportunity to get out my samples from my Craftsy classes. While my local students get to see samples and designs from both of my classes, the actual class they take only covers the basics of ruler work, which equates to about half of similar material from my first Craftsy class, Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine. (Coupon Details: Get 50% off the full retail price of select Craftsy classes taught by Amy Johnson. Cannot be combined with any other coupons. Expires January 31, 2018.)

This student was really new to free motion quilting, but she loved using rulers.

So many designs from just a few basic rulers.

If you look at the designs I created over the past few years, both in my classes and in my other projects, and you'll see that I keep the rulers simple. So many designs from just a handful of rulers. There are a lot of rulers being released into the marketplace these days and if one speaks to you, or many, that's great, but you don't have to load up with a ton of rulers.

I really love the new ruler foot from Janome for the MC15000. A similar version will eventually be available for other Janomes with the automatic presser foot lift. Other Janomes will still use the convertible free motion foot set and the ruler foot combination. Janome has really set the bar when it comes to quilting with rulers on sewing machines.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had mentioned the need for this foot at a Janome training about 18 months ago to the president of Janome America and while I don't think my comment was the origin of the development of the foot, they saw the interest growing in ruler work and made it happen.

They went beyond just a new ruler foot, but an actual ruler work mode! It makes it really easy to set up for ruler work and adjust the foot in the menu for the perfect height for your project. This feature will be added to the machines that will be getting this foot upgrade.

Janome also got a set of rulers made up to go with this new foot and I have a set of them. I haven't had time lately to play with them, but I will soon. They are made by Westalee/Sew Steady and lean a bit toward specialized shapes on the smaller side. I hope to give a review as soon as possible.

I have several tops ready for quilting, so I'm hoping to show you something more interesting soon. Being a shop owner sure fills your days with a lot of admin stuff. Not fun. But I'm loving the chance to be a cheerful shop where folks can be encouraged and educated in their creative sewing adventures.

I hope you are having your own quilting adventures as well!

Quilting with Rulers: Continuous Curves on Hexagons

I shared this pillow with you last week. I used ruler work to quilt it with "Continuous Curves" except as I shared, I didn't work out my stitching path ahead of time and my results were far from continuous! A couple of hexies in, I realized what my path should have been, but by then I had already stitched up my own quilting roadblocks and had to made do with several detours.

I did have a blast with the quilting anyway, using a Simple Circle template for my curves on my new machine with the new Janome ruler foot. (Janome Quilt Maker MC15000) I love quilting with rulers on this machine.

Making curves continuous takes discipline and an orderly mind, something I'm in short supply quite often. (I'm not the only one, am I?) You've got to just say no to completing one entire hexagon. Just don't do it! Instead, think "angle, angle, over, back. Angle, angle, over, back.

 Starting from the fushia at the bottom is the perfect illustration of  A, A, O, B. So is the green on the way down. But at some point you end up with something like the orange line. I don't want to cross over to the right for the horizontal motions of  'over and back' instead waiting for the purple pass to do that leg of the journey.

As I mentioned, I'm not the most orderly, being easily distracted these days (I need more sleep!) so I actually talk these steps to myself as I quilt. "Angle, angle, over, back." So far no one has come to fit me with an extra long sleeved sweater or for a vacation in a padded room.

There you have it: my orderly stitching path for continuous curves on hexagons. It's a fairly simple quilting design with rulers and suits this pillow perfectly.

How about you? I bet I'm not the only one who speaks the shapes or directions out loud when quilting. At least I hope not.

Happy quilting!

Quilting with Rulers: Curves on Hexagons

Time to get back up on the blogging wagon! I've been so busy since getting back from the Janome training in late August and them absolutely focused on learning my new machine. I really didn't think I'd move on from my beloved Janome 8200, but when the newest top-of-the-line Machine from Janome was rolled out with not only a ruler foot, but a ruler work mode....well, I was smitten.

As a dealer, I do need to know these machines and I just knew I was going to be on this machine too much to call it a floor model or even a demo model. I have never had such a fancy machine before and frankly, if I had never become a dealer, I don't know that I'd have needed such a machine. I didn't do machine embroidery before embarking on my Janome dealer journey. (I will say that Janome rolled out another model at the training and had I still been doing my quilting biz at home, the 6700P would have been The One. Total love.) Nevertheless, if you love ruler work, quilting, and embroidery like I now do....this thing is absolutely wonderful!

Look at that ruler foot! So smooth, shiny and sleek. It's a standard 1/2 inch diameter foot and since the machine sets the height, there's no need for the shank portion of my good friend, the Convertible FMQ Foot Set. With the automatic presser foot lift feature and the ruler work mode, I don't have to worry about the foot hitting the needle clamp either.

If you have an older 15000, Janome has rolled out a free update so you can get this ruler work mode (and have a more reliable needle threader) and some other features, then you can buy the new feet in the very reasonable upgrade kit. Check with your Janome dealer. If you have a MC9400, S7, S9, 14000, and possibly the 12000, Janome is working on the software upgrade to allow you to use this foot on your machines as well.

I stitched together this hexagon pillow top recently and thought it would be a great first project for my new machine and ruler foot. It's Lucky Charm from Jaybird Quilts, using the sidekick ruler and the fabrics are Zen Chic Moda's True Blue (plenty of this at our shop BTW) and I have to say the hexies went together far better than I imagined. Hardest part was keeping the half hexie pairs together.

Then I began quilting with continuous curves from point to point using a circular ruler, 3 inch circle from the Simple Circles Set.  I shot a quick video as I stitched too....

Now, I've got the pattern down pat for keeping this design continuous when working on squares, but the path eluded me on these hexies until I was halfway done. Then it was a little late. I'll do another post on the path soon.

Which meant that when taking a picture of the supposed done pillow top, I found a couple of spots that didn't get quilted above. Can you find them above? Take a look below!

Whoops! Back under the machine it went. Three more curves and it was done.

 Then, I just had to try my hand at a pipped or corded pillow edge. First to make the piping. The base I had was too thick for the standard Janome piping foot, so I used the zipper foot for the narrow Acufeed foot. I have all these feet, might as well use them. I used the Acufeed version (a built in walking foot) as I wanted my fabric to wrap evenly around the cording material without slipping.

I trimmed up the corners on the pillow top using the same 3 inch circle I quilted it with. These templates are handy for more than stitching, and I use them a lot in design work.

I stitched the piping onto the pillow top with the same Acufeed foot and I sure am glad I did when I hit the spot where I finished by overlapping the cording. Powered right through. Slowly though, so things stayed in position.

When it was time to stitch the envelope style back on the pillow, I did go back to the regular zipper foot as I could get closer to the cording with it. I hate cording/piping when it doesn't get stitched on close enough.

Tada! Look at that nice corner. So pleased with this pillow, pattern, machine, and me. Feels good to have a finished project. (I did trip the pillow down to fit the pillow form I had.)

Anybody else here get the new Janome Quilt Maker 15000?  I am very excited about this machine and ruler foot. I am so pleased that Janome once again is on the leading edge of my favorite technique. I'm also happy that those of you with machines that will eventually have this new ruler work mode and foot will be able to have "approved" ruler feet for your machines.

If you've got questions about this new ruler foot, hit me up in the comments. It doesn't replace the convertible set for most machines, just those with the auto foot lift. Those of you who have been bitten by the embroidery bug, give me one of your favorite tips in the comments.

A New Janome Ruler Foot

Janome was the first sewing machine brand to have a ruler foot, and while it was originally intended for use on a frame mounted machine, quilters far and wide began using this combination of feet on regular, stationary sewing machines.

As I've shared my quilting adventures with ruler work here for over 7 years, so many people have enjoyed the technique, whether on a Janome or a compatible machine.

In the last few years, machines have been created with an automatic presser foot mechanism which is super duper awesome for sewing, but Janome did not approve of using the Janome ruler foot combination with these machines. Plenty of determined quilters used it anyway, though it wasn't approved, nor ideal.

Just last year I was in Cincinnati Ohio at a Janome training when they introduced the Janome 9400, which has an automatic presser foot lifter. I was talking to my Janome rep about the ruler foot when Shin Yamamoto, President and CEO of Janome America came over and asked what I thought of the new machine. I explained that I thought it was fabulous for sewing but because I loved to do ruler work and the Convertible Free Motion Foot set wasn't approved for the model, I wanted to see a ruler foot for these machines.

Fast forward to earlier this week and I'm in the same hotel conference room and Janome announced than not only was there a new version of the Memory Craft 15000, called the Quilt Maker 15000 that had a ruler foot and a ruler work setting, but there was also to be a free upgrade to previous versions of the 15000 that would make them compatible to the new ruler foot and several other new feet!

 The new foot and ruler work menu settings make quilting with rulers substantially easier to set up.

It gets even better! Janome is working on updates for the other Janome machines that have the auto presser foot lift (MC14000, 9400, S7, and S9). The update is a free one performed by your dealer, the new feet will not be free. (The update will also have a replacement part for the needle threader on the older 15000 versions, to make it work better.)

Ruler work was all the talk during our dealer training. Janome is motivated to get these new upgrades and feet out asap!

The new feet (ruler foot and a few others) aren’t quite available to dealers yet, other than those that come with the new 15000, which I have sitting in my studio! I was told that the update for the 9400 should be ready in a few months.

I’ll keep everybody updated as I can.

Meanwhile, I'll be playing with my new 15000. I used it for the very first time while demonstrating ruler work to students in my Quilting with Rulers class here in the shop. It was fabulous! No more worrying to remember to put the foot down before putting down the needle or making sure the needle is up before raising the foot. It's got a ton of other nifty features, but I'll save that for my shop's blog.

The foot is super! It's smooth, rounded on the bottom and has a good sized divot at the front to better see at the needle. It attaches directly to the presser foot bar, so there's no spring part in the way. You adjust its height through the ruler work menu. This gives it great visibility.

This will likely be the machine you see me use in my tutorials from now on, unless I'm doing a test of a new low shank ruler. This means my beloved MC8200 is for sale as a used machine. I'm not sure what the protocol is for a dealer selling a used machine and listing the price online so if you're somewhat local and looking for a fabulous machine for quilting with 11 inches to the right of the needle, you can call the store (434-239-6708). Not that we couldn't ship this machine where ever, but I feel weird about selling a machine far enough away that we couldn't support it well as the dealer. Having a local dealer is sooooo important. (BTW, we are also selling a new sewing/embroidery machine, the MC14000 at a smoking hot price that I can't list online, as it's being replaced by the 15000.)

I am so happy to see that Janome has listened to its dealers and customers and are making these changes so these higher-end machines also have a great ruler foot. I was blessed enough to have an opportunity to remind Shin that I had asked for this very thing in the same spot last year and how happy I was to see it and thanked him.

If you have a Janome without the auto presser foot lift, the new foot isn't for you. Stick the the convertible set and ruler foot combination.

Quilt on!

More Template Options for Low Shank Machines: Blue Dahlia

When it comes to quilting with rulers on sewing machines, Low shank machines are at a disadvantage as the lack of clearance behind the foot limits your choice of rulers. There's only one maker of 3mm quilting rulers......

Or at least there was only one! TopAnchor, my favorite maker of fancy, specialty rotating templates has begun having her popular designs cut in a 3mm thick version. I've used her 1/4 inch thick templates all along on my high shank Janomes and I love how easy it is to position the anchor post from the top side of the quilt and without pin tips sticking up. (Because if a pin sticks up, I'm going to be the one to put my hand on it.)

I set up one of our smaller low shank Janome machines (7050) with the Janome ruler foot combination and shot a video using the "Blue Dahlia". It's a bit long (22 minutes) and also gives a little peek around my new studio/classroom in our shop, newly relocated to 2414 Wards Rd. in Lynchburg VA.

I love that this option exists now! In the video I used the 6 inch version of the template. All of Janome's low shank machines are small machines with a regular sized harp space, so using the 9 inch template is a little harder to use. Not impossible, but harder. Certainly harder with a camera between me and the machine! But there are quite a few larger throat machines in other brands that have low shanks.

I show in the video how to make the double dahlia, but I have also done a triple dahlia years ago in bright colored fabric on linen (with the high shank version) that was absolutely stunning! I'll have to see if I can find it. The markings are on the template for both the single and double version. These templates are now available at Amy's Quilting Adventures.

Whew...nope, no dice on finding that design. I had to dive deep into the archives looking for it, so I'll just post this adorable pic of my now 10 year old at 4 years old in the dress and bloomers I made her back when I had a "mommy blog." Isn't she adorable? So twirly!

A Free Motion Quilting Finale

Look! I'm making binding, which means I must have finished quilting something. Yay me! Ombre Triangles is done. (I think I need a better name for this project.)

This poor quilt had so much start and stop quilting that I kept forgetting how I wanted to quilt it between sessions, so it lost its cohesive look. But I had fun playing around with these triangles and groups of triangles. Some were done as diamonds, others as hexagons, but all pretty different.

Most of it was ruler work, with the QP Edge (12") but I also used a QP Curve #8, and a free hand scroll-y, flower fill especially around the edges. Then I threw in a few other things just to keep it interesting.

This whole quilt was done in one fabric, V&Co Ombre, and I was able to trim up the extra backing for my binding, which left it mostly as the darker teal color.

I always struggle when it comes to stitching strips of binding together. I get distracted, sometime from others around me, other times from my ditzy brain. So I've taken to ironing one end of each strip (each strip oriented the same way) at a 45 degree angle. This helps me make the angled seam point the same way and makes sure I sew the strips together properly.

Don't you hate it when you pull the strip open and you've done it wrong? Maybe you've stitched right side to wrong side? Maybe I'm the only one whose botched it more times than I want to admit?

Then I open the crease and I've got something to follow for a good straight 45 degree seam.

Now, if I had turned my binding around so the bulk of it was lying to the right, I could have used these handy dandy markings on the needle plate (see red arrows below). Janome machines have a mess of helpful lines on the needle plate! Sometimes I forget they are there though....bad Janome dealer, shame on me!

Then I switched to a different foot 'sole' for my integrated walking foot, aka the Accufeed Flex System. Love these built in walking feet that are completely removable. This foot combination has a 1/4 inch guide on it.

Of course, by the time I got to the binding, I was beyond ready to do something else and didn't audition the binding around the quilt very well and ended up with this....

Now, if this had been an actual solid fabric, I could have easily adjusted that last binding seam that joined the ends. But that ombre was making its move to another color where I wanted to do it. In the end (ha!), I worked it out as far away as I could without having a noticeable change of color between the two strips. (Totally should have done the "No Tails Binding" by Linda Hungerford.)

I like using Roxanne's Glue Baste It for putting ends of binding together. I pressed my 45 degree angle, added a smidge of glue in what would be the seam allowance, hit it with the iron for instant drying, then opened it up and stitched along the crease. Once I stitched, I popped the seam allowance open, trimmed it to 1/4 inch, pressed it open, and stitched it the rest of the way.

Next, I'm machine stitching this guy down by stitching in the ditch. Then I'm off to one of many things on my to-do list. So many things I want to make. I want to make a little girl's dress to show off a new fabric line in the shop, there's a bag I want to make from another line, I want to make a sloth pillow.... the list goes on and on!

Plus, there's moving to do! We're coming up on our one year anniversary of owning Sew Simple and to celebrate, we're packing everything up and moving down the road almost one mile to a better, bigger location. I'm so excited!

Goodness! Look how dark my hair is. I need some highlight, stat.

One of the things I'm loving about this move is that the new location has no overhead tenants. So many videos have gotten ruined by thumping feet. I think they must be little gymnasts. Also, we will have a separate classroom space from the rest of the sales floor, which will give me a better chance to work on projects. Finally, I think we're just about ready to take another giant leap of faith and look for our first employee or two. I just can't do it all, even with my wonderful husband's help.