Testing rulers and quilting techniques on a charity quilt

I made a quilt  top while we were traveling in our trailer this summer.  I loved the quilt top when it was done, but just don't need another quilt to store in the closet.  So I decided to quilt it and offer it to our guild for a charity auction.  I'm sorry that this picture is so bad.  It actually is quite perky and sweet.

Modern Charity Quilt

When it was time to quilt it, I had a newly acquired  set of quilting rulers and had watched a few more YouTube videos on quilt designs.  This quilt seemed like a good spot to do some practicing.

I first stitched in the ditch around all of the inside borders with my new straight edge ruler.  It's been designed just for ditch work, and this made the stitching go so much faster and stayed straight.  I now know whey stitching in the ditch is so hard for people with a long arm.  Without pressure on the hopping foot, like you would have on a sewing machine, it's very hard to keep everything right on the money.  But the ruler, for sure, is very helpful.

Next I did a bunch of free form stitching to try to get the hang of the stitch regulator.  I varied the stopping (or coasting) speed, and decided I liked it set pretty fast - at 300.  I think you'd have to be a very slow quilter (which I am NOT) or a beginner to sew with zero or a low starting speed.  The faster speed does give you a few stitches in place when you stop to reposition your hands, so this will be an ongoing lesson.

Then I used my inside ruler to put some circles in the outside border.  This ruler is a blast to use and I love how fast it is to do small circles.

I hope you continually try out new quilting motifs and gadgets too!