Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life Blog Hop

I'm participating in a blog hop. The hop is about all things Craftsy. Craftsy has sweetened my life by offering fabulous classes. My Craftsy class of choice to do a blog post on for the 'Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life Blog Hop' is by Amy of Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures  she is the class instructor for 'Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine'.
The blog hop is organized by Sandra of  'Musing of a Menopausal Melon' and Julie of 'Pink Doxies'.

Today's Febuary 11th posts for the hop are:

Cindy of Stitchin At Home you are here now
Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Make sure to read to the end of the post, as there are giveaways.

Rulers do indeed rock!! I never would have thought a year ago that I would use rulers to quilt on my 'little girl machine'. I don't have a long arm and as a couple people have pointed out mentioned they have 'big girl machines' for quilting. So I guess I'm a little girl doing big girl ruler work on my little girl sewing machine. But let me tell you if I can do it anyone can, and to boot I'm having fun and enjoying the end results.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, not so sure about that, but I do have a few pics to show you. How about some before and after photos? 

wobbly and uneven lines

Wobbly lines and all. If you look to the bottom right corner you can clearly see some of those wobblies. This block is from my Spring is Sprung quilt, which you can read about here.

first time doing any ruler work

Next up is the first time I tried ruler work, I hope you can see the difference. Lines evenly spaced and wonder of wonders straight. This block is from my Medallion quilt you can read about it here.

I contacted Amy for a few pointers, might as well get them right from the expert. Right? 

Amy's Quotes...

1. My favorite tip for starting with rulers besides practice:

"Relax! Use only light pressure of your hand over the ruler to keep it in place, using the tips of your gloved fingers over the edge to lock the ruler in place on the project. Then only use enough pressure to keep the ruler against the ruler foot. You don't have to push it hard against the foot. If you're having trouble moving the quilt and ruler together, odds are that you're pushing down too hard on the ruler."

2. "If the price of rulers comes as a shock, remember that they don't get used up like fabric and thread and you can do a lot of great designs with a straight ruler and a few curves."

3. And finally, "Learn from a lot of sources and don't be afraid to try something new or think outside of the box. Most of all, find what works best for YOU."

Last but not least her advice is "Practice"! 

Thank you Amy for being adventurous enough to try something new and to teach the rest of us how easily it can be done.

A sample from Amy's Class

How beautiful are those curves!

click for 50% off on this class

You won't be disappointed in Amy's class, she gives you really good instructions in the ease and use of rulers. She clearly explains what you need to get started, the foot, the motion and what rulers to use and how to use them on your home machine. I thoroughly enjoyed her class and it opened up the potential for more quilting designs that can make a quilt pop. Even with a little girl machine.
As a special for my readers, during this blog hop you can get 50% off 'Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine' until February 18 @11:59pm MT! This is an affiliate link, from which I get some $, if you make a purchase. If you are interested in being an affiliate I can send you a link.

mini quilt with lovely straight lines

Practice does indeed help! A few more pictures showing what just a little bit of practice can do. I made this little applique mini, it is an original design, and did straight line quilting using rulers around the outer edges of the design. 

current project with curved lines

Another project I'm working on currently, I'll show the back since the quilting shows up better. Love those curves! Using rulers you can create simple to complex designs. Amy shows you how in her class.

I did mention something about giveaways way back at the start of this post.

I am having my own giveaway. There will be two winners each one getting a 2 ounce sample of  Blue Line Eraser. This is one of my favourite tools for quilt marking and removing those blue water soluble marks is easy. "Blue Line Eraser works on any of the blue water soluble markers out on the market", this is a direct quote from the folks at Blue Line Eraser.

blue water soluble marking on white

I also used the blue water soluble markers and Blue Line Eraser on my quilt Spring is Sprung with no residual marks. It has been laundered several times and the marks have never reappeared.

blue lines are gone with just a spray

A little spray of 'Blue Line Eraser" and those blue markings are gone.

Just fill in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. It is open from Feb 11 til Feb 17. I will let the lucky winners know via email on the February 18th so make sure I can contact you. If you are a no reply blogger I will not be able to contact you, and will draw another name. I love followers but you don't need to be a follower to win. Of course if you want to follow me that would be great.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now for the main giveaway for the 'Craftsy Sweetens Up my Quilting Life' blog hop. The link for the giveaway is below.

The giveaway is open until February 21st at 11:59 MST. On Julie's or Sandra's blogs.

The prizes for the main giveaway are as follows:
2 free Craftsy classes. Two winners will each win one class.
1 fabric package consisting of:
  Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit 
  Boundless Solids Clour Theory 6 in Strips Modern Brights
  Boundless Solids Clour Theory 10 in Squares Modern Brights

You can enter the giveaway here!!!

 
Good luck to everyone who enters!

Here is the schedule for the hop:

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Judy at Quilt Paradigm: Review of classes "Design It Quilt It" and "Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts" both with Cindy Needham
Helen at Midget Gem Quilts: Review of class "Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot" with Jacquie Gering
Thursday, Feb. 11
Cindy at Stitchin At Home: Review of class "Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" with
Amy Johnson you are here!!
Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting: Review of fabric purchases:  Stonehenge Strips and Christmas Fat Quarter Bundle
Friday, Feb. 12
Zenia at A Quilted Passion: Review of classes "Start FMQ" with Elizabeth Dackson; "Secrets of FMQ" with Christina Cameli; "Help! How Do I Quilt It?" with Angela Walters
Jayne at Twiggy and Opal:  Review of quilting supplies: Pressing/cutting mat and mini iron
Saturday, Feb. 13
Tish at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland: Review of classes "Dot to Dot Quilting" with Angela Walters; "Shoot It! A Product Photography Primer" with Caro Sheridan
Anja at Anja Quilts: Review of patterns  Postcard from Sweden; 1 Hour Basket; Star Bright; Reusable Handwarmers
Sunday, Feb. 14
Beth at Cooking Up Quilts: Review of Amanda Murphy's class "20 Fresh Appliqué Techniques"
Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts: Review of fabric purchases:  Kaffe Fassett Classics Design Strip
Monday Feb. 15
Julie at Pink Doxies: Review of class: "Color Play for Quilters" with Joen Wolfrom
Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm! quilts: Review of Classes "Machine Quilting: Small Changes, Big Variety" and "Free Motion Quilting With Feathers" with Angela Walters; review of fabric purchases: 10-yard bundle and fat quarter bundles; review of patterns: Sea Glass and Snowflake