Monthly Archives: November 2003
Remove Quilting Marks With Lots Of Ice
| November 24, 2003 | Filled under Tips |
Shirley Durgan of Tacoma, Washington shares a helpful technique she learned from a teacher in the Pacific Northwest.
Fuel For Your Quilt Imagination
| November 24, 2003 | Filled under Book Reviews |
Nicole’s flair for explaining color theory leads reviewer Sophie Littlefield to dub this book Color Theory For The Rest Of Us.
Quilting Calendars For 2004
| November 24, 2003 | Filled under Product Reviews |
A quick round-up of calendars and engagement books for 2004.
Handy Block Design Reference
| November 24, 2003 | Filled under Product Reviews |
Exhaustive details on constructing over 100 favorite blocks — and it’s sized to take with you everywhere.
Store Projects And Fabrics In Free Plastic Trays
| November 10, 2003 | Filled under Tips |
Lisa Donohue from Duncan, British Columbia shares a tip for reusing garden supplies in your quilting room.
Dresden Fans In A Dramatic Setting
| November 10, 2003 | Filled under Book Reviews |
This book changed reviewer Sophie Littlefield’s mind about Dresden Fan blocks.
Wavy Ruler For Flat Seams, Vibrant Effects
| November 10, 2003 | Filled under Product Reviews |
The instructions gave me fits, but the results I got with the WaveEdge Ruler were well worth the effort.
As you can see from this picture of one of Lily Marie’s creations, you can create pieces with two wavy edges, and the two wavy edges may be offset from each other. The inch markings along the ruler help you measure for an offset.
Another intriguing effect would be to rotate the fabric a bit under the ruler before cutting the second wavy edge. The result would be slightly (or dramaticly) pie-shaped, perfect for creating the illusion of mountain ranges receding into the distance.
And the fabric you’re cutting doesn’t have to be whole cloth. Assemble several strips of fabric, then use the WaveEdge ruler to cut waves across the seams for a striking pieced wavy border.
Troublesome Instructions
Call me odd, but I always read instructions before I use any product. Most of the time it helps me avoid problems and make fewer errors. But in this case, it didn’t.
The instructions aren’t very well written in many places, which left me confused as to how to proceed. And the illustrations don’t show some things I thought were important, like how to place your fabric properly in preparation for cutting.
In the instructions, the fabric colors change from illustration to illustration, making it hard to follow what is happening. And the pins don’t appear in any illustration, making it hard to understand Lily Marie’s clever pinning and sewing technique.
The instructions also fail to mention a few things that I learned the hard way. For example, don’t try to cut waves across a fold, as the result may not be perfect. And cutting more than a couple of layers of fabric at a time isn’t a good idea – the extra depth of cut and the extra pressure on the cutter makes “plinks” more likely.
Happily Ever After
But now that I know what I’m doing, I’m excited about using the WaveEdge Ruler to jazz up my projects with beautiful, flat wavy seams. Piecing, fusible applique, or even traditional applique – this technique will add pizzazz to any project.
It was a rocky start, but I ended up very pleased with the results I got with the WaveEdge ruler. And I love Lily Marie’s piecing technique, which works fine on freehand curves as well.
Where To Buy: WaveEdge Ruler
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