Learning to use rulers with machine quilting!

 In this era of COVID, learning new skills can be a real challenge.  I am very fortunate to have a group of quilting friends who discovered a "Ruler Class in a Bag".  It is DVD of lessons from the creator of Westalee rulers, the rulers, and a project guide booklet.`

We arranged for a number of us to purchase this "Ruler Class in a Bag" kit and then have weekly Skype calls where we play one lesson in the video and work while on the call with the block of the week.  We would encourage and support each other as some weeks were very clear and made sense and others were a little tricky.  We would be there if someone had to pull out a seam ripper (which I did often, especially since this was my first time working with rulers and those first few weeks seemed extra challenging).

I am amazed with myself.  Even though I have a beloved sewing machine that has a seized side-to-side motor and an off-centre needle position (which means some of my quilting is wonky), I am so happy to have already learned so much about working with rulers.  Below are two of the blocks I created:

One note of caution I would share:  If you don't have a ruler foot for your machine, you will need to purchase one separately.  It comes in low shank, high shank, and longarm versions, so it is important you check out what type of machine you have.  If you already have one, you'll also need a curved ruler that Westalee sends out with their ruler feet.  Confused you yet?  Well, check out the link from where we purchased the class in a bag (though other stores that carry Westalee rulers may also have this).  I should mention that I have no vested interest in this link, but here is where we purchased this kit:  https://www.stitchintheditch.com/Quilt-Class-in-a-Bag-s/1196.htm

Have you challenged yourself to expand your skills with quilting?  How did you do it?  I'd love to hear from you about that.

Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilts - The Saga Continues

 I am fortunate to have a group of quilting friends who introduced me to Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilts.  If you have never heard of them, they are an annual right of passage for quilters around the world.  On Halloween, Bonnie releases her theme for that year's project along with fabric requirements and colour inspiration.  She then waits for US Thanksgiving to release one clue a week until early in the new year.

These quilts are not for the faint of heart, but you will learn a lot.  I know I have!

I mention Bonnie Hunter quilts today for two reasons:

1)  The second Bonnie Hunter mystery I've attempted, Frolic, is now got a complete top.  The piecing is done.  It may be more accurately described as piecing, ripping apart, piecing more, ripping apart more, and so on until I got this:

I can not even begin to say how proud I am of myself on this.  This is the largest quilt I have made yet.  Now to figure out how to quilt it!!

2)  This year's Bonnie Hunter has been announced and the race is on to decide on fabrics.  For those new to Bonnie, it is always safest to use her colour recommendations.  Some brave souls decide to do a variation on her colour selection.  Even though I love her colours this year, I decided I was going to challenge myself to change it up.  For inspiration, I used a picture of my father from Christmas's past and I entered into an online tool that would pick out colours in the picture for me.  Here is what I got.

I took this to my local quilt shop, and was able to select the following fabrics:

I'm a little scared, but also very excited to take on this challenge.  As you'll see in the coming posts, this is one of the three mystery quilts I am undertaking.  No one could ever say I wasn't a glutton for this kind of punishment, but I love it and in these days of COVID, quilting is a source of positivity in my life.