Marking, A Cool Tool and Jazz

Marking is fraught with peril, it just is. Marks don’t always come out and marking removes some of the spontaneity of free motion-you have to hit a line instead of going free form-it’s just not my favorite thing to do! But sometimes ya gotta do it. I designed my Lily quilt to include an area of “Dianeshiko”, which requires a grid. I came up with a much better way to mark that grid….I thought.

I like to keep my marking lines to a minimum because fewer markings=fewer opportunities for peril.

Clever girl that I am (I thought), I’m not going to mark grid lines, I’m going to mark just the intersections of the lines with a dot.  After all that’s all you need. I reasoned that the lines themselves were not necessary. So I marked my intersections like this. I really thought I was smarter than the rest of the quilting world.

Until I began stitching and I realized that it’s much harder to make an even design without the lines-your eye needs the lines for reference. Now I had to go back and re-mark, using lines. Marking a grid after you have already done some quilting is tricky-you get this billowing that makes it difficult to lay down a good line. Ick.

NOW FOR THE COOL TOOL

I do have a tool that really makes this a snap though-these cool “rolling rulers”. I bought a set of these at Pacific International Quilt Festival last year and they rock. Here’s a cheesy video about the rolling ruler.

Rolling rulers let me make perfectly parallel lines with no wobbling. It’s easy: I mark my first line, roll it to the next line, mark again, and so on. Marking parallel lines this way is fast. And the lines are dead-on accurate and parallel all the way across. (There are grid stencils out there too, but I wanted my grid to be 3/8″. Most stencils don’t mark the intersection of the lines and the ones that do are for 1/2″ only.)

So on this poor tortured grid section I have ripped out my stitching 3 times: the first time because of the marking, the second time I used the wrong bobbin thread and the third time I inadvertently put a huge tuck in the backing. I rarely rip out but I’m on a Rip Out Bender on this one!

JAZZ FESTIVAL

Over the weekend DH and I were able to attend the Sacramento Jazz Festival-we think this is our 11th year. It’s such great fun to walk from venue to venue of live music. And there are street vendors and fun shops, crazy people and a lighthearted atmosphere. These guys were just having so much fun entertaining us from the deck of the Paddle Boat! The weather was absolutely perfect.All over the festival there are people dancing and drinking and having such a good time. This one is my personal favorite. Is the jazz’s answer to the Urban Baggy Pants Syndrome??

Can’t wait for next year’s Festival!