double wedding ring quilt, I hesitated about purchasing specialty long arm rulers to the tune of $70.00! So, off to the local hardware we went. Warren at Gilroy's GotIt in Ionia is a Saint! He has cut a number of cutting templates for me from plexiglass, but once he heard what I was trying to do, wasn't sure that plexiglass was going to be thick enough to keep my hopping foot from jumping the ruler and thus throwing my machine timing off.
So, he sent me on to Bert's Glass for a piece of Lexan Polycarbonate. This stuff is amazing, it is about 1/4 inch thick and perfect for a quilting ruler. I had used my AccuQuilt GO! cutter to cut a perfect double wedding ring arc and melon from a piece of cardstock. I took these cardstock shapes and my $6.00 piece of Lexan back to Warren at the hardware store. Warren was able to perfectly cut my shapes out of the Lexan and YIOLA! A perfectly shaped and sized arc and melon shape to use as rulers. A big plus? Warren said "no charge".
I am so happy with my local guys for helping me out. Now I'm going to be able to put that huge double wedding ring back on the frame and finish it.
Here is a picture that shows the cardstock shapes that I cut out with my AccuQuilt GO! and the double wedding ring die along side the pieces of Lexan that "Warren the hardware guy" cut for me.
I love it! Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteWhile I found your blog interesting, I have to tell you I felt like you were speaking a foreign language. haha You do an amazing job with those quilts.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. What did the hardware guy cut the laxan with? This might be a good idea for other shapes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant idea, but if you had them cut the lexan the same size as your die cuts, won't your "ditch stitching" be too far from the seam line, once the quilt is seamed together and then taking the hopping foot size into consideration???
ReplyDeleteEven the expensive commercial rulers for the dww are merely several sizes of melons. The ruler is held in the proper position and moved as you go along. All you really need is the proper curve. If you do a google search, you will several available.
ReplyDeleteThe melon was cut with a skil saw and lightly smoothed with an emery cloth.
Fabulous idea (and I'm one of those quilters who have to have every style and size of longarm ruler available in the universe)!
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