Machine Quilting Unlimited - Special Edition - Winter 2011

from 1 to 2. Now, reposition your ruler, and stitch
a line from 2 to 3, forming a V. (Illustration 2)
Continue from 4 to 5, from 5 to 6 and so on
until you come to 9, which is the point at which
you started your design. You just stitched out a
beautiful Mariner’s Compass-type star, and it was
so easy! (Illustration 3)
Step it up a bit and work on a design that has a
little more ‘oomph’. It is still a star, and it is still
very simple, but it will look like lot more work
than it actually was. Start with a circle, and
subdivide it evenly into sixteen sections. In the
middle of the circle, add a second circle. This
circle can be as large or as small as you wish.
(Illustration 4) Place your ruler diagonally so that
you can stitch from the point at which one of your
subdivision lines crosses the inner circle to where
the next line intersects the outer circle. Pivot
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your ruler and stitch diagonally down to where
the next line crosses the inner circle, continuing
around the circle until you return to your starting
point. Finish by stitching the inner circle to add
another level of interest to the star. See? That was
so easy, but it looks so cool! (Illustration 5)
Now dress that star up even more. This time you
will add a third circle, and again, this circle can
be whatever size you wish. (Illustration 6) Stitch
a star using the technique you just learned, but
instead of ending with a simple eight pointed
star, stitch a second star, bouncing your stitching
lines from the innermost circle to the middle
circle. (Illustration 7) Ta-da! It looks complex,
but it was no work at all.
Next, work on border designs. A perennial
favorite among quilters is the Hanging Squares
border. It is a design that works equally well in
12 Machine Quilting Unlimited | Special Edition Winter 2011
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