Thursday, March 10, 2011

Curvy and Fun

Folks, I don't normally do product reviews.  Fact is, I bought this Curve Master foot for my sewing machine because I hate  strongly dislike pinning. It is rare that I pin pieces to sew them together.  
Fact two is that I really like the Drunkard's Path, AND I have the small AccuQuilt die for making it.  That was my incentive. 


So I got this foot:
It looks fairly plain. Honestly I saw it and said "How can that thing make any difference?"  (fact: I still don't know "how")  
So after it sat in the package a few days, I decided to pull it out and put it on the machine.  I sat and sewed the first block:
Oops! that is as off as when I did it "my way." 
So I re-read the package. (Ah, light bulb!)  A while back I had bought a pair of long, curved tip tweezers because they were a great deal at two dollars. (Surely they will come in handy!) 
I took out those tweezers, took another block and tried again.  This time I got about an inch from the end (where your fingers start to get in the way) and used the tweezers to hold that final bit.  
BINGO!  it worked. 
The edges lined up nicely, the curves are curvy, and the blocks ironed out well. And it was easy.  
One of my dear friends said she couldn't get it to work out just right. I typed up what I did in an email and sent it to her.  I hope she tries it this weekend to GREAT success. 


15 comments:

Petit Design Co. said...

I bought one of those years ago and I have only tested it out, and it really does work! I know that at some point I will make a quilt with curved piecing so it is well worth the investment. I think I paid $30 for mine and it came with the tweezers

Jackie's Stitches said...

Funny how something works out great but we're not really sure how that happens. I guess we all just need to trust the process, pattern, etc!

Pat said...

I must confess to being the dear friend who struggles with this foot. I've blogged about it and emailed back and forth with folks who can use it well and LOVE it (as Gene does) and also with some who, like me, can't get the hang of it and hate it!!! I actually saw the lady who designed it do a demo...and not once....about 3 times....at a quilt show. I bought it there and came home and have never had success with it. I'm gonna try again soon....and maybe Gene will just have to come to visit me to help me with this soon!!! LOL

IHaveANotion ~ Kelly Jackson said...

Cool....I bought one and never tried it....guess I should have. Thanks for the review....I like getting a break :)

Kelly

Barb said...

My sister has one and loves it but I don't pin my curves and so if I can get one on sale, maybe I will get one, if not, will just stick to the same ole way...I love curves...and yours look great!

Unknown said...

I've never seen that foot, but I've never tried to sew curves either......I have a hard enough time with straight line.

Hettie Pringle /Stitchingmatters said...

Contemplated buying one and now you've convinced me. Thanks!

SewCalGal said...

Great review Gene. Good to be honest and I respect your opinion. I've not tried this foot, but have been interested in checking it out. Your review definitely encouraged me. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspt.com

Laurie in Maine said...

I just made my first Drunkard's Path squares - wished I had one of those feet after watching videos & looking for tips on sewing curves.

In the end I used my 1/4" foot with the "pie" shape down against foot guide. (Seems to be backwards from all the tips). Now that you've "mastered" the curve master foot, how does it compare to 1/4" foot trying your tweezers method?

Pat / Silver Thimble Quilt Co. said...

Don't forget those tweezers can multiple task as CHEETO pickets while sewing.
PAt

Barbara said...

Not only do I not pin curves, I don't do curves. LOL. I love seeing them in other quilts though, and I'm looking forward to more. As always, I love your vibrant fabrics.

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

When I read your title "Curvy and fun" my immediate thought was "NOT". But it looks like you have found the answer. Now you can make that drunkards path quilt!

Rhonda said...

I will have to look into this curved foot......I need all the help I can get....LOL

Melissa ;-) said...

I have one of those. Haven't used it yet, though. Curves scare me!

sewfunquilts said...

Thanks for the review of this one, Gene. I don't own it, but you make it sound like I need to get one. (I don't mind pinning, tho.)