SID with SR?

[fineseams]

As you all know, I don't have much time to quilt. I am still a beginner with custom.  In particular I've struggled with doing SID as accurately as I can on my DSM.  I finally marked a practice piece with lots of stars, figuring that if I completed the whole thing I would have done enough controlled straight line stuff to tackle a real quilt again.  I struggled quite a lot, did a lot of ripping, and still felt that I couldn't control the machine accurately enough.  I have a Hartley base and was using DeLoa's Castle ruler.  By accident, I began stitching one segment without the SR on.  I had also stopped so that the SPI was no longer set.  As an experiment I set the SPI to 7, left the SR off, and tried.  7 was a little too slow - my line was wobbly.  But I turned it up to 9, and found that I felt I had more control than I did with the SR on.

 

Now I'm curious.  Do you SID with the SR on or off?  If off, what SPI do you use?

 

 

 

[Zora]

I always use the SR when I SID. I don't have Bliss, and I find I can do very accurate SID vertically and horizontally without using a ruler. I use a ruler for diagonals, however. I think its just a matter of not having a death grip on the machine, and not pushing too hard against the ruler. I also find it helps to put some Sewer's Aid along the side of the ruler to help the foot glide more easily against the ruler.

I personally don't react quickly enough to use non-SR, since you have to stop very precisely, but I don't think there's a right way or wrong way to do it. If your results are better non-SR, that's what's right for you.

[Anne from Guam]

I use SR for SID. It's the ruler that helps keep the wobbles away!

[anniemueller]

I use the SR for SID, and the itty bitty ruler.  I never like to do SID, but this the best I can get. 

 

I recently discovered that when the quilt top is starched and pressed into submission, quilting SID is much easier.

[meg]

Hi Bonnie,

I always use SR for SID.

Im wondering, is your base wobbling?

I find the smaller the ruler, the easier it is for me to get a good result.

I use DeLoas little one.

It fits my hand best.

[fineseams]

I know I was pushing too hard on the ruler to begin with. It was making the base wobble.   I'm working on a lighter touch.  I'll try the shorter ruler.  And I'm sure having a real pieced quilt top to work on will also be a help, rather than just trying to stitch on blue washout lines.  Thanks for your comments!  You guys are always so encouraging!