Sunday, July 5, 2015

Siphoned onto the 'Tumbler L/E' bandwagon!

Bonnie's at it again!  She's established a new Leader-Ender (L/E) project for 2015 -- Tumblers.  She's proposed L/E projects in the past, but I've never participated.  Other L/Es have always been underway!  
Mind you, I have a few L/Es underway right now.... Omigosh and RWB 9-patches, but....
I was feeling inspired after catching up on some FB posts this AM.
I don't have a tumbler ruler nor a dresden ruler, but... I have a geometry background and a master's degree in Mathematics.  That should be enough :D

Geometry 101:  if two parallel lines are intersected by a transversal, alternate interior angles will be supplementary.  
Layman's terms:  as long as both transversal cuts are identically symmetrical on opposite sides of a square, units pieced together in an alternating way will result in a straight line (seam.)


So, I grabbed a piece of cardboard (one of those inserts from Hancock's packaged FQs), and cut a 2.5" square.  On the 'top' end of the square, I tapered a cut in 1/2" -- and repeated this on the other upper corner.
Result:  Top dimension (unfinished): 1.5".  Bottom dimension (unfinished): 2.5".

Despite my template being made of cardboard, it isn't rigid enough for a rotary cutter.  Psht!  No biggy!  After pressing four strips together, I simply placed the template atop the strips and then placed one of my smaller rulers along the edge of the template.

It really wasn't all that putzy, nor did it add much additional time.  A few seconds.... minor!

Then, just as if you'd have cut them from a "real" ruler... the corners need to be overlapped ever-so-slightly for accurate piecing...

 and the start of a new L/E project has begun!
And, oh my goodness-----these tumblers (at this size!)-----they're kinda stinkin' cute.

Oh, that Bonnie!!!!!

7 comments:

Deb A said...

So glad you got suckered in too! I am doing a quick 5 inch one but then I'll switch to my 2.5 inch tumblers. I plan to make a template for mine too.

gayle said...

Isn't geometry wonderful? It was my favorite math ever because I could always draw a picture of whatever I was trying to figure out. (I'm a bit visual...) (And proofs were little puzzles that you were trying to solve in the most elegant possible way. Loved geometry!)
I'm already committed to my l/e project - I think I earned it - but I'll be watching the tumblers people are playing with. I've seen some blah tumbler projects, but I've lately seen some really interesting ones.

scraphappy said...

Definitely kind of stinking cute. Glad you made it work without a template. Math skills can ce so useful.

Kevin the Quilter said...

I haven't been as good as I should be with Leaders/Enders because I don't take the time to cut anything out and keep it by the machine! I may have to do it for these????

Andee said...

Cannot wait to see this one when it is done. I was already planning my red lil crumbler when Bonnie announced this one. Now I may be doing two...I have a year to complete it anyways!

Judy D in WA said...

You are so smart! I'm lost without at l/e project and have one in the ending stages right now. Just in time! I have a little bin of already cut tumblers and this is just what I need to get going on them. Scrappy goodness at it's best!

Jane said...

Can you help me out? Please!! If I want to make a 4" tumbler. What are the measurements, I not good at math and I haven't been to school in 40 years! Thanks.