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Friday, February 8, 2013

Ready... set... GO!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) mechanical pencils
(2) date bread with cream cheese
(3) mandarin orange jello


Don't you just love opening packages?? Me too!

I had been thinking and thinking about getting an Accuquilt GO! cutter... last week I decided I might as well go ahead and get it, especially after Linda (Sew-n-crazy quilter) in my bee told me about Quilting Warehouse.  I'd never shopped at Quilting Warehouse before and I'm glad she told me about it; they had a great price on the GO! cutter that included a really nice the starter set. 


I got five squares with the starter set  - 2-1/2",  4-1/2", 3-1/2", 4-3/4", and 6-1/2".  I was trying to figure out what was with the 4-3/4" size but I saw on one of the packages that it's really an on-point die.   


There are two half-squares that finish at 2" and 3", those should come in handy enough!  6-1/2" and 4-7/8" triangles; a 3-1/2 x 6-1/2" rectangle; a 3-3/4 x 3-1/2" parallelogram, hmmm.  The three cutting mats that I need for those sizes were also included - 5x10, 6x12, and 10x10.  The dies in the starter set are meant to be mixed and matched - clever!  Each one is designated as A, B, C, etc.   No strips were included, so I ordered the 2" and 2-1/2" dies.  Evidently the 1-1/2" strip is very popular, they were all out of that size; I'll have to get that and the circle die later.  

After unpacking I wanted to cut something!  I used a piece of fabric I got from our last bee meeting to practice cutting 2" strips.  Those of you with GO! cutters, do you press your fabric first?  I think I've seen pictures of cut strips that looked a bit wrinkled and I wondered if it made a difference...  Wanda and Gene, do you always press yours??  


The instructions said to cut an 18" piece but I didn't measure exactly, I just folded a piece twice to get four layers and placed it on the die. The handle wasn't as hard to turn as I thought it would be, it just scooted on through and I cut perfect 2" strips!  I actually had to nip the bottom ends with my scissors but that's not important, it was in the selvedge area anyway.  Note to self:  make sure the fabric is completely on the cutter... but that's what practice is for!


But the strips came out beautifully -  it's so nice to cut fabric and know you won't have that annoying v-shape at the fold area! I only had a little waste, plus an extra piece for my string bin.  Now I'll get a chance to go through my stash and the large scrap bins to see what I can cut into usable pieces. 


Moving right along...
I'm enjoying my new printer, it has a double-sided print capability that will come in handy, that'll save some paper!  Also I like the large window on the control panel, and it even has animated instructions. 

We'll see if I'm still grinning when I go to buy more ink, ouch!

That's all for today, have a great Friday and  be careful on the snow if you're having any.  Sew forth and sew on til later!

8 comments:

  1. I usually do press fabric before I cut it on the cutter or with a rotary cutter. I have cut strips without it if the fabric was mostly free of wrinkles.
    Be sure to have the fabric grain lined up so the lengthwise grain is perpendicular to the roller. (does that make sense?) See that is the grain that doesn't stretch -so your pieces wil come out the right size.
    The strips are the only dies I know of that break that rule. (and on strips I trim the selvedge first. to avoid what happened to you.)

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    1. Thanks for the info, that makes perfect sense! I laid the fabric so the fold was at the narrow end of the strip cutter. Gotta be sure and trim those selvedges!

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    2. Yes, yes, yes!!! Always press. If you cut wrinkled fabric you will have bumps and bobbles and not accurate pieces. that is what you wanted, accurate pieces!! Gene is right thst if the lenghwise grain of the fabric is feeding into the rollers it will be most accurate, however I cut it with crosswise grain headed in too and it is only a slight difference in the size of the cut piece and still more accurate than rotary cutting (on triangles mostly for me).

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  2. You will love your Go! I have the Baby....and love it; so you will be that much farther ahead with the larger one. A friend just ordered that same one...after she tried mine out....good for your!! Always press and cover your shapes...lol. We tend to get in a hurry,eh. I know I do!!

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    1. I'm so happy with my strips, I'm ready to go into my "real" stash now!

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  3. This will speed things up for you! Have a great weekend!

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  4. Congratulations on the GO! I love mine... You must get Ebony Love's book on die cutting. It is enormously helpful. I wrote a review about it here. http://fiberchic.blogspot.com/2012/12/ebony-love.html

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  5. Hello ... I wandered onto your blog from The Slow Quilter. I am enjoying reading about your experiences with your new cutter. I have never used one of these and have been wondering how they work. Thanks for sharing. Now that I am here, I am going to become a follower so I can leave myself a thread trail to find my way back ... have a happy quilty day ... :) Pat

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Thanks so much for your comment, I like getting feedback! I can't promise to respond by email, but I do appreciate your visit.