Accuquilt Go - Rag Square Die

Take a good look at this Go cutter die, it has genius written all over it.  The 8 1/2" Rag Square die pre cuts the fringes for you ( my least favorite part) but even though this is brilliant I was sceptical.  My main concern was would the fringes drive me nuts when piecing the block together?? I'll answer that in a minute, first I want to show you all the steps to make a rag quilt using the Go cutter.

The first thing I did was cut my flannel into 9 1/2" strips. I bought 2 metres of each fabric and cut it all to make a baby quilt.

Next I folded one strip in half to make 4 layers of flannel and placed it on the die. Then I placed the cutting mat on top and then tried to roll it through the cutter....nope...way to thick!!

So I just unfolded it and used 2 layers, that worked fine.  Here is the finished cut after removing the extra fabric and you can see the fringes.

The instructions with the die said you can cut the batting squares for this project with the 6 1/2" square die. So I gave that a try thinking it would make a big mess and the batting would stick in the die blade or mat (you know like the mess batting leaves on your cutting mat when you trim a quilt when it is done).  Well to my surprise no mess.  Not even a piece of lint was on the die block.

Once all the batting squares were cut I quilted the 30 quilt sandwiches with just an X.

Now to answer the question did the fringes get in the way when sewing the blocks.  Not really but it did make it tricky to match up your seams when stitching the rows together.  But this is a rag quilt and I was going to just let that go.  After all I didn't have to do any clipping and that was wonderful!!

I only found a few fringes sticking out on the backside that had flipped and got caught in the stitching as I sewed the rows together.

Here it is not washed yet.

So if you like to make rag quilts this is definately a great die to purchase if you have an Accuquilt Go.

A New Year - Scrappy Star

I haven't been too productive this past week as we took a trip to Winnipeg to see family over the New Year.   Now we are back and all have colds so my energy level is pretty low.   So I am really glad I did my first quilt of the new year in December before we left.   This quilt is the same pattern as the scrappy star quilts I made for my boys expect for one change.  My client doesn't have the half stars on the outside edge so only has full stars in the light fabric and it looks really nice.

She asked Lori to dye the backing for her and picked a medium toned green to go with the bright batik fabrics.  The pantograph is Whirlygig and I used a soft green So Fine thread.

Since I lack the energy to quilt I started playing with my Go cutter yesterday.  I tried the 2 1/2" strip cutter to cut binding strips for some placemats I had made and with one pass through the machine I had 9 straight binding strips cut!!!  I was impressed. This machine does take a bit of muscle to crank all the layer of fabric and the padding on the die through the machine but that doesn't bother me.

Today I am going to try the 8 1/2" Rag Square die.  This die if for making Ragtime quilts and cuts the fringed edges for you so I can see this one being a huge time saver for this project.  Just don't know if the fringed edges will be a nuasance when sewing the blocks together. I"ll keep you posted on this project.

My New Blog Book Is Here

Look what arrived in the mail just before Christmas.  It's my blog in book form!  I ordered it in early December not really knowing what to expect but am very pleased with the results.  The pages are glossy and the photos are nice and clear so I am very happy with the quality of the book.  This is just of my blog entries for 2009 and in January I will order 2010.  The company I used was blog2print and I would highly recommend them.   I was able to choose which posts I wanted to include, pick the photos for the front and back covers,  and pick the cover designs (they have about 25 to choose from). The only thing I couldn't change (or didn't figure out how to change) was the color of the title on the cover. It is pretty light but that's not a problem as it is just for me anyway.

I think this would be a great idea for our guild's blog as well.  It would be nice to have a hard copy of our  meeting blog entries in our library for historical purposes.  So guild ladies what do you think, should we make a guild blog book too?  The book cost less than one color ink cartridge!!!

Christmas Surprise

Look what I found under my tree this year!  I have such a sweet hubby and he said he even bought it before I asked.  Then he gives me a card that says I'll find the rest of my present is in the garage.  I jokingly say "What a new car too!!!"   LOL.   So off to the garage we go, up the stairs to his train room and there on the floor is a BIG box.   Inside was all this!!!

I was shocked to see the Volume 1 Start Set!

Now I know why he suggested we cook our turkey yesterday and just relax today. He knew I would have to try it out right away and of coarse I did.  But which one to try...there are 19 dies ( one was still in the box with the cutter)!!  I decided to start with the Tumbler block.

I found 5 oriental fabrics I bought about 3 years ago, thinking I would collect more but I didn't, and started cutting.  I was able to cut 6 layers with no problems.

Not sure if I'm going to start sewing or find more fabric to cut!!

Hope your christmas was full of surprises just like mine was.

Merry Christmas and Thanks Tim!!

My Winter Wonderland

For the last two days our northern forest has turned into this beautiful Winter Wonderland with all this frost and snow.   I have found trees with frost crystals 2 inches long just covering all the branches.  

I thought I would share a few of the pictures that I took today.

Just after taking the above picture a breeze started to knock off the crystals and as they fell they made this beautiful clinking sound.  I managed to get a shot as the frost crystals fell, it was like a mini blizzard.

 

I would like to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New Year!

Snowglobes and More

I had purchased this cute snowman fabric a few years ago on a trip and thought it was time to chop into it.   What better way to use it up than to make snowglobes!!   Who doesn't feel like a kid when they look at a snowglobe.  Don't know if I'll use them or save them for gifts for next year.  I have enough fabric left of this collection to make 4 more.

Also used up all my leftover Let It Snow fabric and made a few placemats for my table.

Then I found my mini curved blocks that I didn't use in my Beach quilt so made a small wall hanging for my bathroom.

Now I just finished piecing this top from a Bali Pop I purchases a few years ago.  The sashing is left over strips of hand dyed backing I used on my boys Scrappy Star quilts.  Now I have to dye backing for this one.

I have decided that my New Years Resolution this year will be to not buy Bali Pops, Jelly Rolls or any other precuts if I do not have a plan for them.  How long do you think that resolution will last?  :)

Let It Snow

This fabric collection is called Let It Snow by Moda and it was just one of those collections I had to have when I saw it on Green Fairys website.  The pattern is called Line'em Up and is from the book Fat Quarters Anonymous by Daniela Stout.   I used a new pantograph called Flurry by Threadsongs and light blue/green So Fine thread on top and bottom.  The backing is a Stonehenge fabric and I am really liking this fabric line for backing, they have great texture and colors without being too busy.  My picture doesn't quite have the true color of it, it is more aqua then blue.

Two quilt for me in one month!!  It is a really good thing that I quilt for others or I would have a room full of quilts from feeding my quilting appetite.  I think this one will go on my guest bed but I will admire it on my bed today then get the binding on it tomorrow.

Winner's Bouquet

I slept under my quilt last night!!   I have been working on this one for about a year now but I consider working on a quilt from the time I started collecting the fabrics.  As you can see I didn't add the extra echo.  I still wasn't sure until I started rolling the quilt off the leader bar to get a better look.  Once I saw the whole quilt I knew it was done, I just went with my gutt feeling.  The quilting looks very balanced to me and I am happy camper to have it on my bed. The pattern is called Winners Bouquet and is by Atkinson Designs.

I stole a piece of art from my livingroom to hang over my bed.  The colors matched perfectly!!

Just Roll'n Along

So here is what I decided on for this quilt.  Just a flower design in the diamond shape, one echo and a swirl design in the melon shape and a petal and swirl combinations in the print batik blocks.  The only thing I might add is another echo in the melon shape, what do you think?  Does it need another echo?  I'm on the fence about it.

Quilting the curved lines in the ditch and the echo have been made so much easier using these curved "Boomerang" rulers.  I have been using the 15" boomerang as it has the same curve as my piecing.   I originally bought them for curved crosshatching and have the 20" boomerang as well.   There is also a 12" one and you can find them at DeLoa's online shop here .  She has a great video on how to use them and samples of how the curved crosshatching looks.

Here is my border treatment.  Circles in the green and a curly vine in the outer border which is very hard to see even standing at the machine.

I'm not quite half way done and I'm starting to lose my modivation with it.  Lot's of starts and stops but I really want this one done and on my bed so I just need to focus and get it done.

Here is a view of the backing.  I know it is a busy print but it's the right color beige and with it being a bed quilt no one will ever see the back anyway.