HHhmmm... yep... i like it!

well... this was truly an interesting adventure! i was asked by accquilt to try their { GO! fabric cutter } system out and write up a little post describing it to my friends... i was really excited to try one of these babies out since way back in the rag quilt days... ( they have a rag quilt die that could have possible saved me from carpal tunnel from all the snipping i was doing! LOL )... but they were spendy and i wasn't sure they worth the money... well... my opinion is that they ARE! now i don't say that lightly... in fact when i chose my dies to try, i chose dies that created blocks that i would have turned around and ran screaming from, hence the drunken path adventure!

here it is in all it's glory... it's really not that large and easily portable ( even though some of the dies are large, they're not heavy ) i know there was some concern about wasting fabric with this system, but it occurred to me very quickly... that if your fabric is cut into 1/4 yard cuts... you really don't. plus i think you'll see a little scrap is waaaaaay worth the end result!

haha!! tip though... uuumm... yeah... you should definitely iron your fabrics before running them through your machine. ;) or the little helpful notch guide the cutter gives you to line up your block with... will have a new friend! but the reality is... it took me longer to pick out complimentary fabric then it did to crank them out on this system! it's super quick!! for sheba!!

here's where life got interesting ( for me anyways... LOL )...

can i just say... this quilt pattern scared the hell out of me!!! for sOOoo many reasons, but mostly because i was just SURE... i would cut out my blocks wrong in the beginning and then... i would sew them together creating a hot mess... considering it would only be a guess ( at best ) where to start the pinning at.... but this clever duck die... gives you these little helpful notches to match up your curves after it creates perfect templates!! who knew???

this is my first block and attempt at this pattern ( for reals!!! ) i think this maybe a machine for quilting dummies!! LOL i just don't know how anyone could get this block wrong using it! seriously... i was MORE than impressed by this system. anything that gets me over my crazy fear of curves is more than worth the money to me!! now... i will admit, that i had my doubts if the machine & die would work, so i didn't put a whole lot of thought into my fabric choices ( i thought i'd probably be throwing out a bunch of fabric in multiple attempts to get it right!! )... but after i realized, i could do this! i switched gears and started designing a more ( heather ) quilt... here's a sneaky peaky! a little more modern and a little more me ;)

and yes! i finally got to my new kitchen towels too!! as soon as i saw the new Metro Kitchen at Hawthorne Threads... i quickly bought some to add splashes of color to my 50's style kitchen. i knew i needed patchwork and i also decided ( with having boys ) i REALLY needed more absorbent towels then the typical kitchen ones... so, i bought nice bathroom hand towels instead. i lOVE them and they are soOOoo functional!!

Here's to another crafty week!!

XO, Heather