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I’m an AccuQuilt Convert
I am an AccuQuilt newbie and, I can honestly say, I’m a convert.
I’m not new to quilting, though. In fact, I’ve been enjoying the love of quilting for over 25 years with my good ole rotary cutter, ruler, and mat.
Despite this, my piecing has never been perfect. So, my solution has always been to avoid anything that required precise cutting and piecing.
Until now!
Discovering the “A” in AccuQuilt
Full disclosure, I’m a new employee at AccuQuilt - so I was gifted with a new cutter and a few dies.
Honestly, I was really excited to try out my new “toys.”
Half-square triangles have been an enemy of mine for many years. I hated many of the steps:
- First, the dreaded math.
- Then, cut bigger-than-I need pieces.
- Stitch. (This is the fun part!)
- Press.
- And, of course, trim down. (This was the most tedious part).
After I opened my new GO! Big Fabric Cutter, I grabbed some fabric and cut my first half-square triangles.
Within a few seconds, I had perfectly cut pieces!
I didn’t even need to pin! The dog-ears made it so easy to lay the pieces together perfectly.
NEVER HAVE I EVER achieved perfect half-square triangles without trimming!
I’m tellin’ ya! Lightbulbs went off in my head and angels sang.
My eyes were opened to the unlimited possibilities of accurate cutting and stitching in my future. Apparently, the “A” in AccuQuilt stands for “accuracy.” I was feeling brave.
From Bravery to Quilting Project
I needed a project to try my hand out on this newfound quilting bravery. Fortunately, I had had my eye on the GO! Morningstar Die right from the beginning. So, I knew where to begin.
Recently, I was on a long-awaited quilting retreat and had the chance to give the AccuQuilt cutting system the full test using this free morning star quilting pattern.
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I decided to challenge myself to start and finish this 53” square wall hanging during the retreat.
Spoiler alert – I did it!
The Quilting Retreat
My quilt retreat location in Oregon, Patchwork Acres
Prior to the pandemic, I enjoyed escaping with my quilting pals to Patchwork Acres once or twice a year.
It’s a beautiful, “pieceful” setting (see what I did there?) and the host Rhonda always makes us feel so welcome.
I’m a social quilter by nature, and I find I’m at my most creative and productive at these long weekend getaways.
This was our first time back since quarantine and, let me tell you, it was just as wonderful as I remembered.
Quilting Made Easy: Cutting & Accuracy
I would never try stitching a quilt that includes isosceles triangles in the past - especially one that has 193 of them!
And if I were crazy enough to take on a project like this, then I wouldn’t bother pre-cutting the dog ears. This basically meant my piecing would be guaranteed to turn out wonky!
Well, those days are now over! My mind has been blown.
Look at those perfectly cut pieces!
Quilting Made Easy: The Test Block
Pam and Erica’s voices were in my head the whole time I worked on my quilt:
“Layout the pieces before you start.”
“Always sew a test block.”
Check and check!
I followed their directions, and I was shocked at how quickly it came together. I was even more surprised by how perfectly the pieces fit, but the pre-cut dog ears made it so easy!
I didn’t even have to pin the sections because they fit together so perfectly, every time. And look at my points!
One block, done!
Once the test block was done, I began cutting all the remaining pieces. It took me no more than 30 minutes to cut an entire quilt!
And accurately.
It’s crazy. I never could have dreamed of doing anything like this in the past.
That left plenty of time for the fun part – piecing!
Quilting Made Easy: Piecing
As Pam says, “chain piecing for days!” Only it was more like “day.” It flew together!
Tada! A finished quilt top!
Here’s me, proudly displaying my new quilt in a zoom meeting at work.
I can’t wait to get started on my next project! Sloppy rotary cutting will no longer be an obstacle for me.
