Ally's Tumbler Lap Quilt - long time UFO

I.am.finally.done.  I have so many UFOs.  This was one of the quilts that I took to my aunt to long-arm quilt for me.  I got all of the red, white and black fat quarters during a shop hop...dear lord...was it THREE summers ago??  This was the first quilt I cut using my Accuquilt GO cutter and then the pieces just sat and sat.

My daughter LOVES to have a quilt on her lap while she watches TV, and she had actually forgotten that I was making this for her.  She's very happy with the finished product.

She was willing to pose for a few shots. Gotta love that summer, unbrushed hair look.

The back is some Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush that I just love.  I have a ton of red fabric, and it is amazing how broad the spectrum of red can be.  This was the perfect color for the back.

The binding is some of the first fabric I ever bought...years and years ago from Jona Giammalva's Fabritopia.  It's Mary Englebreit bowls of cherries.

I found out about two friends having babies in the last week, so needless to say the next two quilts you'll see will be baby quilts.  One boy and one girl.  Wondering if I should do the same quilt in different colors?  Likely I'll just use it as an excuse to buy more fabric.  Which I do not need.

Painfully close to TWO YEARS ago, I did a post about buying an Accuquilt machine and that I had cut the pieces for a tumbler quilt for my daughter.

Today, I actually finished the quilt top, and I'm calling it a success for two reasons.  One, is that I consider this my second finish for 2013 (because I'm not going to quilt it, someone else is) and two, because it's a UFO.  Finishing up started and abandoned projects is one of my top two goals for this year.

I got a bunch of red, black and white fat quarters while I was doing a shop hop a few years ago to match the dalmation minky that Ally picked out.  It's a nice lap size about 36" by 48".

Finishing up UFOs goes a lonnnng way in relieving my guilt when I start spur-of-the-moment projects like the scrappy trip along quilt.  I have two blocks of the 16 done so far, and two more laid out and ready to sew.  I can't wait to share that one.

My newest toy - Accuquilt GO!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that right after Christmas I scored an Accuquilt GO! at Joann for the amazing price of $199. I guess it was Christmas gift to myself. I had been complaining about not being able to cut anything straight. Funny thing is, just as I was getting better at cutting, I bought this really fun machine.

I was trying to figure out what to try first with it. It comes with one template, that has squares and triangles, but I wanted something more. After scouring the internet, it seemed that the lowest prices for the templates was on SewVacDirect. I have been itching to try tumbling blocks, so I bought a 6 1/2" tumbling block template. I'm just going to make something simple like this free pattern from the GO! website.



I had a bunch of black, white and red fat quarters that I bought during last year's CT shop hop. I bought them to go with a piece of minky my daughter picked out for the back of her quilt. You read that right...choosing the back fabric, and making the front match THAT. Here's what she chose:



The cutter works exactly like the company says it does. It actually seems to cut better with more layers of fabric. I could easily get six tumbling blocks out of each fat quarter. I didn't even have to cut it, just fold it.





I was able to cut around 75 pieces in, maybe 35-40 minutes. WAYYYYY faster than I could have cut on my own, and for SURE much more exactly than I am able to cut.

What was left, because the tumbling block is not square, were these great scraps. Lots of pieces, plenty wide enough and long enough. They are going right into my next experiment, wonky blocks!



As great as this machine is, and as happy as I was to get the pieces cut out that quickly, I know I won't be using this for every project. First of all, the templates can get pricey. And, to be truthful, I almost felt like I was cheating. I didn't get quite the same level of satisfaction as cutting the pieces myself. Net, net, I LOVE the machine, and I'm very happy I bought it, but I won't be using it for every quilt I make. If I'm making a special shape, or I need to make a top quickly, the Accuquilt GO! is for sure the way to go.