Getting your blocks the right size...

As a quilter, we all know that having a finished quilt turn out square starts with great cuts.  When your cuts are right, your seam allowance is right, your block goes together right and the finish quilt turns out.... You guessed it, RIGHT!

AccuQuilt GO! Is a great way to make sure your cuts are right on the money, but if you don't have that luxury just be extra cautious with your rotary cutter.  You can do this.

Now, in this example I have two half square triangles which need to finish at 3" + .25" seam allowance on each side.  So once they are sewn together, the square unit should be 3.5".

If for some reason it measures differently, STOP right there and figure out why!  If it is a seam allowance issues, and more than likely it is, we could end up with out final block being .5" off and that is not good.

Next I want to share a board that I use often.    It is just a piece of foam board from the school supply section with a piece of spare batting glued to it.  I have these in many sizes and at least two per size.  It's like a mini design wall.

I lay out my pieces as the finished block will look.  This saves me so much time at the sewing machine.  When I get to my machine, I don't have to think about how the block goes together.

Once laid out on the board, I can determine which way I need to see my parts so that I can chain piece as much as possible.

In this example, I need to construct the center block first, the. Add the flying geese and remaining half square triangles.

Once the center is sewn, it is time to measure again.  Since this finish size is 12", I know that the outside rows should be 3" each and the center should be 6" + .5" total seam allowance (.25" each side).

Again, if the measurement is off, STOP and correct the problem before moving forward.  You can see below that the block as finished at 12.5" (12" block + .5" seam allowance).  That is exactly what we want to see.

When you get in the habit of checking your measurements, you will see a huge difference in how your quilts turn out.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in purchasing your own AccuQuilt cutter to help you start strong, please let me know.

AccuQuilt Page Coming Soon...

Just a heads up that I closed down my "store front" website and will be adding the new dies ONLY to a page on the blog.  I am still very happy and interested in helping you with all your AccuQuilt and Superior Thread needs.  Please email me with any orders that you need or any questions you might have.

Happy Quilting...

Rhonda

Focus New AccuQuilt Die - Schoolhouse...

Oh my goodness... I can't wait to get to work with this new die.  You are going to love it.

Look how cute this is.  This is a modern version, but can you imagine a red and white.  Oh my...

To get yours today, go to www.stitchesnstories.com.

Let's GO! Have A Snowball Fight!

My friend Bea is hosting a AccuQuilt GO! Challenge for 2014 and ask me to be a guest blogger for February.  Hope this blog post can be worthy of Bea and her great generosity and creativity.  Thanks Bea for all you do.  You can check out more of Bea AccuQuilt GO! Challenge post here... http://www.beaquilter.com/

We are going to focus on the new GO! Snowball die.  There are so many variation that this block can be layout out... just play with it and enjoy.  I have to give the credit to AccuQuilt for these directions... I just typed them up so you can enjoy.  :)


Dies Needed:
55330 - GO! Snowball - 6" Finished
55059 - GO! Square - 2-1/2" (2" Finished) or 55018 - Value Die

 

Cutting for 9-Patch Blocks 

–Fabric #1: Cut—20, 3” x WOF Strips
•Sub cut into 160—2 ½” x 2 ½” squares using the Value Die (55018)

–Fabric #2: Cut—7, 3” x WOF Strips
•Sub cut into 100, 2 ½” x 2 ½” squares using the Value Die (55018)
–Fabric #3: Cut—7, 3” x WOF Strips
•Sub cut into 100, 2 ½” x 2 ½” squares using the Value Die (55018)

Sewing the 9-Patch Blocks (Unit #1)
•Lay out
4—Fabric #1 squares
2—Fabric #2 squares and
3—Fabric #3 squares as shown.

•Sew blocks together into rows. Pressing seams in the direction of the arrows.

•Sew rows together to make
1—9-Patch block.

•Press in the direction of the arrows.
•Block should measure 6 ½” x 6 ½”.
•Repeat previous three steps to make a total of 20—Unit #1 blocks.

Sewing the 9-Patch Blocks (Unit #2)
•Lay out
4—Fabric #1 squares
3—Fabric #2 squares and
2—Fabric #3 squares as shown.

•Sew blocks together into rows. Pressing seams in the direction of the arrows.

•Sew rows together to make
1—9-Patch block.

•Press in the direction of the arrows.
•Block should measure 6 ½” x 6 ½”.
•Repeat previous three steps to make a total of 20—Unit #2 blocks.

 

Cutting for Snowball Blocks

•Fabric #1: Cut 7—3” x WOF Strips

•Fabric #2: Cut 5—7” x WOF Strips

•Fabric #3: Cut 5—7” x WOF Strips

•Cut the
7—Fabric #1 strips into 164—2 ½” Finished Half Square Triangles

 

 

•Cut the
5—Fabric #2 strips into
25—6” Finished Snowball Blocks

 

•Cut the
5—Fabric #3 strips into 16—6” Finished Snowball Blocks

 

 

•Lay out
1—Fabric #2 block and
4—Fabric #1 Half Square Triangles as shown.

 

•Sew all four corners onto block.

•Press towards the corners

•Block should measure 6 ½” x 6 ½”

•Repeat previous three steps to make a total of 25, Fabric #2 Snowball Blocks

 

Repeat with Fabric #2 block and Fabric #1 Half Square Triangles

Sewing Rows

•Lay out 5—Fabric #2 Snowball Blocks and
4—Unit #1, 9-Patch blocks, as shown.

 

Sew blocks together into a row, pressing towards the Snowball block. Make a total of five Row #1.

 

Repeat to make alternating rows...

Sew blocks together into a row, pressing towards the Snowball block. Make a total of four Row #2.

Sewing Quilt Top Together

 

Quilt Top

 

Again, this is just one layout out of many. Hope you enjoy!  If you would like to purchase this die or any others, please go to Stitches N Stories Quilting.

 

SPECIAL for YOU!

AC2014 - $5 off any mat purchase w/ the purchase of a feature die

AND

FSAC2014 - Free Shipping w/order (not required if ordering over $100 - in that case shipping is already free)

enter the code(s) at checkout on StitchesNStories

 

Now Let's GO! Quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GO! English Paper Piecing Hexagon - 1" Finished Sides

GO! English Paper Piecing Hexagon - 1" Finished Sides

Just when I thought I would never want to do any type of paper piecing, AccuQuilt comes out with the new Paper Piecing Hexagon dies...  Boy am I hooked!
  

The die is designed to cut 2 layers of card stock and 6 layers of fabric AT THE SAME TIME.  You can reuse the card stock templates so you do not need even amounts.  

Since I didn't know if I would like it, I decided to just make a small wall hanging or table runner.

These are pictures of the ones that I am making now.  I plan to add one more row of a different color after I finish the green row, then I will "fill in" the hexies to square it off a little more.

Here is a picture from AccuQuilt of a sample whole quilt.

This has been a great little "resting" project for me.  It is something I can work on while sitting in the living room with the family.  Give it a try, you can purchase by going to www.shop.stitchesnstories.com.  You can find this as well as all the new dies that just came out... Let's GO! Bust Our Stash!

NEW - Stash Buster Dies from AccuQuilt

Just what we have all been waiting for...

AccuQuilt has just released a whole new set of dies that are designed to help you BUST YOUR STASH.  There are 12 new dies that I truly hope you will enjoy.  You can shop at www.shop.stitchesnstories.com with shipping starting on 10/23/13.

Half Hexagons

Hunters Star - Look for a class coming soon!

Snowball - Look for a class coming soon!

Bowtie

1/2" English Paper Piecing (WOW, this die will cut your cardstock and your fabric)

1" English Paper Piecing (WOW, this die will cut your cardstock and your fabric)

Triangle

4" Clamshell

8" Clamshell

4" Half Hexagon

4" Hexagon

9" Wedge

Don't wait, get your order placed today... www.shop.stitchesnstories.com