Oh dear Lord! I can't believe it!! I've been entering contests left and right trying to win one of these GO! Baby fabric cutters. And I can't believe I won one. I got an e-mail today from Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts. And I just love the way she informed me I had won! The subject of her e-mail was one simple word: Giveaway. I open her e-mail and there's a note that says: Deborah, I think you might want to check out my blog post! http://ellisonlane.blogspot.com/2011/07/accquilt-go-baby-winner.html
Now I'm out putting slobber on my laptop screen trying to pick out three dies. I thought I knew what I would get - I mean, I really did! But oh my!! I'm still new to quilting and really don't know which dies will be the best to select. I had thought, "Okay, I'll get the 2.5" strip die because I have to put bindings on every quilt I make, and that means I'd use it each and every time I make a quilt." Then I thought "Hmmm....cutting strips isn't that difficult. That wouldn't really be much of a time saver for me." Then I was talking with Debra at Debra's Design Studio trying to pick her brain. She got me on the road to thinking if I purchased a die for squares, I'd merely have to cut that square in half to get triangles. Yeah!! That sounds really cool! But what size squares/triangles are the most popular with quilt patterns? When you don't have a history of making quilts, you don't know what size to get.
I was thinking of getting the Bountiful Baskets by Alex Anderson (not sure if they have a dollar amount as a ceiling for the dies) because I've always thought I'd like to make one of those quilts, and the die for it is twice the price of the others. Whatcha' think?
So....anybody want to jump on the wagon and recommend dies and tell me why you think I should select a certain one? And this is a GO! Baby, so not all the GO! dies will work for it.
Squeal!!! I'm so dang excited I keep opening the e-mail and looking at Jennifer's blog all over again, just so I can see my name on her post as the winner!!!
13 comments:
Congratulations! I used a friend's Go to cut my Double Wedding Ring pieces - there's no way I'd have the patience to do it the old fashioned way. Obviously, choosing dies depends on your interests and skills. I don't do much applique, so I'd eliminate all of those. Personally, I think the Go wastes a lot of fabric when cutting squares and HSTs, but some people think the trade off is worthwhile. When I make HSTs I like to cut my squares bigger and trim the finished HST units to size after sewing so I would not choose an HST die. Perfectly cut shapes means your quarter inch seam needs to be accurate - you can't make up for it later in the trimming. If you have any interest in blocks with 60 degree triangles, that's a great die to choose because it's a little harder to cut (specialty rulers make it easier), but with the notched corners from the die it would be super easy to piece. So the first die I'd pick is the Triangles in Square - 3" Finished. If you have any interest in trying curved piecing, the Drunkard's Path die is a good choice because it's more difficult to cut. Tumblers are another shape that are more difficult to cut, so that's another option. Hexagons are popular and you get three different sizes on the die, plus - yep - more difficult to cut! Ultimately, though it depends on you. The set you talked about has different shapes, but think about how you'd be able to use them for projects other than her basket block. The squares and small HSTs CUT at 2" and finish at 1 1/2" - is that a size you'd normally work with? If so, and if you like the idea of using a Go to cut common shapes, then go for it!
If you start using the Go Cutter, you don't really use patterns anymore. You make the blocks the size of your templates and figure out how many you would need for your layout from that size block.
The most popular size is a 12" block (divisible by 4"). From there, go down to 8" and 4"
The other would be 12" (divisible by 3") for 12, 9, 6.
Oh, the math!!
Deborah!!! I'm beyond happy for you :) :) :) yay you yay you yay you :) :) Congratulations :O)
We use a lot of 5" squares in our ministry quilts, so that is one of our most-used dies. I also have a 3.5" square die that I needed for a specific quilt, but paired with the 3.5 x 6.5" die, it makes flying geese. And I have a drunkard's path die because I've always wanted to make one, but didn't want to trace all those weird shaped pieces and cut them by hand! Strips are easy to cut, but if you need a lot (like if you're making up jelly rolls) then that's a good die to have. Have fun picking!!
congratulations i have been doing the same,entering everywhere,i will keep my fingers crossed,lol.enjoy.
I won a go Baby awhile back but not any dies. I couldn't afford to buy dies, so I was going to just give it back away to someone else, but then someone sent me dies. And now I need cutting mats. You can't use it without mats and the mats have to fit the dies. So if money is a factor as it is with me get dies that are all the same size so that they will use the same size mat.
Some day I will get to use mine. I hope!
You lucky, lucky gal! How fun for you! Giveaways are the greatest.
Congratulations!!! What a fun tool to play with.
Congratulations Deborah. What a fabulous win!
Congrats Deb! That is soooo awesome - I've entered a few of those giveaways, but no Go! for me yet...
Personally, I think I would get the 2.5" strips, the tumblers & maybe the drunkard's path one. I picked the strip one because I'm currently addicted to the Jelly Roll Race quilt! lol
Uh oh, is addiction right around the corner. Have fun!
Oh how exciting!! I am so happy for you!! Wow, if I won and was able to pick out 3 dies my choices would be the tumbler, the hexagons, and the value pack. The tumbler because I have always wanted to make one but I will not cut out all those pieces by hand. The hexagons because I am in the beggining of a hexie quilt. And the value pack because you get more than one shape. For me size does not matter because what ever size I buy will be the size of the block I make. Good luck and have lots of fun!!
Congrats on winning a GO! I have been trying forever but no luck yet!
BTW: Go check out my blog! :)
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