I spread out the fabric and started taking pictures, and just happened to get a flash of my shirt up next to the pile of fabric.
Fabric, cont’d
When I put together the EQ drawing, it was easiest to use a single fabric of each color. I could have even put the quilt together that way, too: a single dark blue, a single light blue, a single red, and a single cream. However, I decided that it would be much more interesting to hvae some variety. You’ll note that I am sticking with a single dark blue, and if I hadn’t told you that the creams were different, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell from this particular photo, but trust me, they are slightly different patterns. I like that they are different, but it’s a very subtle difference.
And even though there is a range of light blues, I didn’t go with a huge amount of variations there, either. Those pieces are going to be pretty tiny when finished, and my hope is that they’ll just melt together, glittering away around the edges of the dark blue star points.
I had intended to go with a single red, but when I grabbed these 3 from the shop, I decided that I liked the idea of using all 3. More is more, right?
Cutting
The project is officially a go, so I got started with some cutting last night. (I had spent some quality time the night before pressing and starching. Ordinarily I skip the prewash step, and dive right in to the fabric, but on this project I don’t want to take ANY chances, so into the wash went the fabric…)
I am notoriously bad about waiting too long to change rotary cutter blades, so Mom, you’ll be happy to hear that I did change my blade before I started cutting.
I have found, though, that I cannot STAND to cut an entire quilt at one time, so last night I just cut out some light blue and cream squares so I could get started making half-square triangle units.
Isn’t that an exciting picture? Are you wondering how I’m cutting 8 inch squares is going to help me make 1 inch finished half-square triangle units?
Well, stay tuned, that deserves a whole post of it’s own. I’d post it now, but I completely drained the camera battery and am impatiently waiting for it to recharge.
For now, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to tell me how YOU approach cutting for a large quilt project. I like to cut for awhile, then sew for awhile, then cut some more: I can’t even imagine actually standing and cutting the entire thing at once. What about you?
[polldaddy poll=”1677707″]
I voted..I now cut it all in advance…but only since I got the “GO” cutter…it’s so fast.
Before I cut a little and then pieced a little.
I’m with you. Don’t have the patience to cut an entire quilt out first. And since I mostly make scrap quilts it’s usually an adventure finding out if I’m going to have enough of one fabric or another. I’m in absolute awe of the “strings” of cut out pieces I inheirited from my grandmother. Can’t imagine sitting and cutting and cutting..and of course it was using paper templates and scissors to boot.
I could never cut an entire quilt at one time! My back would shut me down hard. I always cut and wait several hours (or days) and cut some more. I’m usually never in such a hurry that I have to.
And changing blades!!! HA
I’m feeling such excitement for you starting this big, new, gorgeous project. Maybe even a little jealous – which is really ridiculous, as I could be doing any number of ambitious things in my sewing room right now… if I weren’t 31 weeks pregnant, perhaps. Nonetheless, there is something magical about having a plan and starting in. Your fabric washed & pressed, all laid out according to color. I’m telling you, visceral reactions here. I’m anxious to see how you’ll make the HST units… triangle paper? And yeah, I cut everything first.
If it’s a small quilt and/or I’m packing it up to take to quilt group then I might cut it all in advance. Usually, though, I cut enough for a few blocks and then sew them up, and then cut some more… I do a lot of scrappy stuff and sampler-type things, so this works best for me.
My quilts are scrappy too so they tend to take longer to cut but the GO helps a lot with that. I like to cut some, sew some, and evaluate as I go — do I need more red, more blue, does the quilt need some pop….I find I make better quilts this way.
One exception is when I visit Mom, I tend to do a lot of cutting for her while I’m there and I cut all at once….I’m usually sick of cutting by the time I leave!
I dislike the cutting more than anything; I’d probably make a lot more quilts if it wasn’t my nemesis. I told Mary last week I’m so tempted by & jealous of her GO machine! Anyhow, except for the borders, I do cut it all at once because it’s all downhill from there.
Cut a little… piece a little.
you won’t be surprised I’m quite sure to hear that your mother cuts and sews and cuts and sews… I couldn’t stand doing all that cutting at one time.
And yes, I’m extremely proud of you for changing your blade. Best not to wait until you would be better off chewing the fabric to pieces with your teeth instead of with the blade.
cut a little, piece a little,
cut a little, piece a little,
talk, talk, talk, talk