AccuQuilt Resources

I've been getting to know my new AccuQuilt GO! this week.  It's one of those things that's super simple and you can learn how to use it in 2 minutes.  But you can also look at the resources and read and browse through the free patterns and spend some time learning how to make the most of it.

The website if very informative and it seems like there's something new on there every time I log on.  My big discovery this week was the GO! Reference Charts.  On the AccuQuilt home page, on the left side, there is a box that reads, "Free Stuff".  Under that, one of the choices is "GO! Reference Charts".  In my opinion, these charts are what make this machine really useful. 

The first is the Cutting Equivalents chart.  One of the reasons I resisted looking into the GO! initially is that I though you were limited to the GO! pattern resources.  I thought that I couldn't use it to make commercial patterns not marketed through AccuQuilt (or that it would be difficult to do so).  WRONG!  With this chart, you look for the shape and size you want (for instance, a 3" x 1" rectangle) and it tells you the actual cutting size for that finished shape and the die that have that shape.  Very cool!

The second chart is exciting for people like me who forget what I have.  (Please tell me I'm not the only one!)  It's called the GO! Fabric Reference Chart.  This one tells you all of the shapes on all of the die.  For instance... it has a list of all the sizes of circles and what die they are on.  After you get several die, it can get confusing.  You have lots of different sizes of circles on different die.  Let's say you're doing an applique quilt and you need to cut a bazillion 2 inch circles.  Which die is it on?  You can spend 20 minutes searching through all of your die to see if you have something that will work, and looking through all of the die on the website to figure out what you want to buy, or you can just look at this chart and see what your options are for that size of circle.

I have a pattern that my friend, Julie, gave me.  She made an amazing quilt from an old magazine.  I fell in love with it and she shared the magazine with me.

I then realized that I needed to cut a gazillion leaves, not to mention all those skinny little strips for the vines.  Fun quilt.  Not so fun cutting all the leaves.

SO!  Looking at my handy dandy charts, I see that the GO! has shapes for the squares, the half square triangles, AND the leaves AND the vines!  Woo Hoo!!!!

Now get this--- I can cut the leaves and applique them on by hand or machine.  OR... I can iron on fusible web to the back of the fabric, cut it with the go, peel off the backing paper, and just iron those puppies on!  (Yes, yes- I'll stitch them down.... but the fusible gives me good placement).

 This is the Rose of Sharon die.  The pieces go together to make pretty flowers and leaves by Sharon Pederson.  But this is an example of you you can use one piece in the die to incorporate into a pattern that is not from the AccuQuilt website.

Here's one called, "Stems & Leaves".  I'll have to look at both of these die to see what leaves are the right size. 

Several people have asked me how you can cut just one shape and minimize waste.  No problem!  You don't have to cut all of the shapes on the die.  You can (and will often) cut just a few shapes.  When you see me working on my Double Wedding Ring, you'll see how I do that.

Yes- this means you would need to invest in several die.  But it's pretty obvious to me that after you get a few, they start to become more and more useful as you can mix and match the shapes.  Besides- you can tell everyone in your family that they never have to figure out what to give you for a gift again.  Make a wish list and tell them where to find it.  And they can even order off the AccuQuilt website.  Of course, they COULD contact me and order through Alderwood Quilts, (shameless plug for my website :-)

I've been organizing and ironing all of my fabrics and lining them up to start cutting the pieces for the Double Wedding Ring.  I'm amazed at how many of you would select the DWR as one of your 3 die choices should you win the giveaway.  I'm excited to get GO-ing on it!