Thursday, March 21, 2013

Making Progress - One Step at a Time!

I'm making progress with some of my WIPs.  This quilt top is assembled - just tons and tons of threads to cut.  I have no idea why I didn't cut them as I sewed each block but I didn't.  The machine I used at the time didn't have an auto thread cutter, maybe that's why?  So I need to cut threads, iron the top and piece/iron the back and it should be good to drop off at the quilters.   I decided to wait to show the whole quilt until later when it's completely done.  
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Lesson Learned:  Take the time to clip threads as you go!

I also won this book from a giveaway Gene was hosting.  Thank you Gene!  I've been working on learning more about how to use my Go Cutter.  I've mastered basic square type shapes (no triangles yet).  I'm really relying on what I'm learning from this book for my next step...
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....which is mastering strip cutting.  This one I have the most trepidation about as I'll be cutting on the fold.  I'll practice first but I really want to master cutting strips so I can cut binding strips.  I've already acquired my strip cutter in a 2.25" size.  I've found my bindings tend to be more full using that 1/4" less.  I also use 1 1/8" strips for single fold binding on smaller quilts.  I'll post about my experiences with the strip cutting when I actually get going.  I hope to use it on the quilt above!
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Google reader is going away, have you heard?  I have no idea what I'm going to use.  I've been thinking of Blog Lovin' but haven't done much research.  I want to be sure that I can read my blogs in their entirety (unless the owner doesn't permit it) without having to click through unless I want to leave a comment.  Any thoughts or experiences you can share?  

The weekend is approaching and I hope you have a great one!  Thank you for your visits, your comments, your emails and your friendship!  

27 comments:

Carolyn NC said...

Jackie, try The Old Reader - practically the same format as Google Reader and very easy. Just follow the directions to transfer them over. You may have to wait a few days before they all transfer, but we still have Google until July.
Your quilt top is beautiful!

Susan Entwistle said...

I, for one, can't wait to see the whole quilt. I just love what I can see now.

Margaret said...

That quilt looks gorgeous! I'd love to hear more about your experiences with the go cutter. I have the feeling it's not for me, but I'm always curious about it nonetheless. As for readers, even Google reader had some blogs that wouldn't show up whole and uncut, true? At least in my experience. I've been using Feedly, and it seems to show blogs pretty much like Google Reader did if you click on the post to see it. Some show the whole post, some don't. I'm not sure about Bloglovin. Feedly has been doing ok by me so far.

Carla said...

Your quilt looks beautiful! I added a blog lovin to my sidebar
Because that seemed the easiest. Hope people will find me

Annette-California said...

You finished!!! YEA!!! That's a major finish:) Your quilt looks so so so BEAUTIFUL and the Colors& Designs you quilted are amazing. Oh I can't wait to see it when its done:) I'm on Feedly. But I have been adding blogs on Google and they have been transferring right over automatically. Pretty cool so far:)
I am learning about the go cutter thru you. love Annette

QuiltSue said...

I'm looking forward to seeing your quilt in all it's completed glory.

I am currently using both Feedly and Bloglovin to see which I prefer.

Chris said...

That quilt top is fabulous!

Mariela Alethia said...

Beautiful quilt top!

Carol said...

What a beauty, Jackie!! Good luck cutting all those stray threads :)

Deb said...

What I can see of your quilt looks wonderful. I'm the same with quilts - when they're done I have tons of threads to clip because the machine I used doesn't have an auto thread cutter and so I have to spend a might cutting everything off.

You will have to let me know what you think of the strip cutter. I haven't used my die cutter since I got it and I'll be interested in hearing your results.

I switched to Blog Lovin' and I really like it.

Tammy said...

Your quilt is gorgeous and I can't wait to see the whole thing!! As for google reader, I switched to blog loving. There is also something out there called Feely I think it is. I liked blog lovin better and it was an easy transition. There is a blog called Sew Many Ways, she gives great tips for doing all sorts of blog things you might check out what she says. Hugs!!

Deb said...

I've been thinking about acquiring a GO cutter so I'm interested in learning from you...

ruthsplace said...

I tried bloglovin but ended up with feedly as it allowed me to read the blog in the reader, bloglovin didnt.

Susan said...

I just switched over to Feedly and I love it! It's so much better than Google reader!

FlourishingPalms said...

Sounds like you have some fun new tools for quilting. That strip cutter for binding would be nice. I always cut my binding 2.5 inches wide.

As for Google Reader leaving, don't worry about it. Just subscribe to your favorite blogs by clicking on the Atom RSS Feed that's usually found at the bottom of all blog front pages. Then, every post will come into your email box, but in a separate section from regular email. I've subscribed that way since I first started subscribing to blogs and get posts from more than 80 bloggers that way. I've never used Google Reader, so it leaving won't impact me at all. I highly recommend the Atom RSS Feed because it's so simple. And you don't even have to go to the blog post itself unless you want to comment.

Sally said...

That quilt is looking fantastic! I love all the different colours in it. It is beautiful.

I'm using Bloglovin at the moment. I like it as it seems pretty simple to use.

Melanie said...

Quilt is looking fantastic.
The whole cutter thing is fascinating to me. Sounds like fun, in a challenging sort of way!
I imported all my feeds over to The Old Reader. It's *exactly* like Google, albeit a little bit slower to load. The import part is fairly seamless but they are overloaded with requests so just be prepared to wait a few days for their server to actually do it. (I think I waited 4 days for mine to transfer over but it's not like you have to keep checking it. I just hit it once a day to see how many people were left in line in front of me, etc.)

Mylene said...

That's a beautiful quilt top!!

Happy week!!

Karen said...

Can't wait to see your lovely finished quilt, from what I can see it will not disappoint!

Dani - tkdchick said...

I just love the sneak peek you've given us of that quilt looks great!

Linda said...

I love the peak of the quilt. I can't wait to see all of it. I signed up for Bloglovin but then I cancelled it. Not sure yet what I'm going to do. I heard we have until July and I'll make a decision way before that, I hope. I love my Accuquilt Go and use it whenever I can. I cut alot of 5" squares with it and half square triangles mostly. I didn't buy it for the strip cutter but I know alot of my friends did. Let me know what you think about the book. I watch Ebony Love's Youtube videos and she is an amazing Longarmer...

Poussy Stitches My Love said...



♫ Joyeuse Pâques ♫ !!!

Bisous ♥

geeky Heather said...

You always amaze me with your quilts!!

I think I owe you an email...but I've been using feedly almost exclusively for a couple weeks now, and their "preview" feature really just opens the blog page in a frame (inside feedly). For about 90% of blogs, you can also comment from there! (I think only WordPress blogs have been giving me trouble.) The "preview" even works if the blog owner only has the truncated feed, since it's opening up the blog page. It has been working awesome for me.

Heidi Kuijer said...

Great tulips on the quilt. I cannot wait to see more. Lol on cutting threads!

I saw the go cutters at our handwork fair...they are very expensive here. So I will continue to rotary cut my patchwork.

Hugs from Holland,
Heidi

Anne said...

Your quilt is coming along beautifully!! Thanks for the tip about clipping the threads as you go along..that is if I ever pick up quilting! Hmm, blog lovin I'm not lovin yet. I think I might try feedly. I just wish they wouldn't mess around with a system that works!

Karoline said...

Your quilt is looking gorgeous, can't wait to see the whole thing.

I've been trialling both Feedly & bloglovin, I think my preference is for Feedly

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

Bisous bisous my friend !