Swooning Again

The Swoon quilt was on my 4th Q FAL.  Yes, this one will definitely be going onto my 1st Q FAL for 2014.  I am motivated to get this one done as we are in need of a new king size quilt for our bed in Spring colors.  It has been moved up the list of things to finish.  I got did get two blocks done this weekend, so now I have a total of 4.

If you have ever made a Swoon quilt, you know how time intensive it can be to cut and piece.  It is a good thing that all the blocks end up at a 24.5" unfinished size.  I plan on making mine 4 x 4 with a border because I like overhang on my quilts.

Cutting time has been significantly reduced because I have been using my Accuquilt Go.  The dies I have used are:  55000 (6.5" square), 55005 (3.5" x 6.5" rectangle), 55006 (3.5" square) and 55009 (3" finished 3" triangle).  I press, starch and precut my fabric before putting a stack on the die.  I have found that if I stack too much fabric on the end result is distorted.  Another tip someone had posted was how to draw where the actual cutting part is on the die with a sharpie so that it can been seen where to put the grain of the fabric.  I have the older dies, so this tip was very helpful!

See how the cutting edges are on an angle?  I make sure to put my fabric on the die with the grain at the same angle. 

Here is my kitty Casper earning his keep doing some quality control.  He is constantly with me in my sewing room!  He loves to sit on my lap when I sew.  But as you can see, he doesn't like his picture taken.