About Me

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Studio String Quilt Blocks

It's no secret that I LOVE my AccuQuilt Studio cutter.  I enjoy using it every chance I get and I get so excited when I stumble on a way to use I die that I already own in a creative new way.  My latest obsession is the 6.5" square that cuts multiples.  I have come up with 5 or 6 ways to use this die other just cutting plain ol' squares...not that using it to cut squares is anything less than amazing:)
A couple of weeks ago I started a string quilt and of course used my Studio cutter to cut all the strips. As I started sewing the strips to the foundation I started to wonder if there was a faster way.  Now I'm a pretty fast chain piecer but I'm always looking for a way to supercharge the process:)  I thought for a while and realized the answer was sitting right in front of me.  My 6.5" multiples die.
The conclusion I came to was that it would be much faster for me to piece larger blocks and cut them down  than piece them individually. This such a simple idea but saved me lots of time.  This is how I did it.
First I pieced all my strips to 14" x 14" muslin squares. 
Next, I stacked 4 blocks on my die making sure that the blocks extended past the die blades on all sides. Don't forget to count the foundation fabric and seam allowances as a layers to avoid damaging your die. 
And this is what you get......16 perfectly cut string quilt blocks ready to piece.

In a blink of an eye I had all the blocks I needed to complete my quilt and the best part is that each block is perfectly die cut to precisely to 6.5" x 6.5".  I love how random string quilts are but I also love accuracy.
Win, Win!