Lickety Split (an Accuquilt Go! review, tutorial and giveaway)

No I am NOT giving away a Go! but if you read the entire post you may find it's worth your time!


I know there are lots of Accuquilt Go! giveaways going on all over blog land. I know it may seem impossible to win one when each giveaway has hundreds if not thousands of entries. Well I'm here to tell you Don't. Give. Up. You never know whether you will be the lucky duck as I was a few weeks ago. I'm going to share with you my honest opinion on this little gadget.

I've had my Go! for about 2 weeks now. So far I give it 2 thumbs up! Here is a quick run down of my assessment:

Pros:
- cuts quickly
- cuts accurately
- cuts corners off triangles
- dog ears on some shapes for easy curved piecing
- cuts several layers at once (I've successfully cut  6 layers of quilt shop quality fabric, if you are cutting something thick like flannel you'll won't be able to cut as many layers)
- easy to use
- it's pretty
- practically fool proof
- it's folds up nicely for storage (it takes up a mere 13"x5" of floor space)

Semi-cons:
not really enough of a negative to make me dislike the Go! but things you should be aware of

- weighs 15 lbs (my scale actually said 15.4lbs) Am I the only one who thinks 15 lbs is not light weight? Light weight would be something like 10lbs or less in my mind. My heavy Kenmore sewing machine weighs 20 lbs so if I were taking both to a class or retreat I would make sure I'm not carrying these too far.

- dies can be awkward to store (the longest dies are around 24" in length) If you plan on taking the Go! with you to retreats or classes remember you have to bring the dies too! A cart of some sort would be handy. (Accuquilt makes a rolling tote)

- mats should be stored flat so that they don't warp, making it hard to find a spot for them (the longest one measures 10"x24") and you really don't want to put anything on top because you'll be using it often!

- it takes a bit of muscle to crank the dies through and gets harder with more layers. Maybe my kids are weaklings but my 4 year old can't crank it past the halfway mark and my 6 year old can do it if he uses both hands. Keep this in mind if you are elderly and were hoping this would be super easy. It's kind of like churning Ice cream when it's at that semi-solid state, there's resistance. Every review I have read says it's 'so easy' and 'even my kids could do it.'

- you need a pretty big, clean, stable work surface to use it. I had not seen anywhere the dimensions of the Go! once it is open. Be aware that it's pretty big, not huge but not tiny (about the size of an adult torso when it is closed.) Your space also needs to be flat and clean or the dies might not go through properly. When open the Go! measures 18.5"wide by 30.5"

- there is a small learning curve as with any gadget/notion out on the market. You have to learn how to place fabric to minimize waste, and you have to pay attention to the grain of the fabric(as with rotary cutting.)

- if you happen to mess up a cut you'll end up messing up all the layers (but I haven't messed up yet! I'm sure it's bound to happen sooner or later though.) However I've made mistakes with my rotary cutter before too.

Cons:
- Price, the MSRP is $349.00 and includes 1 die and 1 mat. The value die cuts a 4 1/2" (4" finished) square, a 2 1/2" (2" finished) square, and cuts four  2" finished triangles (Half square triangles.) You can find the Go! for around $200-$250 through various retailers. Please note that all of the Go!s include the free value die and mat. Some retailers make it sound like they are throwing in this extra bonus when it comes packaged that way from Accuquilt.


- Price of the dies. Actually the smaller dies are pretty affordable ($20-$40) through various retailers. It's the larger and more intricate dies that will cost $50-$80. As a manufacturing minor I understand the cost that goes into making a intricate designs and making larger dies and blades. Keep this in mind as you decide whether this gadget will fit in your budget. I have no idea how long the dies will last as I've only had mine for 2 weeks. With proper care I would hoe to get several years of use out of a single die. The trick is to purchase dies that can be used for several other cuts. For example, a strip die can be used to cut strips, squares, and diamonds! There are lots of tutorials popping up showing  how to use the dies creatively!


On to the tutorial!



How to cut 100 2.5" squares in the blink of an eye:


{ok I may be exaggerating but I thought it was a catchy title}

You will need:
your Go!
the 2.5" strip die
the 10"x24" mat
a black sharpie
and 1/4 yard of fabric

1) The first thing you need to do, if you haven't already, is to mark your die. You take that sharpie and stick it down into the foam and run it along the blade. This is so you can see where you have to place your fabric. The next mark you want to make is a perpendicular line (the dotted line) at the end of the cutting blades. Do this on both ends of the die. Then make a solid perpendicular line a 1/2" in from the dotted line. Mark this on both ends of the die. This solid line is where you will line up your fabric so that your strips will be cut all the way through the width of the fabric.

2)Next take your pressed  fabric and fold it in half selvages together. Just like with rotary cutting you'll get better results if there are no folds or wrinkles in your fabric. Place the fabric on the die. You are going to take your folded edge and line it up along your solid line (the one next to the dotted line)

3) Make sure that all layers of the cut edge of the fabric cover the first blade. This step is like squaring up your fabric using a rotary cutter. If there is one layer that does not cover the entire length of the blade then that strip will not be perfectly straight.

 

 4) Now place the die on the Go! Place your cutting mat on top of the fabric being careful not to shift your fabric and run it through your Go! 

Crank, crank crank, and you end up with:

3 strips of fabric 2.5" wide, a slightly narrower strip that can go in your scrap pile, and the only waste are those little strips that you would have wasted with a rotary cutter as well.

5) Now take your first strip (still folded in half and keeping the cut edges lined up)  and lay it back on your die with the cut edges lined up against the solid line that is perpendicular to the blades. Make sure that the folded edge of of the strip sits just below the first blade other wise you'll end up with 1 rectangle amongst your squares. Now accordion fold the strip until the entire length fits on the die. As you accordion fold, make sure that the folds of the fabric are either just below the bottom blade and just above the top blade. Repeat with the other 2 strips making sure that you line up the cut edges with the cut edges of the previous strip.

Carefully place the cutting mat on top of the die and run it back through your Go! Guess what? You can leave the die on the Go! as you are rearranging fabric and then crank it through the other way. It works both ways so you can be even more productive!

again, crank crank crank and you get:

a nice pile of perfectly squared 2.5" squares and minimal waste or just as much waste as your rotary cutter. I got 48, yes 48! 2.5" squares in about 3 minutes (not including pressing time.) It would have taken me about 10-15 minutes with my rotary cutter and ruler. The really cool thing is that I could have easy fit another 6 strips of fabric on the die and sent them all through at the same time and ended up with 144 2.5" squares in the same amount of time!!! {yes that deserves 3 exclamation marks}

I know that there have been lots of questions as to how to store the dies. I've seen a lot of bloggers using those wire  organizers used for pot and pan lids. My problem with those is that I don't have a lot of empty table space to have the dies sitting out on my desk especially for the 24" long dies. So I found this nifty wire basket at the thrift store for $0.75

It's a metal hanging folder organizer and I know I've seen them at office supply stores. I like that I can tuck it in an out of the way corner of the floor. I just make sure that the die stickers are facing out for easy choosing.

Now on to the giveaway!

I'm sorry I'm not giving away a Go! ...but my friend Gene is! Head on over to his blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a Go!

For those of you still reading I have a giveaway of my own. I've been very bad about celebrating blogiversaries, post milestones, and even my new blog. I thought now would be a good time to celebrate
a) 284 posts!!!
b) 2 years of blogging (technically the blog has existed for 3 years but there was a year long gap in there)
c) my new blog
d) the fact that it's starting to cool down in the south!
e) my official business start
f) the fact that I actually won a Go! (still over the moon excited on that one!)

lots of things to celebrate!

So leave me a comment telling me something other than "pick me." What will you celebrate this month? what do you like about Autumn? What are you working on? Something interesting about where you live.

You can have 1 additional entry if you do one of the following: follow my blog (I don't' care if it's in a reader), follow on twitter, or hit "like" on my FB page.

Leave a comment for each entry (maximum 2 per person) and make sure you leave an email if you don't have your blogger profile set to receive emails. If I can't contact you then I will pick someone else.

Comments will remain open until October 15th at midnight. I will pick a winner via RNG on Saturday morning. International entries are welcome!

Oh yeah, what am I giving away? How about 2 highly sought after Out Of Print Heather Ross Lightning Bugs fish FQ's! One lucky winner will get these 2 fun FQ's.

And please remember to come back tomorrow  for a fun tutorial on what to do with all those 2.5" squares!

ok Go!
~Norma

PS this post was written before the announcement of the new Go! Baby. Now that I would consider lightweight!