Back in the day before the rotary cutter , I figure lots of quilts got started but never got past the boring cutting with templates , a pencil, and sissors.
My first quilt seemed to take forever just to cut out.
How many here quilted before the rotary cutter? What quilts did you make using the old templates and sissors ?

Lori, I did- it seems that it wasn't long before I got a rotary cutter though. It was in the late 80's.
With templates I made a sampler quilt (my first quilt class- learned a lot) and some miniatures- bow-tie quilt, basket quilt and a couple more.
I still love to hand quilt but have absolutely no desire to use templates and scissors lol

I tried. I really tried. But I was the mother of two infants at the time and simply couldn't make the time to cut templates and fabric with scizzors and sew everything by hand. I never completed more than a few patches.

30+ years later, now that what became a flock of 4 children have left the nest, the rotary cutter has been adapted for quilters, and designers have moved us far beyond their use in making log cabin-style quilt tops, I've come back to quilt-making. It's so much more fun now!

I quilted pre-rotary cutter and can't think of a thing that I made. jb

I actually did a GFG in polyester, and cut each piece by hand with a template, drawn around by pen. It was an adventure. Will post a picture someday when my sewing room gets finished, and I can find the quilt.

I did. Since I suck at cutting with scissors, my quilting has improved ALOT.

In 1996, I lost the use of my right leg and spent about 6 month in a body cast in a hospital bed. (almost a year in the cast, but after surgery- I could be up a bit.)

I hand pieced and entire bed-sized quilt, and got half of it hand quilted. then I recovered and it is still have quilted. LOL

I have been quilting for some 40 years. My first quilts were all 9 patches or other "square" type quilts. I also did many applique baby quilts for my many, many nieces and nephews. Than I did a churn dash and an on point diamond quilt that is still one of my favorite quilts. Those were done with paper templates. The first quilt I remember making with a rotary cutter and ruler was a trip around the world. That was also my first time strip piecing!

I quilted for many years pre-rotary cutter. And even now, most of what I cut for art quilts and all of what I cut for cards is done with scissors. I find it relaxing actually, and more personal.

I have been quilting over 30 years and still don't have a rotary cutter. DH does most of the cutting.

ah, one must remember, quilt maker's of the day did not have time to waste sitting at the computer, or in front of the TV..their quiet time was spent doing what most now consider meaningless, boring, time consuming work...I can remember when I learned how to quilt I used card board templates and pencil. I was taught to starch the fabric then trace templates and then cut out..sometimes "cutting bees" were held just for this purpose!
It was just as fun then as a sewing bee is now!