Is it just me? Am I the only one who actually likes to put binding on & also to cut? I hate putting borders on... hate it, hate it, hate it. That's why I never do anything fancy.

Whew... & there I thought it was just me... LOL! I like to try new quilting things & pre-cuts fill that bill!

I'm with you, Burch. Lots of my projects get set aside when I get to the borders. And I don't mind binding but I'm not a big fan of cutting.

I buy charm packs with specific ideas in mind. I'll buy jelly rolls if a quilt calls for it. I buy FQ because they make for a good stash builder.

I like precuts because you get some of the whole collection....they all go together well and complement one another.

I avoid buying them because they're not always straight. I have, on occasion, bought them for a certain color or pattern. When I buy them, it's definitely for the convenience!

I still cut all my own fabric...I do have a couple of honey buns, but they were gifts. I have bought a few charm packs with extra fabric to match.

Convenience and the assortment of fabrics that comes in them. I just bought a couple of coordinating French General jelly rolls because it will be easy for me to cut the lengths I need for the blocks.

I didn't feel like searching through my stash and cutting all those 2½" strips.

I've only made one quilt with them so far (well, one quilt top, as it's not finished yet!) but I thought they were a lot of fun. We'll see how I feel after I wash my top, though. I'm a prewasher too, so I'm not sure how I feel about precuts yet. Not that it stopped me from ordering more of them, LOL. I really like the scrappy look in quilts, plus I wanted to do a few Project Linus quilts but don't have a lot of bright/cheery/kid-oriented fabric in my stash so I thought some bright precuts would be a good way to quickly make up some fun and cheerful quilts. And for myself I also ordered some Bali Pops - Beverly's has them on sale online for $26; 40 strips of different color-coordinated batiks with no labor - that looked like a pretty good deal to me! Hopefully I won't regret it after washing this top I finished (also with Bali Pops)...I'm not sure yet if I should "pre"wash it alone or after finishing the quilt!

I like cutting too but I'm totally not with you on the binding thing. I suck at it so it's a frustrating and stressful step for me. Of course, I refuse to hand sew my binding so that's a big part of why I screw it up so much! It eventually turns out "okay" but I'm never proud of it. I am getting better at it, though!

And maybe it's nice that none of my friends are quilters; they don't have a critical enough eye to notice all the glaring problems when I'm showing off my latest project! LOL.

I don't buy them unless they are dirt cheap.

I am 'new' (again) to quilting and don't really know what to do with the strips yet. I also figure I have a lot of material sitting around here so I am trying to use some of it up for lap quilts, etc before I really dive into quilting.

I like to pre-wash my fabric so it concerns me about using the pre-cuts. On more than one occasion, I have had fabric that bled when washed. I shudder to think how I would feel after all that work to complete a quilt and then have one piece of fabric bled on another when washed.

I do enjoy the cutting and the binding. I machine piece, but hand quilt. In fact, I enjoy every step of the process.

One of these days, though, I will probably try one of the pre-cuts just for the fun of it.

I use Color Catchers when I wash quilts for the first time. I have never had a problem with colors bleeeding, not even with a quilt that was black, red and lots of white. I wash my quilts before I give them away so I can wash them with a Color Catcher first. Color Catchers work great!

I pre-wash my fabrics and , I have never bought a precut of any kind, because manly of the cost.I live on a fixed income
and just can't afford them .

Love jelly Rolls
 

When I first made a Jelly Roll Quilt, I did cut my own but found the quilt somewhat boring due to the lack of variety in the fabric coordinations. I bought a few from Connecting Threads and this quilt turned out cute. I then ordered some moda latte and plan to do the Trade Winds pattern. I also bought a cute ruffled purse pattern and that calls for 2.5 strips. Leftovers are great for binding and narrow and accent borders. I have been so busy in the garden and have folks coming and going but want to do a fast quilt. This just cuts (xcuxe the pun) out one step in the quilting process if you can find a cute pattern. I like some patterns in Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and nicky Lincott , Jelly Roll Quilt Magic by kimbery Enimo and Strip Happy by Donna Kinsey.

Plus French General is just flat-out GORGEOUS! I love it!

Argh! Why did you have to tell me about the sale on Bali Pops at Beverly's?!?! They are super yummy & then there's those magis words -- "sale"!!!

I love buying and using precuts. They are an affordable way for me to get a range of fabrics that go together that I would never be able to get in yardage. It also means I can jump right in with little prep/cutting time.

When I bought precut strips it was because the pre-cut prints available were way moe appealing than the fabric available on the bolts.

I do, too. I hope they don't bleed. I've gone to pre-washing or at least pre-shrinking my fabrics, so this one has me a leeeeetle bit nervous. :)

I wash the fat quarters I get

I won't buy them unless they are on sale------or about the price of a bolt piece

At times because the FQ pack has the variety I want.

A good while back I got two semi-related FQ packs that had birds and bird nests. I'm going to do a D9P with it. SOMEDAY! I'd be all year collecting the prints I got.

I don't usually buy precuts. You can't see the fabrics in a jelly roll or charm pack. And they're expensive. When I've been able to get a good deal, or really liked the fabric, I have caved in. What's nice to know, for all you pre-washers out there, is that there is no reason you can't pre-wash a pre-cut, and in fact, I have never used a precut that I haven't washed. Instead of using a washer, use a large sink, or even a bathtub. Separate lights from darks, but still use color catchers. Use fairly warm water, because you won't be able to put them in the dryer. I use Woolite for soap. And then I let them soak overnight. The next day, I rinse them well, using vinegar to get all of the soap out. Drying is interesting, and they usually end up all over clean sheets in the spare room until they dry. When I'm ready to use them, they are pressed (not ironed) and starched. Sounds like a lot of work, I know. It's not as much work as making a whole quilt and having the pre-cut red strips run all over everything as soon as you give it a first wash in cold water. What a heartbreaker! Such a beautiful quilt and so much work! Now the dogs have it. Sigh! That was enough lesson for me! I prewash all fabric, and now I pre-wash everything that goes into my quilts. It took me over two months to make and quilt that quilt, and it was permanently ruined in one wash cycle. Never again!

If the pre-cuts are by Moda, you can see all the fabrics you're buying in a jelly roll or charm pack - not very user friendly site, but at least you can see them. :) First, go to www.unitednotions.com, click on "Fabrics," then "Fabric Collections."

On the next page, you have "Coming Soon," "Collections," and "Basics" - choose whichever tab you want - most of the lines are in the "Collections" tab. You can search to narrow the results and get only a few lines instead of the 500+ results in the main grouping.

Click on the green scissors to download a pdf of all the fabrics or on the blue ones to get jpgs that you can use in Electric Quilt.

I love scrappy quilts so variety is my main reason. I can't really tell by looking on-line whether I really like a particular fabric or not so I will buy a jelly roll or charm pack first to see the fabric and then get larger cuts of those I like best.

Suzy