Silver Needle

Invest in the 24" TruCut ruler and their ergonomic rotary cutter for your major strip cuts. The cutter rides on a lip and can't wobble around. http://www.graceframe.com/site/rotarycutting Find a cutting buddy. DH and I do all our cutting together we double check measurements and each holds one end of the ruler. I keep my fingers on the far end of the ruler (out of the way) and he runs the cutter!

huntersgrammie

shelbie i wished you lived closer to me, im in alberta, i would love to have you cut for me. lol i too am a new quilter and i hate cutting. yesterday i am at a quilt class and we are making wonky trees and i am supposed to cut the blocks mirror image of one another, but when you don't know the terminology and the instructor just keeps going guess what i ruined about 30 8" blocks. and her solution oh just use them like that and fussy cut you will loose some fabric but thats ok. well me being like i am i had to re-cut them. i figure i may as well learn how to do it right if i am going to learn how to do it. to me the instructor seemed to gravitate to the people she knew and the others just didn't get the attention they needed. oh well i am stuck now at home with a bunch of blocks made and not sure where or what to do with them as i didn't get the instructions required to complete the project and i am not comfortable asking what the next steps are to complete it are as people tend to look at you like you have 2 heads because you can't follow the instructions. but unfortunately i was re cutting blocks when others were learning the process so i was left out of the step by step stage. sorry for venting but after spending $100 on fabric and 6 hours in class i am no farther ahead and feeling frustrated. so that is my pity party for the week have a great one and thanks for listening.

Dina

Does the pattern have a name? Maybe someone here can walk you through the rest of it...or maybe you can take a picture of what you have and someone might have a solution of what to do with the blocks.

Dina

Sierra

huntersgrammie: I don't have many problems with cutting but I can't follow pattern instructions because they aren't worded precisely enough for me (my brain comes up with does that mean this or that?), so I obviously don't DO patterns. But I can look at pictures and figure out the pattern for many that I want to do. I'm not alone in this and it may be that you'll never be able to follow patterns well. I also have taken classes and had the instructors get tired of my detailed questions. My daughter has this same problem: if there are two possible ways to read instructions she has to stop, go onto the internet to try to find which way to do it, or wing it and hope to get it right. I even wrote two answers to a question when I was in college because I was trying to skip taking a required class and after I wrote the first answer I reread the question and suddenly wondered if I gotten it right. So I explained I didn't know if (a) possibility was meant or (b) possibility. I passed! So I don't think it is dumbness, I think it is the way some people's brains work. Dyslexics tend to have this problem frequently when people use vague words. I took a class to learn how to use my EQ design program but the rest of the class happily followed the teacher's instructions and the teacher got tired of my "do you mean this, or this?" questions. I still have a lot of fun quilting "my way". Someone told me that not watching popular TV programs is part of the problem because I'm not "up" on the current lingo! Happy quilting!

sewingsuz

I still only cut two layers at once because my wrist are not strong and you have to press and line up to many thickness. Use old sheet or something like every one is telling you. Hope you get it done and you will be on your way.

huntersgrammie

wow thank you so much that sounds just like me. show me once im good forever explain it to me and i have to ask a dozen times did you mean this or that. glad to know i am not alone. no one has ever said they have the same issue as i do before. i drive my husband crazy with questions. so thank you very much makes me feel alot better. have a great day i may have to write you again for a boost. lol

huntersgrammie

hi dina, its called wonky trees i will send you a copy of the pattern and explain to you where i am at and if i have trouble maybe we can go from there if you don't mind. that would be a great help to have a sounding board if i run into trouble, or should i say when. lol i am technically working on a couple of small quilts for my grandchildren right now and they are my first that i have attempted on my own but i still have had a great deal of help from a lady here on placement and things. although i don't want to wear out my welcome so to say by bothering her with another project when i still haven't finished those. thank you for your help so far i really appreciate you just listening. take care rachelle