Tipsy!

I was recently offered a GO!baby. I have to admit that I thought that a cutter was completely frivolous, heck, I only own two quilting rulers and yet I find that I can do most everything I need to do with them. Curves are a different story though. If they are not cut precisely, they simply don't line up perfectly and the end result is then less than perfect. I really like perfectly matched seams; I strive for them. So, I chose 2 dies that were curved (and one that was not) and thought I would give it a GO! (he, he, he).
Today, I am sharing a project that I made with the Drunkard's Path die. You simply place the die on a flat surface, layer your fabric, place the cutting mat on top and crank it through the GO! Now, if you like to multitask like I do, you might be slightly disappointed. This will not count as an upper body workout. It is very easy to turn and out pop your perfectly cut pieces with notches to boot!

When trying to decide what to make, I was initially drawn to the floral type patterns made using this quilt block. But before deciding, I wanted to learn about the history of the quilt block. I read that this block was often arranged in a path, suggesting the drunkard's staggering walk. Using contrasting colors, it was used for Temperance quilts. I liked this traditional layout and decided to use it for my pillow. I'm calling my pillow "Tipsy" in reference to the block name. I wanted to stick with the traditional use of two contrasting colors but instead of using one fabric pattern for the drunkard's path, I used three fabrics from the same color family to give it a scrappy look. The background color is Kona Snow.

I added a narrow border and used the same fabric for the pillow backing. The pillow has an invisible zipper and is quilted using some echo quilting. If you'd like step by step directions for making this pillow, click here for the tutorial.

Prior to this project, I had never sewn curved seams for a quilting project. I was chicken. I had sewn curved armholes and neck holes for garments but hadn't tried curved piecing. The GO!baby made my first experience a great one. Thanks to the precise cutting, and the notches, I didn't have to rip out a single seam!
I was concerned about the amount of fabric waste using this cutter. I have to admit that I did not find that I wasted a lot of fabric at all. I would have wasted the same amount if I cut the fabric by hand and by using the cutter, I was more precise and saved a lot of time.
I am looking forward to trying out my other dies! I have a table runner in mind using my Tumbler die!
Thank you Accuquilt! You have a great product.