Expect to see some changes

Sooner or later, every quilter learns the saying "measure twice, cut once".

They usually learn it the hard way, after they've cut up their fabric and after they've started sewing. I thought I'd learnt that lesson long ago but it looks like I needed reminding.

Earlier this year, I had some more dies custom-made so that I could add triangle charm packs and diamond charm packs to my reportoire. I asked for equilateral triangles with 5" sides, and diamonds that were the same as two of these triangles stuck together. Simple, right?

I couldn't wait to get stuck into a making a new quilt so I quickly die-cut a couple of layer cakes - using the pale blues and pinks of Papillon and the French reds of Rouenneries Deux - and started this quilt.

I admit my machine-sewing skills have never been great. I guess I don't take enough care, I want to get things done quickly, and as a result my seams don't always line up. It didn't take me very long to get fed up with this crooked messy one.

I moved onto other projects, including making a huge stack of these new charm packs for my store. I finally set aside some time this weekend to prepare the ads and I got 95% of the work done when I discovered that ...

My custom-made dies were custom-made WRONG! I am going to kick some butt tomorrow morning and insist that that they are made again, properly!

The triangles measure 4 7/8" on 2 sides and 4 3/4" on 1 side. ALL sides are supposed to be 5". Obviously that means the angles are wrong too. No wonder my Papillon/Rouenneries Deux quilt failed.

 Now I have $900 worth of pre-cut triangle and diamond charm packs that I can't sell. This has really confirmed in my mind that I need to go ahead with something I've been thinking about for quite a while.

I need to re-focus the direction of my store. I didn't intend to be a "shop" with stacks of pre-cut stock but I found myself heading that way. That doesn't work for me. Being a "die-cutting service" that makes things to order is what works for me, and I think it works best for customers too.

Expect to see some changes to my store in the coming weeks. The changes I have been planning will allow a lot more flexibility and choice in the products available to customers. It won't be just hexagons any more!