Sunday, July 22, 2012

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!

9 comments:

  1. You poor thing. What a rotten thing to happen.

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  2. Ooh Noo. How awful for you. I hope you get it sorted out with the supplier.

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  3. Oh what a bummer! (Can I say that!??) I really feel for you!

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  4. What a DRAG! Well, it will certainly be a beautiful quilt and a fantastic design when they do get the templates correct. Whooohoooo! Love equilateral trialgles. Don't loose hope!!

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  5. I was just wondering can the fabric be re-cut to use it with smaller dies? I would hate to see such beautiful fabric not be used. I know I would make it work for something.

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    1. Thanks Mommarock, that's my plan! All my off-cuts go through the machine again until nothing else can be cut from them. As a result, I have boxes full of postage-stamp squares and half-inch hexagons just waiting to be stitched!

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    2. Fabric relief. I was in fabric stress there for a bit. LOL

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  6. Oh dear, I am glad you have a plan. I am looking forward to your new changes.

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