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Fabulously Fast Quilts Blog Tour

April 30, 2014 31 Comments

Hiya there, friends!  Happy Hump Day!

Do you know the ever-so-darling Miss Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter?  If not, you simply must!  Amy is just the loveliest of gals- so talented, and unbelievably kind-hearted, and I am SO excited to be spreading the word about her brand new book- Fabulously Fast Quilts, on this super fun blog tour!  All this week, a fabulous group of bloggers are featuring their favorite fast quilting and sewing tips, so let me give you a peek inside Amy’s new book, and then share my own fast quilting tip below.

fabulously-fast-quilts-book
fabulously-fast-quilts-amy-smart-002

First of all, I just love the concept for this book- FAST quilts!  Goodness knows we all need this!  So many quilts to make, children to raise, a house to manage, yet so little time.  I like quilts that crank out quick!  Part of it is my attention span- it’s, well, short.  When I get excited about a quilt, I pretty much need to get it stitched up immediately, so I can move on to the next exciting project.   Quilting ADHD- yes, I’m a believer.

fabulously-fast-quilts-squares

fast-strip-pieced-quilts

The other thing I love about this book is how Amy’s classic style naturally comes through.  I just love her spin on historically rooted designs- so crisp and clean, suited to nearly any fabric aesthetic- truly classic.

fabulously-fast-quilts-amy-smart-001

And now for a fabulously fast quilting tip!

One of the things I’ve learned over the years, and wish I’d known from the very start of my quilting journey, is that many seemingly tedious quilting steps can be done en masse- yes, as in, lots at once.  The more you can turn your piecing process into an assembly line-type scenario, the faster it will go.

Starting with cutting…  In this photo, I have 4 layers of fabric deep at each strip, so I’m getting 32 squares with each cut!  To keep things speedy, I use the marked lines on my rotary mat to help me quickly make sure that my strips are all lined up straight, then SLICE.  I find that as long as my blade is relatively sharp, I’m able to maintain a high level of accuracy with up to 4 layers.  Though once I cross into 5 or 6, things start to get hairy.  Could depend on your fabric & blade, but I’d recommend starting with 4, and experiment to see if you can get any thicker than that without sacrificing accuracy.

Fabulously Fast Blog Tour 01

And then there’s piecing of course…  I never miss an opportunity to chain piece, even if it means I have to stitch things out of order.

Fabulously Fast Blog Tour 02

And even marking…  Why do these one at a time?  I use the vertical lines on my mat to place my squares in a straight line, so I can mark several in once fell swoop.

Fabulously Fast Blog Tour 03

You can even press in assembly-line fashion.  If my units are relatively small, I fill my board with as many as I can, then work my way from one end to the other, pressing them open.  Every minute saved is another minute of quilting I can get done (or sleeping, or showering…you know, the luxuries).

Flying Geese Tutorial 12

Well, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my quick quilting tips!  Promise me you’ll check out Amy’s new book, which is available on Amazon, as well as most quilt shops.  And don’t forget to pop by all the wonderful stops on the blog tour.  It’s just packed with helpful tidbits.

Monday April 28
Sachiko Aldous of Tea Rose Home
April Rosenthal of April Rosenthal
Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane
Tuesday April 29
Jen Wilding Cardon of Stitch This! Martingale Blog
Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side
Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet
Wednesday April 30
Faith Jones of Fresh Lemons Quilts
Melissa Mortenson of PolkaDot Chair
Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock
Thursday May 1
Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced
Lynne Goldsworthy of Lily’s Quilts
Jeni Baker of In Color Order
Friday May 2
Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt
Lindsay Conner of Craft Buds
Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

Cheers!!

XOXO

Filed Under: blog hop, Blog Hops, blog tour Tagged With: Amy Smart, Fabulously Fast Quilts, Quilting Tip

Comments

  1. Yanic A. says

    April 30, 2014 at 4:01 am

    Just lovely!

    Reply
  2. Sigi G says

    April 30, 2014 at 5:13 am

    Love your tips – anything to make my quilting journey more fun and faster is a plus. Yes, I’ve ordered Amy’s book – the more I see – the more I like. Thanks

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Fullerton says

    April 30, 2014 at 7:24 am

    Can’t wait to see what you’re making with these lovelies! Great Tips!

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    April 30, 2014 at 8:09 am

    Thanks, Amy. Great tips. I like the cutting idea!
    This book is definitely one I’d like to purchase.
    Looking forward to your book as well!

    Reply
    • Kat says

      August 12, 2016 at 8:26 pm

      You can get it on your kindle from Amazon! I love mine! Great book

      Reply
  5. Katie says

    April 30, 2014 at 8:11 am

    Thanks for the tips and I look forward to the blog tour. You are an inspiration, doing it all with all your kids too. Keep it up and I always look forward to your next blog post.

    Reply
  6. Kathleen O'Grady says

    April 30, 2014 at 8:57 am

    Thanks for the great tips. I use some of those tips myself. Amy’s book looks like a great one to have.

    Reply
  7. springleafstudios says

    April 30, 2014 at 9:37 am

    Great tips. I use most of them myself because that Quilting ADHD is oh so real for me. I’m always on to the next project so speed and ease are a huge help.

    Reply
  8. Jo Ann Rust says

    April 30, 2014 at 9:47 am

    Your website always cheers me up no matter what is going on in my life. Thank you for being you, Amy.

    Reply
  9. A menina cos(z)e? says

    May 1, 2014 at 8:11 am

    Thanks for the wonderful tips! :)

    Reply
  10. Lori Morton says

    May 3, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    Thank you soooo much for your Tips!! Very useful…’specially for a fairly new quilty person! :)

    Reply
  11. Stacy says

    May 4, 2014 at 1:36 am

    Hi Amy – What fabric line is that in the picture where you’re describing the tips regarding cutting 4 layers at a time? I love it. Love your blog too. Thanks!

    Reply
  12. Gayle says

    May 7, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks for the speed tips. I use a few but I will definitely be adopting the others.

    Reply
  13. Mindy Langston says

    June 14, 2015 at 7:59 am

    what is the fabric line in the picture of the cutting tip? Those fabrics are lovely!

    Reply
  14. Patti Sanchez says

    September 9, 2015 at 2:05 am

    i was taught to cut left to right and use your ruler, not your mat grids. Over time the mat grid is going to get less and less precise. It might be ok for larger cuts, but smaller cuts need to be more precise. Sometimes even a few threads one way or the other will throw off your design. Stacking is great – but ask around about using the mat. Better to rely on your ruler.

    Reply
  15. Donna says

    January 16, 2016 at 8:10 am

    Great tips. Thanks!!

    Reply
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  17. Mimi Harshman says

    January 3, 2018 at 8:12 am

    Good tips. I use all but the four-layer cutting. It just seems to me that I spend more time getting and keeping the layers stacked correctly than if I just cut two at a time! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  18. Betty Fadrigon says

    October 6, 2018 at 6:34 am

    What is the size of your ruler that you’re using?

    Reply
  19. Patty says

    January 6, 2019 at 6:44 am

    Your work is so beautiful! I am a new to quilting and your tips will be very helpful to me. Great blog!! TY

    Reply
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  21. Diane says

    June 13, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    I do recommend a new blade for this depth cutting. Hold tight with opposite hand when cutting. Any shifts might mean a slice into the seam allowance. The idea is great and I have done it. Experience speaking 😊

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Trackbacks

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