Wednesday 8 February 2012

Update on Gordon

Gordon is the name I gave my Accuquilt Go when I registered him on the Accuquilt website. Gordon is quite grown-up, not a Baby Go, and the reason I opted for this model was to do with my classes.
I bought him a few weeks before Christmas and my initial try out was disappointing. My cuts on the die that came along with him, were just not crisp. I couldn't believe I had parted with so much dosh and still had to use scissors to complete a cut..........I got into online dialogues with Accuquilt, and to be fair, they replaced the die - all was well, and I added a couple of dies to my stable.
I had an idea that I might hire the Go out to ladies in my classes, and income received from such hires would be re-invested in new dies. Win win for everyone.
I ran a couple of mini demo sessions in December and he went down very well.........
A couple of weeks back, I held a day workshop, Love is in the Air - this workshop is to make a small quilt with lots of appliqued hearts and I took Gordon along. I felt he added a really interesting dimension to my workshop, and everyone enjoyed using him. At this point, I knew I need a new cutting mat, boy, do they wear fast!!


I sent off for a new mat to fit the heart die and last weekend thought I'd cut a few ready- to- fuse shapes - I am planning to try and market little packs of shapes...........well, even with my new mat, the big heart kept catching. On close inspection, prising apart the foam at the sticking point, I discovered that the die was broken! Bugger!!
It occurred to me that the warped mat might have been the culprit and a further online chat with Constance at Accuquilt confirmed this possibility.
So, before my hiring venture has even started, I have pulled the plug on it. Any charge I planned to make would surely have to be used just to replace mats.
I am disappointed, I think I got carried away with all the online hype surrounding Accuquilt. I did genuinely believe however, and I still do, that it will be a useful tool in my classes and workshops. However, I will take some time to build up a library of dies because they are pretty expensive here in the UK. The mats need regular changing, and the dies are reckoned to be good for about a year.
This photo compares the old and new mat, the one on the right has been used for 3 short sessions and I can see I need to be ordering up a spare pretty soon. I wonder why they have to be made from such short lasting material?
How are you finding your Go now you have had it for a few months??

Changing the subject, I have made myself a new pincushion. I made one for our shop a few months back and it works brilliantly cos it is so big. I decided to have one for my sewing table to save delving into a box of pins and coming out with sore fingers.

This version is a little smaller, each side from a 5" square so would be doable from leftover charm squares. This time, I layered the squares with thin wadding, and for the top square, I used Insulbright. I quilted the top quite heavily and I think the combination of that and the insulated wadding provides quite a good resistance for the pins.
The main point about this pincushion is that I made it from the lovely, scraps that Reene thoughtfully picked out for me to accompany my cushion in the recent Brit Swap.The colours are perfect for the Americana colour theme of my sewing room. Thanks again Reene.





18 comments:

  1. Mmm - I was thinking about a Go cutter, but I have read in several blogs that the mats wear out quickly. I like the idea of selling packs of shapes though, but I can see it might not work financially!

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  2. Yay! I thought I'd recognised those scraps! They look fab!
    I have a Go Baby! and agree that the mats do wear very quickly! I haven't used it that much yet but had a lovely stock pile of dies for Christmas so am hoping that I get to try them all out before the mat gives up the ghost.

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  3. Love the pincushions. Disappointing re Gordon especially as he was so expensive.

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  4. Do I see a profanity block in this post? :)

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  5. Love your pincushion! I'm really disappointed about Gordon - he just doesn't seem to be sturdy enough for the job he's built to do. I hope Accuquilt continue to be as helpful as time goes on...in fact part of me thinks they should be offering you a refund as a goodwill gesture...

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  6. It does sound like Accuquilt still have teething problems with their design. It must be so disappointing when you`ve invested money. Love the pincushion though - super cute.

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  7. I think Susan had an issue with her Baby Go a while back as well. Sorry to hear you are having problems. love the pincushion

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  8. That's a disappointing experience from the Go! cutter. High maintenance too. Was a really great idea you had though. Love the cute pincushion. V.practical! Jxo

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  9. It is really disappointing about the Go! Cutter as well as annoyed about investing such a lot of money. Your pincushion is really nice. I am sure you will think of Renee every time you use it. Di xo

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  10. Sorry to hear Gordon is acting up... dont have one myself but know Susan had cutting mat issues too...

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  11. Sorry Gordon's not playing nicely with you :o( I have to say that having read the review that Amy at Badskirt did, I went for the upgrade to the Sizzix cutter I already had. It can cut fabric too, and seems to have much sturdier plates (the only reason I upgraded was because I had one of the original machines that took smaller dies, but the old dies work fine in the newer machine) I'll let you know how it goes after I've played a while with it.

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  12. I think I'll wait for a Go!v3 when they sort themselves out!
    Love the pincushion - fantastic idea x

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  13. Ohhhh...so sorry to hear about Gordon. I got a Go Baby for Christmas...have used it a couple of times and like it so far. I can see that the mats mark up quickly, hoping for the best with it..I only have 3 dies so far. Watch for our bog hop starting Feb 13th using cutters among other things...maybe there will be some tips....

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  14. I have a Baby Go and have good days and bad days with it. I have watched all the instruction videos, I align my fabric correct and yet I still get problems with accuracy. I have the 2.5" strip die and have to cut the threads at the end every time!! I am considering selling the lot to be honest. I hope you get your problems sorted.

    Right rant over.... love the picushion :)

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  15. It sounds odd but makes me glad I don't have enough money to get one!! I've read of similar problems and it's such a shame. You think they'd work on getting it sorted.
    The pin cushion is gorgeous, I could totally do with one of those, it's a handy caddy pin cushion! :)

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  16. Oh dear, that's frustrating. I know it's less fun to blog about something disappointing than something delightful, but I really appreciate your honesty! It's very helpful to get a realistic sense of the Go's shortcomings.

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  17. I am not sold on these cutters but they look so fun. I hope you find a nice balance. I love the pincushion with the little side pockets!

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  18. So sorry that Gordon is not going well. It must be very annoying that you can't do what you want to do with him!
    I haven't used my Go cutter very much, but I have noticed the mat is wearing out quite quickly. I haven't had any major issues with the dies so far. It's a great idea but I think they need to sort out these issues, especially making the mats out of sturdier material. love your pin cushion and the pockets for the tape measure and scissors.

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