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.