Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Blog Tour!

It's finally my day!

I am so excited to be a part of the blog tour for The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips, by Ebony Love, and today is finally my day on the tour!


Why am I so excited?  Because, frankly, we need this book.   It is not another project book - this is an information book!

When I first started even looking at fabric die cutting there was next to NO information out there other than the Accuquilt site itself - and, at that time, there was next to nothing on that site except a basically a catalog of the dies themselves and the two cutters - the Studio and the Go!  As a person interested in purchasing a die cutter I had to really search for information - I had to really try to find information.  I searched YouTube and blogs trying to find reviews and videos and it took a lot of effort.  I finally purchased my Go! from a local quilt shop and dived into die-cutting.  I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning.  I didn't pay attention to grain, I bought dies I still haven't used because I bought what I thought I would use and not what I actually would use.  I thought that I would use the machine primarily for applique - nope!  I use it primarily for piecing - funny huh?  I bought dies that I knew I would use and love (the tumbler, the rag die etc) as well; but, if The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips had been around when I was first purchasing I probably wouldn't have made these mistakes.  The section on which dies to buy is very honest and very helpful.

The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips contains a die-cutter comparison that is very frank and honest and not exclusive to one company.  Ebony focuses on Accuquilt and Sizzix since they are, currently, the two companies that have the most to offer for quilters.  I really like the open discussion of the merits of each brand and which brand and cutter would suit different quilters.  Let's face it - each quilter has a different situation and different needs.  Your quilting set-up, budget and needs will affect your decision as to which cutter to purchase.  Would Ebony's book have helped me here?  You betcha!  Honestly, I still would have made the same choice that I did - but - I wouldn't have waffled for months before I made it and I wouldn't have worried so much about making it.

As I read, The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips, I found myself nodding my head in agreement with many of Ebony's statements - especially her take on the strip cutters.  I laughed out-load when I read her statement that many quilters point to the strip cutters and say what a waste of money they are and that they can cut strips faster with a rotary cutter.  When I first purchased my Go! I was guilty of this myself!  Yes, I admit it, I said this myself.  Guess what?  I was completely wrong!  Strip cutters are so much more than strip cutters and are some of the very BEST and most necessary dies to get!  There is a reason there is a whole chapter devoted to them in the book - they are workhorse dies!

There are lots of great chapters in the book including storage, maintenance, applique, fabric preparation, the rag dies and piecing - just to name a few.  These sections are an indispensable resource for those people wanting to get the most out of their die-cutters!  The information has been compiled, by Ebony, based on experience and by other leaders in the fabric die-cutting community.  Basically with this book you will have the most common questions answered and more - this will save you the hours that I had to spend researching when I first started die-cutting.

Ebony also has a big section on her EDeN system.  I'm not going to re-invent the wheel here though - Marjorie at Marjorie's Quilting Bee has already done a fantastic review of this system that I know you'll want to check out!

You will want to check out the other stops along this tour!

Other book tour stops this month:

If you're on the fence about purchasing a die-cutting system or someone who has a die-cutting system and wants to learn more about it - this is the book for you.

And, if you want to know if you will use your fabric die-cutting system I wouldn't hesitate to say yes!!!  I love my system even more than I ever thought that I would and I love cutting projects i never thought that I would ever make easily.  I also absolutely love processing my scraps soooo fast and easily so that I can actually use my scraps and my stash to make projects - so in fact - die cutting fabric saves me $$$ ;-)


24 comments:

beaquilter said...

sounds like a great book

Donna Joy said...

This is just the book I need, I would love a fabric cutter, just need info. So yes I have been putting off buy one.

Pam said...

sounds like a great book thanks for sharing info on what it is covers

Nancy said...

SOunds like we all NEED this book! I know I do! LOL!

Linda said...

That's a great review! Now I REALLY want this book.

emmy said...

You are so right about needing this resource. I spent days reserching the Go and finally puchased it. Have been looking into a larger cutter and will be so glad to have all the information in one book.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

nice review....I agree with you...I am quite new to my Go Baby...not sure how I missed out on this hop but I did....leave it to me...lol.

I enjoy my cutter immensely;don't use it for everything, but it is just so very neat!!

VickiT said...

Oh wow. I knew I wanted this book before, but after reading your post, I'm even more convinced. I am one of those that struggles with the decision to purchase strip dies vs. cutting myself. Mostly my reason is that I don't have alot of income to spend each month and I've opted to buy other dies instead of the strip dies because I knew strips I could cut while the other things were a little harder to do so. Now I can't wait to read more about Ebony's info about the strip dies.

Great review and info. Thank you.

Gill said...

This sounds such a great book!

Kathy MacKie said...

I'm sure I would use this book a lot.

Marcia W. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marcia W. said...

Thanks for the interesting review of Ebony's book and sharing your conclusions about die-cutting.

Marcia W. said...

Thanks for the interesting review of Ebony's book and sharing your conclusions about die-cutting.

Lovie said...

Have the GO, and love it. Looking to upgrade, studio or big shot pro, still undecided. Waiting for the book to arrive.

Sandy D said...

Just found out about this tour today because of SewCalGal sending me here. This sounds like a good informative book.

Virginia said...

I purchased a Go this month and 3 strip dies arriving on Tuesday. Your post was perfect as it reaffirmed my decision to get the strip dies first.

Karen in Breezy Point said...

Okay! I am going to have to get this book!!

Sally said...

This book sounds like a great resource. Thanks for the review.

suzanne urban said...

This book sounds like the author Ebony covered every thing the fabric die-cutter needs to know. I'm overwhelmed with the choices out there in the market and would love this book to guide me!

Barbara said...

would love to read this book

LeAnne said...

I got my cutter for applique. Now I'm wondering whether I should invest in the piecing dies. Guess I'd better get this book.

Sally said...

looks like I need this book! I have the Studio and Go! Baby and actually thinking about getting a Big shot--love die cutting!!!! Use both applique and pieced dies--wonderful products!!

Carla G said...

This sounds like a great resource! I'm looking into buying a die cutting machine and haven't decided which one to get! :)

SewLindaAnn said...

I'm so excited about this book, I love knowing all the ins and outs of machines. I have a GO Baby and want a larger sizzix and can't wait to see what would work best for me.

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