AccuQuilt GO! { Review and Giveaway } We're Celebrating the GO! ALL WEEK LONG

I was so excited when the folks over at AccuQuilt contacted me about reviewing and giving away their exceptional product. I had no idea they were a fan of my blog, and was surprised they wanted me to promote their cutter. It's your lucky day readers! Today I'm announcing you all have a chance to win a GO! of your very own.



When Carolyn and I spoke a few months ago I told her how happy I was for the opportunity to share their machine with the world (or my little bloggy corner of it anyway). I mentioned I have always wanted to try the GO! but I never had the chance to see it demonstrated in person. I'm always a skeptic when it comes to the latest and greatest out there and rarely ever jump to make a major $$ purchase without trying said product out. When that AccuQuilt box arrived on my doorstep it changed my quilting experience FOREVER. I even created a tutorial for you on how to make a quick table runner using the GO! that I will share with you on the day I announce the winners. You're welcome very much!

I'm hooked!

I was able to get to know this machine enough to make a firm decision. The GO! is a great tool I feel every quilter should have in their studio arsenal. Whether you're looking for something new to spark interest in your hobby again or don't have a lot of time to spend quilting, the GO! is a universal solution great for busy quilters and crafters. I recommend it highly.

Carolyn even allowed me to choose 3 dies to try out with my machine:


Of course, I requested the ever popular 2.5" strip cutter die. I mean, hello!! You can make your own jelly rolls (great if you have an etsy or eBay shop and want to sell some stash fabric) and the strips come in handy for binding a quilt. You can also use the die for sashing, borders, patch blocks etc. Bonus!


The second die I requested was the Go Chisels. Another multi use die, I can create braided borders, rectangles with triangle corners, and zig zags. The best part is the die automatically scores the corners to prevent dog ears you need to cut later (saving you more time).


And finally, I tried out the Funky Flowers die. I label myself as a modern quilter and love the look of raw edge applique. I can use this die to dress up my quilts by adding a few accent pieces and really make it POP! Best of all, I can use my scraps with this die (and I know if you're like me, you keep all scraps to use for future minis and quickie projects).

The majority of problems with my quilting seem to develop around cutting mistakes. The GO! helps me by creating accurate and consistent cuts every time. I can cut up to 6 layers of fabric with each pass and cut an entire quilt 90% faster than using a rotary cutter!

Here are some of my thoughts after spending some time with my new buddy (I'm a sewing geek and proud of it):

I know the #1 complaint everyone has about this machine (and most of the naysayers have never tried one) is that you have a lot of waste. What?? I say, you only have waste if you don't line your fabric up properly. I'll share a neat trick with you later in the week on how to place your fabric on the die to minimize waste.

You've also probably heard, why buy a machine you can only use for certain tasks? Aren't there a limited number of dies available? Um, have you seen AccuQuilt's library of dies? They have released several new dies over the last few months with a whopping 52 dies currently available! They have licensed designs by several top quilters in the industry. They even have over 20 free patterns on their website to use the dies with.

The GO! helps me cut an entire quilt in a short period of time. No more sore back from bending over my cutting table. No more sore elbows from the continuous back and forth movement and downward pressure when using my rotary blade. I'll show you how easy it is to use the machine this week.

I'm a busy dad and most of my quilting happens after my kids go to bed for the night (the reason for the owlie avatar) which really cuts into my quilting time. With the GO! I can spend more time piecing and enjoying the fruits of my quilting labor and less time grumbling because I cut those last pieces a 1/4" too narrow. Yikes! You busy parents all know what I'm talking about here.


Thank you for making my life easier AccuQuilt!

Beginning Tuesday, August 31 I'll post about my experiences with the go cutter and share photos and tips on how to get the most out of your machine. Please join me for a week long celebration of the AccuQuilt GO!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up my rulers, cutting mat, or rotary cutter any time soon. I'm just saying I'll be grabbing for my my AccuQuilt GO! when I know my quilting time is limited and I need a fast gift to brighten someone's day.

Enough of me blabbing, are you ready to throw your name in the pot? One lucky GRAND PRIZE winner will walk away with a new AccuQuilt GO! and 3 dies of their choice. But wait, I will also be drawing names to win several other prizes donated by my blog sponsors and readers like you! Over the next week I will introduce you to the other prizes and the people who donated them. Here's what you can do to enter the contest up to 5 times:

1. Leave a comment on this post saying "Hi" and that you'd like to be entered.

2. If you follow my blog leave me a comment letting me know you follow.

3. Visit the AccuQuilt website and leave a comment on this post telling me what dies you would pick out if you won. Remember you will get 3!!

4. Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway and share the link with your friends and leave me a comment telling me you did. Please include @RyanWalshQuilts in your Tweet so I can verify your entry.

5. If you have a blog, share this giveaway with your readers and link to it. Remember to come back here and leave me a comment with the link and you will be entered again!

The contest is open for entries until Sunday, September 5, 2010 @ 11:59 PM Eastern. On Monday, September 6, the Random Number Generator will pick the comment of one GRAND PRIZE winner and several runners up and I will post the results here on the blog.

Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. Single comments with more than one way you qualified will only count as 1 entry. To maximize you chances of winning, leave 5 separate comments for each way you qualify.

Good luck!