My First Quilt: Day 1

So I started working on my first quilt today (the Amy Butler Lotus quilt pattern that I mentioned in a previous post). I have a little over 100 fabric scraps, all different prints, that I was using to cut 4-1/2″ x 7-1/2″ squares from. To begin with, I had to iron all the fabric since it had been crammed in a drawer for the last few years. Here’s part of my nicely ironed stack:

After the ironing, I was excited to get out the Omnigrip ruler that Kim and Amy recommended, which I bought at Joann’s today using my lovely 40% off coupon. It has nice little grippies on the bottom so it won’t slide around on top of the fabric. I was all ready to cut with my Clover rotary cutter, when…hrm. Didn’t really cut through much of anything on the first swipe. So I started hacking away like I was cutting into a piece of meat. Sort of ridiculous. I had forgotten that I had last used it (years ago) when cutting up a lot of minky. Maybe that’s the culprit. So I got two of my squares cut out and decided to call it a night. I am scared to death of not cutting everything perfectly as it is, and having dysfunctional tools isn’t going to help at all. Back to Joann’s tomorrow with another coupon…I think I’m going to get an Olfa.