my new baby

Last week I got a GO! baby fabric cutter. The main reason I wanted one of these cutters is so I can cut about a million 2 1/2" squares. I LOVE 2 1/2" squares, as you can see here, here, here, here and here. They are a pain to cut individually, but the Go! cutter makes quick work of them.

I've been getting acquainted with my new cutter by cutting down as many of my scraps as I can, starting with the ugly ones. Or should I say, the less than appealing ones. I'm working my way up to the pretty ones. I've made some progress, I'm happy to say. And just in time...my scraps were ready to take over!

Using the Go! cutter is easy....

lay the fabric on the die, making sure to align the grain of the fabric to the angle of the die,

 lay the cutting mat on top (as you can see, it's gotten some use already!)

crank the entire thing through the Go! baby

and almost instantly, the pieces are cut

there isn't a lot of waste....but if you know me, you know I won't toss all that

a few quick snips with a scissors or a few quick slices with the rotary cutter leaves you with tidy scraps

in the bowl they go with like sized pieces to be used for other projects...like triangles!

my kids love to help! if they are around, they always ask to can turn the crank

It folds up and becomes very compact. It's lightweight and portable, too.

The pieces shown were cut using the value die. It has a 2 1/2" square, 2 1/2" half square triangles, and a 4 1/2" square. The triangles are cut with the dog ears already trimmed, which is extremely handy!

Here are two of the little half square triangles sewn together. This little block will finish at 2" square. Oh, my! But then again, I'm not a stranger to insane scrap projects. I rather like them. :)