What a difference a (new) blade makes

I have yet to make a Schnibbles deadline, but I am determined to finish up this month's project. I changed my blade before I started yesterday. HUGE difference. On Friday I was at a friend's house doing some cutting and my blade was dull, so she gave me a Harbor Freight blade. I had read about using Harbor Freight blades instead of Olfa blades because of the lower price. My friend hadn't tried them before so we were both pretty excited about the option of cheaper blades. She opened up a package of 2 blades; the first blade was all gunked up so she gave me the second one. It didn't work. It kept skipping so I don't think I am going to get any. I will stick with the Olfa blades when they come on sale. That being said, Joann's is having a huge sale right now with 50% off thread, cutters, matters and replacement blades.

I am using Salt Air from Cosmo Cricket for Summer Day. I love this line. It is cheery and fun. I am switching the pattern up a little by having solid navy for the 'bars' instead of more charm squares.

I am a shortcut quilter and with cutting so many charm squares to the same size, I attached tape to my ruler to make the process easier. The yellow tape shows the first cuts and the blue the final size. I used a couple other things to make the process easier, but I think I am going to save that for a 12 minute tips at the Des Modern Quilt Guild. Next meeting is Thursday (April 19th) 6:30 pm at the Waukee Arts Center. Do come if you are in the Des Moines area. It is a very fun time.