Fussy Cut Blocks and Photo-Designs

When I first heard about “fussy cuts” I was confused. All I could think of was fussy CATS. Maybe  it’s because I’m sorta a quilt newbie,  but I quickly realized it meant cutting a block or quilt shape in a way to focus on a particular design element. Beware – fussy cutting can be additive. Once you see how each block is it’s own little masterpiece, you just want to create more.

I was excited to get a copy of the new Fussy Cut Sampler book, as I wanted to see if some of the blocks would work well with photo-designs. Working with photo-designs is very similar to fussy cutting. Like fussy cutting you need to be particular about where you’ll be cutting and sewing.

As I’ve noted in other posts, pencil sketch photo-designs are one of my favorites to use into quilts. So for my first fussy cut block from the Fussy Cut Sampler book, I used pencil sketch photo-designs.  I made one block, and was pretty pleased, so quickly made another.

If you want to read more about the two designers behind the Fussy Cut Sampler book, Erin at Aurifil has a great interview with Elisabeth Woo Hardy and Nichole Ramirez.