Have You Tried Alphabitties?

We probably all agree that chain piecing is a fast and easy way to sew our pieces into units, units into blocks and blocks into quilt tops. But what if you lose track and sew the wrong pieces or blocks together? Then out comes the seam ripper!

I have been using a system involving fabric pieces stacked up on a cutting board. When it came to sewing rows together, I didn't chain piece. I would pick up two things, sew them together, then take them out of the machine, put them back where I got them and pick up the next two.

All that changed for the better when I was at my friend Linda Petrik's house and saw a stack similar to this:

I pounced on the stack! What are those? Linda said "They're Alphabitties and I got them from the Fat Quarter Shop!"

I always have two or three quilts in the piecing stage so I ordered three sets. Then I went to Target and bought a bunch of itsy bitsy binder clips.

I use the letters for the rows and the numbers for the blocks in a row. I can clip the numbers on my blocks and sashings for a complete row, gather them up and take them to the machine to sew -- and not get them mixed up!

As I finish the quilt assembly, I put them on my work table in order so I know I have a complete set ready for the next quilt.

I used the Alphabitties while piecing a quilt from the Rainbow Seeds line from Wilmington Prints. It made the whole thing faster and I only had to rip one little seam in the whole thing!

Love these!