Finally made some cuts!

So amidst all the chaos and bad weather I have finally made some progress on the balloon! I worked for about 4 hours creating my pattern on butchers paper patterns (five in total) and finished cutting all of the top panels (32 panels). Since I am working with "rights and lefts", meaning identical patterns only in reverse on one side, it us much easier to fold the fabric over itself and cut two panels at a time (1 right, 1 left). If I had someone helping me cut I could easily do four layers at a time, but dealing with that many layers of fabric by yourself gets difficult. It slides on itself and can be difficult to get exact cuts. If you are building your own balloon or cutting any fabric, I suggest investing in a GOOD set of scissors. High end scissors cut smoother and usually fit better in your hand. You're going to be cutting a lot of fabric and it will make a difference.

This is the first time I have pulled fabric off a roll larger than 20 yards and I must say it is a strange feeling. For the last 10 years I have had to be aware of how much fabric was left on the roll to make sure I could cut a full panel out of what was left. When you are pulling fabric off a 200 yard roll you don't have to think, just cut. I cut 32 panels so far and I barely made a dent in my first roll! Granted, the panels were only about 11 feet long, but still...

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I purchased a webcam to document the work and create a more entertaining way for all of you to watch my progress. I have 4 hours of footage but I am having some technical difficulties making it into a time lapse video shorter than 10 minutes. Once I have it figured out I will post it. If any of you have any FREE software suggestions to make one, please let me know. Ive tried MAGIX video and Microsoft Live Video Maker with no success.

I'm going to be filling in this chart with the amount I have completed (cutting) as I go. There are 32 panels for each section.
 
I am going to cut more panels today and tomorrow as well.  My goal is to have the throat panels cut today and make a dent in the equator as well.