The End is Nigh!

This is it! No, not Y2K or 2012 and the world ending crisis. It is the last day to enter the Fall into Fall Blog Hop and win some great prizes. I’ve got three prizes lined up and I am making the draw first thing in the morning tomorrow.

I have to say that I love all the comments I’ve been getting about my posts. I wish I could reply to them all, but I don’t have that kind of time. But let me say, I’ve learned a lot about organization, and am delighted to discover that I’m not the only quilter who works best in a slightly untidy space. What is it that makes it so hard to clean up after myself? Am I just lazy? No, that can’t be it, I’m pretty sure that the mess just inspires me. Well, at least that’s the excuse I am using. Now if only the sweeping fairy would show up and get rid of those dust bunnies for me. Are dust bunnies and endangered species?

Rulers: Just a few words about rulers today. We all have them, they are a vital tool of quilting. Pull out your favorite ruler. Look closely at it. Is it all chipped and dinged? Are the lines fading? Are they gone? Did you drop that ruler on the way to class and chip off a corner? Yikes. You had better consider replacing that old thing. Those missing lines are what help you get accurate cuts and if your edges are rounded, how can you possibly cut correctly. And, tell me how in the world you expect to get a nice clean cut at the corner if you have to pretend that the ruler is not missing a chunk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Ruler care is quite easy really. If you find it is getting a little harder to see the lines, try washing it in nice warm water with a bit of dish soap. Rinse and dry well.

Is it slipping when you try to cut? Try putting some Wonder Tape or Invisigrip on the back to help it adhere to the fabric better. Both of these are thin plastic films that add gription. (Yeah, I know that’s not a word, but I love it anyway.) I’ve tried those little sticky dots and the sandpaper dots, but find that they add gription where they are, but raise the ruler in other places and the fabric can slip where the ruler is not tight against it.

I store my rulers laying flat in the drawer. I have one drawer for big rulers and one drawer for wee rulers. This works well for me as I am not constantly knocking them off the table. Because my studio is always a mess, I find that those ruler stands don’t work well for me. All they do is allow me to knock all the rulers off the desk at once. I have a friend with one and she loves it, but then again her studio is spotless. If you have lots of wall space, consider hanging your rulers on the wall to keep them from getting damaged.

There you have it, ruler care in a nutshell. Keep them clean, unbroken and keep them put away. And don’t forget they break when you drop them, but they shatter when you drop them in extreme cold. Just ask me how I know! And people, if your ruler is trashed, suck it up and go by a new one. Your accuracy can't help but get better.

Think how slow things would be if we were back in the "good old" days of quilting and had to hand trace templates and scissor cut everything. I would NEVER get anything finished.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How much would would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Best answer gets an extra draw entry.