Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Out with the Old . . . In with the New

So to say I am excited about the new cutting mat I got for my birthday would be a vast understatement.  It is so absolutely fantastic.  The old one had a huge bubble in the center from one of our moves where it didn't quite stay laying flat which made it such  pain to cut in the middle.


And because of that, the side lines started to look less like lines and more like gorges.  Seriously, I start to wonder how I cut straight lines on some of these :)  But never fear, this good old friend won't be tossed out.  It will now be my traveling mat that I will use when teaching.  Then I won't be near as stressed about trying to keep it laid out on the seats flat which is impossible with seat belts ;)


Seriously, I keep rubbing my hand over the new one because I love how absolutely perfectly smooth it is :)


But it won't stay like that for long.  I was so excited I whipped out some new projects.  A quick fun project using solids from Bonnie and Camille's Scrumptious line.


And a not so quick project to cut out using Sweetwater's Road 15 line.  I can not wait to start putting this quilt together.  I am so totally excited about it!!!


So now that I am all cut out, its back to the sewing.  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!
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27 comments:

  1. Yay!! I still need to get a new rotating one. Mine is so full of gouges that it's near impossible to use. Hoping next week once all the back-to-school stuff is finished. Enjoy!

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  2. Is the bubble similar to being warped as if by heat? If so, freezing a cookie sheet, then placing it on the mat with some heavy weight on it is supposed to flatten them out. I haven't verified this, but it's what Fiskars recommends.

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  3. Just last night I flipped my cutting mat over to square up some HSTs and decided I needed to keep my eyes open for a 40% off sale on quilting supplies. I think I will cut my old one in half and put half on my TV tray table I use when paper piece trimming and keep the other half for the travel mate.

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    1. Hobby lobby has 40% off coupons and cutting mats or you can use the hobby lobby coupon at Hancock fabrics. Or ScreEnsaver in Layton, Utah has a double sided (orange and red) 25x38 for $39.95

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  4. congrats, I NEED a new mat too, thinking about a BIG one instead of my regular 18 x 24"...... I keep my old ones for cutting batting if they need to be rotary cut.

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  5. It doesn't take much to make us quilters happy, happy, happy. I have a hunkin' big green and my latest is a yellow one. My eyes really needed the contrast of the dark fabrics on the yellow. Also have the rotating mats in different colors. I'm feeling the love. Good comments above.

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  6. For traveling with your mat, I have seen people use a large custom tote and it hangs from the hooks that are in most cars that people use for dry cleaning and such.

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  7. Hope you had a Happy Birthday, Melissa! Imagine what some would think... Getting that excited over a new cutting mat! But we get it :)

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  8. Enjoy it! I bought a new mat the other weekend at the Festival of Quilts - fabric seems to cut so much better on it, the other one is 8yrs old!

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  9. Happy new cutting mat! I always get mine at back to school/uni time, because I buy mine from the art shop, so much cheaper than the ones sold for quilting!

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  10. Fun! I have an old one that's like that. There isn't any yellow left on some of the lines because it is all cut to pieces. I can't wait to see what you're going to whip up with your new fabric!

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  11. Great gift! I'm close to needing a new one. I've cut up my old ones and used them for bag and tote bottoms.... they work pretty well. Enjoy your cutting!

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  12. My got warped from the heat of an iron, it was large so I cut the warped area off. I glued a piece of it to an old lazy susan, i use it when trimming down small blocks.

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  13. Happy Birthday! Oh, you'll just love cutting on it. I found that my blades were getting dull from cutting on an old mat and lasted much longer once I replaced it! Enjoy.

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  14. It looks so nice and I am sure it is heavenly to cut on.

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  15. It's all about the little things isn't it?

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  16. I accidentally left my old one in the car - flat - but it warped in the heat :( at the moment, i can't tell if my new one is bad, my rotary cutter is worn out, or if i have a bad set of blades

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  17. Both of the projects that you starting cutting look like much fun in the making. Can't wait to see them :-)

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  18. Happy Birthday! My mat looks like your old one, only worse, and I dropped it, creating a large crack which I have carefully stuck back together. I really need a new one--have fun with yours!

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  19. I am so jealous!! ha ha.... I got thinking.... mine is about 8-10 years old and the yellow lines are now wide white lines. I don't know why I have waited so long to get a new one. As for blades.... I read a hint from someone' blog that if you go to the hardware store and buy the 45mm carpet blades.... they work in our quilting cutters and are only ~ $2.00 - $3.00 a pack. I'm certainly going to look into this. Why pay more for blades just because they are "Quilting Blades". A blade is a blade.

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  20. So happy that you got a new mat!!! I'm sure mine are older than yours, but you have surely put more hours of use on yours!!! Isn't it funny how we are thrilled with such silly things??!! I asked for a new ironing board last year for Christmas (what! is she nuts? a non-quilter would ask!!) But I had seen a sturdy, wide one with an iron holder on the end at a friend's house and wanted one that wouldn't tip over every other day: I was so happy with the one I got!! :-D
    Have a wonderful weekend!!! Hugs, H in Healdsburg

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  21. Love Road 15, can't wait to see what you make.

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  22. Melissa, if you are looking for something to take with you for your teaching, Omnigrid had a fold away cutting station that has a cutting mat on one side and a ironing board on the other. http://www.joann.com/omnigrid-fold-away-cutting-station-12-x18-/prd22597/. Might be a good investment for the future.

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  23. I read your post yesterday morning about your new cutting mat. I couldn't believe it when I stopped at a garage sale a few hours later and they had the exact same cutting mat and 6x24 ruler. I asked how much she wanted for them and she said $1.00 for both!!!! I had to contain my excitement. I knew it was a steal of a deal and paid her two dollars. I left happy!

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  24. I fianlly got a new one myself about about 2 months back. it was way over due.

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa