It Ain't Easy Being Green

27 years ago I bought a 48" x 96" green cutting mat. Think about it... that's four feet by eight feet! At the time I had a 48" x 120" worktable, so it worked just fine. At the time I also bought a 24" x 36" clear cutting mat.

Then my life changed, and I rolled up the big green mat and stored it in my basement. A few years later I cut a 36" piece off the long side to use on my dining room table, but I rolled up the rest and it went back to the basement.

When my sister and I started making scrappy quilts in the late 90's, I gave her the green mat (because she also got the table) and I used the clear one. I've been using it ever since.

Having two work tables in the new sewing room is really great, but free piecing makes a heck of a mess, and the clutter limits my workspace.

I decided it was time to bring up the green mat from the basement, and cut it down to the size of my big worktable, which is 37-1/2" x 51". Because it's been rolled up so long, I left it lying on my dining room floor for a couple of days to relax and on Saturday I cut it down to size. It's held in place with spring clamps. The clear mat got moved to the smaller table.
So where did the mess go?
Ahem.