I ALSO see things I don't understand at all. Many years ago a supervisor at my first job asked me, "How do you work?" It turned out to be a prescient question, as I have been aware of my work process and the flow of that work, ever since. It has also made me watch how other people work.
I made my first quilt in 1977, attended Quilt Market in 1983 and saw the rotary cutter for the first time. I knew as soon as I saw it that I would never make a quilt the traditional way ever again. I bought a rotary cutter and some templates and never looked back.
"Everyone" apparently, but me. I find these rulers, by any number of manufacturers, with all those lines and hash marks, confusing as hell.
I can't tell you how many times I've cut something wrong because the numbers ran backwards or that what I THOUGHT was the two inch line wasn't. That kind of thing really pisses me off. When I am in the middle of CREATING, the LAST thing I want to do is break my concentration and look for something ELSE.
If I am going to cut a million TWO inch strips, or THREE inch strips or WHATEVER, I don't want to have to stop in the middle of a process and shift gears to search for something STUPID. I want to WORK! I want to go, BANG, BANG, BANG, and not waste time, energy or brain cells (or, gasp, fabric!)
My coworkers have hear me repeat this line many times. "I don't mind working HARD, but I hate working STUPID."
So maybe somebody is wondering... "Lynne, what do you do it you need a 3-3/4" wide strip?" Well, I would tape the 1" to the 2.75" strip together with blue painter's tape.
"What if you needed a 7" strip?" (tape the 3" to the 4"), "or an EIGHT inch strip?" (tape the 4"+ 1.5" +2.5" together.) You can figure out the rest. A group of rulers/templates like this can be combined to make virtually any size you need.
(An interesting side note. THE REASON my big triangle template, and these, are colored, is because with COVID-19 everybody everywhere is putting up plastic guards so clear plexiglass is a rare (and expensive) commodity right now. Had I not said, "any color is fine" I wouldn't have had the idea to order this set of templates organized by color.)
I admit though, I don't do the quilt show circuit. There could be rulers like this out there, but I've never seen them.
SO HOW DO I CUT MY STRIPS? I thought you'd never ask. Come back tomorrow and I'll show you.
13 comments:
YOu have a good point Lynne. But I have sore hands, and the Accuquilt system is great for me, even though it means that I have to channel my creativity through the spectrum of the dies I own or am willing to buy.
I have had a set of these for many years, but don't use them much. Creative Grids in the UK used to offer them and I have found them good for "live" teaching
I had a set of clear ones back in the dark, beginning ages of rotary cutting, too. So easy to use but not clearly marked like your new ones. What a great way to go!
I understand your rant, but I disagree. Your templates (those are templates, not rulers) may be mathematically simpler. But I teach beginning quilters, and I stress safety when cutting. Keeping your fingers away from the edge of a small ruler is difficult and dangerous, and there is less control of the ruler. I teach how to use a regular rotary cutter ruler. I've taught about 1,000 beginning quilters. A regular rotary ruler is the best tool.
There are ways to make cutting and measuring easier: "Q Tools Cutting Edge" are static strips that go on the back of the ruler at any marking you need. They provide a lip that goes against the fabric, ensuring a perfect strip every time. Invisigrip on the back of the ruler is clear, adds no thickness, but makes the ruler non-slip, ensuring safe, accurate cuts. I would also say that it's easier to line up a line from a traditional rotary cutter ruler against the raw edge of the fabric, than lining up the edge of a template. At least that's been my experience for true accuracy.
Thanks for showing what works for you. I'm always looking for new, improved methods of doing any quilting task. But learning how to use a traditional quilting rotary cutter ruler is still a skill I would never skip.
I find it helpful and easy to mark my ruler with blue painter's tape at the width I want to cut. As an added benefit, the tape on the underside of the ruler snugs up against the previously cut edge of the fabric.
You are amazing - I would like to see 3 rulers taped together - just to see how it looks - the taping - how it stays together. Thanks. Interesting posts and so true about misreading all the lines on the ruler.
These are very cool and I like that the whole, halves, and quarters are color coded AND clearly marked. What do you do if you need 1.75" strips, or are some not in the photo?
I have a question based on 57andfemale's comment - she called these templates, not rulers. I assume the difference is thickness of material used?
I know you said you won't reveal who made them for you, do you have any tips on finding a good reliable source if one wanted their own templates or rulers made? I'm thinking not just strips, but things like odd sizes or shapes not already on the market. Or do I dig out the lonely and bored scroll saw in the basement and have at it myself?
Those were available in the early 1980s when there was only one company making a rotary ruler. Seminole patchwork was popular back then and the strips worked better than a wide ruler for that. They weren't marked with size though like yours so I used a black marker. As more companies got into the rotary ruler business the plain strips lost popularity, mainly for storage reasons. Rarely did anyone have a studio in the 1970s and 80s. A corner of the dining room or bedroom was the usual creative space and storage for tools and fabric was limited. Now with more people dedicating a space for sewing storage isn't as much of a problem and more than one cutting aid is the normal.
I for one , relate totally to your point of view... care to share where one can find something like this?..
I would like to know where one could purchase these rulers.
Thank you
I am with you Lynne, I HATE trying to read/follow those tiny hash marks on those type of rulers. I want my ruler to be the exact size I need so I can just cut & run. I will actually draft my patterns to fit my rulers for that reason.
My favorite square rulers to measure with are the Bias Square (tm) by That Patchwork Place. They have lines instead of hash marks. I've had mine for 30 years. So very easy to read.
Love your rulers, looking forward to your demo. Once upon a time I owned a “Salem Ruler” it was much easier to read because it had fewer markings. Unfortunately when I tried to replace it I could not find the brand anymore. I wore the lines right off of it.
I guess I cut differently all together. I'm a righty, the fabric is to the left, and I use the mat to determine the size I need and always just use the straight edge of the ruler. I'm curious to see your method. I think I would need to flip everything around to use these.
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