Make your life easy - change that rotary cutter blade!

Oh my gosh -- another beautiful day! It was very difficult to stay in the house, so I did NOT! Life is too darn short and quilting? While there are deadlines, it's not life or death! I walked to the grocery store, not once, but twice! I need that daily goal of 12.5 KM to meet my annual walking goal. Do I have to? Nope - I don't - the world won't end, but I made a commitment to myself and am determined to keep it. 

Then, the girls and I sat outside and read on the front patio. They are NOT keen on this arrangement since they have to be on their leashes. I love them dearly, but I don't trust them! Oh, they wouldn't run away like they would before, but if they saw another dog, a rabbit, a squirrel, or a cat, they'd be gone in a heartbeat. 

While Murphy is mostly calm when we see rabbits and squirrels, she's a lunatic when she sees a cat.

When I finally entered the house, I went downstairs to try to tidy Studio B. I started with the tubs that I had acquired. Here are the two quilt tops, with backing, that went into the community projects "to be quilted" pile. 

Two quilt tops for community projects

There was a large bag of I Spy fabric. I think we exchanged that at one time. She may or may not have used some of this. I put it with my retreat stuff—it'll make a great project to do at a retreat. Several other almost-finished projects went there as well. They will make great additions to the community projects pile. I certainly DO NOT need or want those quilts. There are two Christmas-themed quilts, and I wonder if Project Linus wants them? I must contact them today. If not, well - I'll let you know about those. I've sent a message, so I should have an answer by tomorrow. 

I-Spy fabric

Speaking of the community projects area, this is one part of the community projects area with MANY quilt tops to be quilted. I do not like cardboard boxes, but sometimes you do with what you have. 

PART of the "to be quilted" area for community projects

So when I emptied two of the large clear plastic tubs, I substituted them for the large blue tote upstairs filled with Christmas fabric. Then, I was able to get rid of one cardboard box and added several other quilt tops. 

Plastic is sturdier than cardboard

The blue tub is more in line with those I already have, which is better. 

Looks better

After sorting, putting away, and rearranging, this is all that I have left to sort through. If I remember correctly, some large pieces are appropriate for quilt backs, so it shouldn't take much to sort through. And then I'll have ONE more tub to replace that final cardboard box. 

This is the last of what needs to be dealt with

Very little of what came in went into my personal stash. It mostly went into community projects., which is a good thing. I did keep the thread and sorted all the neutrals into that empty basket. The rest went into community projects. 

While working on my UFO, I managed to ALMOST complete all the first rounds on the twenty-four blocks with the dark for the first row. Yes, this was a project I inherited in those tubs. It'll make a lovely lap quilt when it's done, and since more than half of the blocks are done, it shouldn't take too long. 

The first round on the blocks

I think there are THREE blocks left to finish that round. Then they need to be trimmed, and all that remains to do is add the second and final round, black on white. That will take a bit longer, but it's still an easy project to do as an ender and leader. 

What remains to finish the first round

I have company for the next two days, which is excellent. A work colleague has a day between events, and we have projects to work on, so that will be the focus for today. Then she's gone on Tuesday morning to prepare for her next event. It works out great to share time and complete a couple of samples. 

I changed the blade in my large rotary cutter, which is a good thing. There was one annoying spot on the cutter, and I always tell people they need to change the blade when that happens. I need to listen to myself more often. 

Changing the rotary cutter blade

I even got a piece of tape and marked the date. Now, I need to change the medium cutter blade as well. 

I marked it with the date

I did not sleep well last night, but I am headed out to spin class. Do I even remember how to set up the bike? It's been that long. They will think I've died! But between travel and feeling under the weather when I got back, I just couldn't drag myself to the gym. I think a nap will be in order later today. 

On that note, I'm out of here! It's going to be a nice day again today, so it will be hard to stay inside. We might work in the morning and then off to the back or front yard to brainstorm or just veg out! Then we can hit the sewing and embroidery machines later when it cools off! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Hands off

I decided that I would walk to the grocery store that has a big pharmacy so I could stock up on some glucosamine. I should have started taking it long ago, but I didn't. So let's start now and move on. This was my first time in a grocery store since the pandemic was announced. There are normally two entrances to the store and one is closed off. For the open one, there's an entrance door with someone monitoring the people going in and there's an exit.

I wonder how closely they are monitoring stuff? Lots of signs - only one family member at a time. No bags allowed and other notices. As I was leaving the store, some guy, yakking his head off on a cell phone, comes in the exit. He got yelled at by a customer and the security guy. Like - you can't READ the *&^% sign?? Oh yes - he's on his cell phone - too important to follow the rules.

And then there's the girl (I want to say chick - but that would be stereotyping) who is standing at the end of an aisle, in a section of the store with narrow aisles, chatting up a storm on her cell phone. Seriously??? Can you not buy your groceries and get out of the store and talk in your car? And then there are the two young women discussing the merits of some beauty product or shampoo. I don't get it.  Get in - touch only what you need to touch and get out. Simple!

I did pick up some apples that DH had forgotten. OK - I got my grocery list to him late because I was on the phone and he didn't see the note in time. Big signs - TOUCH only what you are going to buy and wash when you get home. I did that.

But then I got to the aisle with the health supplements. Oh boy - the shelves look pretty bare and at first, I didn't think I wasn't going to find what I was looking for. The products are displayed by each brand. Hmmm - I looked with my eyes. I picked up one container because I thought it was the only kind there (only two bottles of it on the shelf). Then I glanced over and saw my favorite brand and so I put the one in my hands back on the shelf. I know - I felt really bad about that. But have you ever paid attention to how much we need to read the label? I wanted to see what was the difference between the products. I figure this is better than nothing at all. I can read the labels later.

Glucosamine

Then I picked up a magazine from the rack that is NO LONGER in the same place. I didn't even check to see what had been moved to that space. I went through the self check-out so I didn't have to touch anything and no one else touched my stuff and I was out. Phew - I survived a trip to the grocery store.

Lots of people with masks and I do feel a bit guilty not wearing one since it's supposed to protect others against me. I'm pretty sure that I'm clean and I'm not coughing and hacking, so I'm OK. Selfish? I don't know, but I feel comfortable.

BUT DH noticed something when he went to the store. What the heck has happened to the price of hamburger???

The price of hamburger has skyrocketed

Can you read that???  $28.64 a KG. Seriously??? That's a huge price increase. That package is TEENY tiny. I told him no more hamburger for me. I'll go vegetarian before I pay those prices for hamburger meat. Now I have to find a good recipe to use with lentils. I get the supply and demand pricing, but that's totally insane.

I did manage to get the magazine quilt blocks recut and I started sewing them back together. It shouldn't take long to get that together and I still have time (It has to leave by early next week) so I'm not worried. I am worried about my UFO homework. It's due in less than a week and I haven't started. I think I know what I'll be doing this week. I also have some writing and editing pictures to do this week, plus get the homework ready for the classes (three of them) this weekend. There will be NO TIME for fooling around!

I worked on pet mats and got all the bags serged together.

This is the stack that I serged the previous morning.

Bags for pet mats are serged together

Got a nice little bin of scraps from that exercise which will go into a pet mat.

The bin of cut off bits

I do love the little catch bin for the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air S|400. It's plastic and clips to the base of the serger. No fabric bag to clean out which is a pain. This is super easy!

The plastic waste container on the Amber Air S|400

This is what didn't get serged together the previous day. But it's all done now. I finished it up this morning.

Pieces to still serge

As I was tucking ends in yesterday while I watched an episode of The Quilt Show, I had to laugh. I had serged the sides of two bags but forgot to serge the bottom. Those are now done as well.

The scrap bin on the cutting table in Studio B got emptied.

An empty scrap bin in Studio B

This morning's exercise was a bit more complicated as the pieces were smaller. But four pieces made one side and eight of them made one bag.

Pieced sides for a pet mat

There are four small squares left. I put them with the rest of the upholstery samples and they'll get used when I do my next pet mat making marathon. I think I ended up with 15 bags? That'll go a long way to clearing up some of those bags of scraps. 

Four squares leftover 

I even had some practice quilting sandwiches which got serged and the thread ends will get tucked in. Those are good for small carriers. They are all going to the same home. They can use them as they see fit. Yep - I'm on a roll, but as mentioned, I'm going to have to take a break for this week.

Serging the edges of a quilting practice sandwich

I did get three of those quilting sandwiches finished off yesterday, as well as one pet mat after I emptied all the scrap bins.

Finished pet mat

That was a HUGE job and I made amazing progress. I figure a couple more days and that entire mess will be history. Have you noticed how good I am at procrastinating in the office? I can clean and tidy anything else but this place! Oh - it's turn is coming. I'm running out of things to tidy up! I don't really care what gets tidied up, as long as stuff is happening. That's all I care about.

Om 2015, I rented a house in PEI for a month. I loaded the car with two dogs (not my current two), a portable sewing table, a sewing machine (just one), and loads of projects. The car was packed. I had asked friends to offer up some tidbit of stuff that I could use to do a "while I'm away" challenge. I found the suitcase with all the stuff in it this morning. It's not a big suitcase, but it's packed.

I started the challenge and I really need to get back to it and finish it off. There are all kinds of crazy things in that box. I've put it in a UFO box for the moment, but I will get back to it!

As you know there is a virtual sewing retreat starting next week. I'm going to share with you tomorrow how to prep for the retreat so that you'll make the best use of your time. 

I have two projects that I'm going to prep since I did want to add one more to my laundry basket. And there'll be room in the laundry basket for both - but only after they are prepped. One of them will be my tumbling blocks quilt and the other is in this laundry basket. Wait until you see what's in here. It's totally insane!!!!

A project to prep for the virtual retreat

When I left Studio B this morning, this is what the work tables look like. That's pretty impressive. Oh, that white laundry basket in the distance is the one above so it's technically on the cutting table to be sorted through later today.

The 6 projects that need the binding finished are by the sewing machine so that does empty a wee bit more space. The best news? Nothing has been added to the tables because there is NOTHING to add. Unless I start pulling things off a shelf or out of a bag to further sort. But there's no need at the moment. This is all the stuff that doesn't have a home. Oh, there are bags of UFOs and new projects under the long arm, but I'm not counting them since that's their permanent home for the moment.

I'm impressed. The items at this end of the table mostly need to be put away and the other end of the tables is UFOs that I want to work on. I'm not even touching the weekly laundry basket of stuff upstairs. ACK!!! That's why all this cleaning needs to be done. So I can get to the laundry basket and other UFOs.

I've been observing clothing projects online or in magazines. Hmmm - I do NOT want to revisit the romper or jumpsuits era. I wore them when I was younger - gosh - I had a WHITE one. What was I thinking?? They are cute - sure. But have you tried to go to the washroom with one of those? This is not for the older generation to be sure. That's why kids' onesies have snap fasteners in the crotch!!!

Rompers are back!!!

I haven't been walking in the woods lately because Murphy just can't control herself. She has to chase everything and well - that's why my joints are protesting. All the jerking around is not fun. But we did take a detour the other day. The trilliums are out. They've probably been out for a while, but my first time seeing them was the other day.

Trilliums in the forest

Don't' worry - I've shortened the walks with the dogs so there's not as much pulling and jerking. I'm already feeling better.

There's a small creek in the forest as well and guess what? I saw the mommy and daddy duck. They visit my pond about twice each year in the spring. Then they go to the creek and when that dries up? I'm not sure where they go. Gosh - they are hard to see in the picture, but they are just above the logs in the middle.

Ducks in the creek

I see another one of the quilts from our North Star class got finished. This is Valerie's. It looks amazing. I swear this is the quilt that almost everyone in the class finished and even got them quilted. I love that quilting pattern.

Valerie's North Star quilt

Shoot - I was hoping this next picture would have turned out better. But if you look close, there's a wobble in this fresh cut. If you don't keep the rotary cutter parallel to your ruler, your "straight" line isn't so straight. That happened just because I changed the angle of the blade and it created a significant wobble. Watch that when cutting. Keep that rotary cutter straight up and down, don't let it wobble sideways.

A wobble in my straight line

 

Don't forget the Virtual Sewing Retreat. It takes place on May 27 - 31. I'll have an open Zoom meeting from 9 AM EST to 9 PM EST. You can check-in and out as often as you want. Stay to chat, stay to sew. And don't forget that I'll be providing some tips tomorrow to help you make the most of the retreat. It's going to be fun and besides - what else do we have to do???

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Cutting marathon!

It would appear that I have a LOT of cutting to do.  I"m not sure how that happened. Oh, I know. Getting volunteered for a job and also trying to finish off existing commitments. 

Plus I found a new purpose for my empty laundry basket!  I had a bunch of strips to cut - 1 1/2" strips.  Eight different fabrics - 40 strips PER fabric. Yep - that's a lot of strips.  But they are done!

Lots of strips cut and bagged

Actually, I cut 41 of each as I need one for my sample which I hope to start sewing today. I also cut out a small project that will become a free pattern which you'll see more of next week. 

But while I was cutting, I ran into a small issue. I had pressed all the fabrics so they were nice and crisp.  I carefully (and individually) laid each one out on the cutting mat. And I trimmed the end and then I cut.  At one point, I ran the rotary cutter along the ruler and oops - there is something here that doesn't sound right. Or I should say, doesn't feel right.  

I checked and OH CRAP - I just ran over a hand sewing needle. Where the needle came from, I've no idea. I haven't been doing any hand sewing, all the fabrics had been gone over with the iron and yep - I ran over that stupid needle. 

A bad thing to find on the cutting mat

Well you know me - let's see how badly damaged the blade is?

Oh, shoot - there's a nick in the blade!

Just what you don't want when you have a lot of cutting to do.  I thought I would struggle through (why I've no idea!).  I did get all the cutting done, but I really really must change that blade before I start cutting the next section.  GRRRR!  And just like that - $10 down the drain!  Thankfully it wasn't a new blade and probably time that it was changed anyway!


I'm on my own this week.  That mean's that I'm responsible for making my own dinner and keeping the joint tidy and the grocery shopping!  I think I'm doing a pretty good job. My neighbour dropped off some fresh from her garden cherry tomatoes which I've been feasting on all week (besides other things as well!).  And the weather is so nice, I've been stealing moments in the evening on the deck (when I should be cutting) where I read my book (yes - well into the next one) and have the girls entertain me. No loss of entertainment there!

On that note have a super day!!!!


Ciao!

A binding affair!

I've started following a lot more blogs since I went back to work. I know, that sounds awful, but it's a good way to keep in touch with what's happening in the quilt world. And some of the bloggers read my blog. I think it's funny that some of us have never met and yet you feel like you know them.

There are many "challenges" or goal setting or quilt a longs and you have to find something that works for you. At the moment, I don't have time to participate in those. But there is one that I find intriguing and I'll certainly get myself set up for next year.

I've probably got the information incorrect, but it was something to the effect of setting a goal(s)  for the year. Finishing projects is the big one. At the end of 6 months, there was a review. I've tried to do that before, but I find that if it's just myself involved, not much happens. Don't get me wrong - I get loads done, just not what is on that goal list!

I know what my focus would be and technically I could make this my goal for the rest of the year.  That is to finish the handstitching of finished quilts. Binding, sleeves, and labels. There are quite a few that are in that category, not tons, but enough and it would be nice on those days when I get to hand sew that I'm not doing boring stuff like finishing off years old projects.

I suppose it would be good to take inventory and make a list. Lists are good.  Then I could have a label printing session - do you know that I have given up printing at home. And I LOVE IT!!!!!   I haven't had a single frustration in that area. I simply forward what I want printed to DH and he prints it!  Brilliantly solution to a problem!  Except that it now takes two people to print something.

On the topic of finishing things, I took this quilt to the Monday sewing group. It's small and while the quilt was in a show a couple of years ago, the binding was pinned to the back. I wasn't into machine binding at that time.  Now the binding is on. There is some stitching that I want to do on the front, then I can stitch the sleeve on and make a label.  Simple!

One more quilt with the binding on!

 After all, the more quilts I can get finished, well they can be added to my trunk show and when my grand finale comes along and all my quilts are given away, this will be one less that someone has to finish for me!

Speaking of binding, I got the binding completed on that quilt repair as well.  I know - a hand stitching fiend!  I made the patches for the repairs last night and I'll share those with you tomorrow.

Binding on quilt repair - done!

Now here's something you may or may not know.  As a quilter, I try to buy the best of everything. I buy name brand rulers, mats and cutters and of course - fabric!  I want the good stuff even if it costs more money. Just means I buy less which isn't a bad thing.  Why?  Am I a quilt snob?  Nope (OK - a bit!) - I've learned that buying cheap tools is exactly that - cheap. They break, they don't work well and can be dangerous and cause major issues with your project.

For my rotary cutters, I buy OLFA. Plain and simple - I won't buy anything else.  I've purchased many OLFA cutters over the years - I think I posted a picture on my blog one day of how many cutters I have.  Hmmm- not only did I post a picture - the darn entire post is dedicated (or almost) to the rotary cutter!

And if you remember, I actually wore one of them out so that it couldn't be used any more.

Worn out rotary cutter

 See how that hole has become so large that the screw won't tighten. Well on the GOOD QUALITY stuff, I noticed that there is a guarantee - FOREVER!   I contacted OLFA and guess what?   Yep - they sent me a new rotary cutter!!!!

The old and the new!!!

Then when I was teaching earlier this summer, one of my students broke my circle cutter.

Broken circle cutter

 I was in contact with OLFA about the other cutter when this happened and so I sent them a picture of this broken one. Guess what?

The old and the new

I would like to thank OLFA very much for honoring both rotary cutters. It was minimal hassle to get the items replaced.  I've never had an issue with the day to day operations of any of my OLFA rotary cutters. They simply are the best. And my preference is for the original style. It's what I learned on, it's what I can cut for hours with and very accurately.

Next time you're thinking about buying a quilting tool - think about what you're buying.  Cheap stuff tends to not work well (trust me, I've cut with many students rotary cutters to the point that I now carry my own!). Buy the best you can afford - you'll appreciate it and the tool will last forever!!!!

Don't forget to check out QUILTSocial this morning.   Even if you're not into machine embroidery, check out the machine just for the fun of it.  It's amazing!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

So busy - I'd forget my head!

Well with the best of intentions, I was up very early this morning. All the blog pictures had been edited yesterday and uploaded, I walked the dogs - we even ventured into the forest in the dark, but with the snow on the ground - it was light enough.  No sign of wild life. 

Went to the gym, off to work very early where I was going to take a few minutes to write the blog before work and poof - got busy with something and the rest of the day was a blur!!!!

So here's what I was going to write this morning. 

After sorting out all the rotary cutting equipment yesterday, I thought I had better take a look at the cutting mats as well.  Yes - this one has seen better days. 

Yes - those are holes in the cutting mat

Well - not holes, but worn spots where the fabric doesn't cut properly any more. And yes - the mat is probably helping to dull my blades.

Close - up - not a pretty sight

And I have to say that the front is not much better.  Some pretty badly worn areas.  Perhaps it is time to retire this mat or leave it for trimming a quilt.

The front is just as bad

Gosh - I'm super cheap!!!   So I dug out my very first rotary cutting mat that I ever bought.  Yes - it is worn, but not nearly as bad as the one it replaced.

Not nearly as worn - it will suffice for a while. 

I must remember to check the back side of it - that might be better than the front.

OR - I could break down and open up this lovely BRAND new mat that I have stashed under some crap on the cutting table.  It's still in the plastic wrapping.   But it's new - I can't use it!!!!

A new cutting mat hidden

I'm cutting after my little sorting episode and OH CRAP - the blade that I put in (from the worn out big cutter) has a nick in it.

What happens when your blade has a nick

It was very annoying and shortly thereafter, I put a BRAND new blade in the cutter.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!!

Cutter went through the fabric like BUTTER!!!!

Time to change up the projects a bit and I decided to make use of the die cutter that I borrowed. It is so heavy, I'm NOT taking it downstairs and I would like to get it off the kitchen chair.

I had to prep the fabric first by putting fusible on it.

Cutting the fusible

And now the fabric stripes are all fused and ready to go.  I found it best to let them sit for a day to be totally cooled off.

Fused fabric ready for die cutting

And now it is 9 PM and I'm not about to start die cutting at this point.  I booked a massage for when I got home and I always have to laugh.  Massages are good - this one didn't hurt too badly.  But when they touch your feet - well, I'm biting my tongue to stay in control!!!!

Off to walk the dogs, and then to bed to read.  Let's just say the week is NOT long enough.

Have a great day!!!


Ciao!!!!

It's all about the rotary cutter.......................

The rotary cutter - an indispensable tool for quilters.

There are many brands of rotary cutters on the market. I cannot stress enough the importance of buying a GOOD QUALITY rotary cutter.  I was fortunate enough to purchase a excellent quality rotary cutter from day one  - I'm not sure how that happened. I purchased it many years ago and I don't remember that purchase.

By the way - I still have that rotary cutter!  What is it?  It's an OLFA.    Wait - you're going to be shocked in a moment. Oh god - who am I kidding. You won't be shocked - I'm just one of many crazy quilters after all.

So last night, I'm cutting and decided I needed to do something with my cutter. Yes - I don't change the blade often enough and well - it was time to put a new blade in the cutter.

Now here is the beauty of putting all LIKE supplies in one spot.  I went to the drawer that holds blades and cutters.

The rotary cutting supply drawer

Besides the rotary cutter that stays on my cutting table and the travelling one (and I did find one on my desk upstairs), all the rotary cutters stay in this drawer.

Hmmmm - there are a couple of other things in the drawer. Let's look at them first.  AHA -  glue supplies although I do have glue in my applique box as well.

Glue supplies

There is another container. That would be filled with tape measures.

Extra tape measures

 Yes - one can never have too many tape measures.  These ones below are in constant use - OK - so I probably don't need quite that many, but what if one gets lost?

Tape measures by the cutting table

Tape measures by the long arm

Tape  measure in the "sew away from home" box

Both of these containers are see through, so no need to put a label on them, although I was prepared to come upstairs to get the labeller!!!

No labels required

This one already has a label - we'll see in that box in a minute

I decided to lay out all the rotary cutters.  Ooops - where did they all come from?

Eleven rotary cutters - ooops - a tad obsessive behavior!!!!

I bought this cutter many years ago because it had the safety mechanism on it. I hate it.  Well HATE is strong a strong word.  I like the original style better and so this one gets used for special cutting.   A pinked edge and two other fancy cutting blades that were in the labelled box.

Fancy blades for special cutting - rarely used

 I have TWO small cutters - 28 MM.   One is OLFA, one is not.  Guess which one I prefer?  There is a HUGE difference between the quality and the feel of them and technically, I should toss the NON-OLFA one.

Two 28 MM cutters

 And where do I use such a small rotary cutter?  When I am paper piecing.  So the cutter stays with the paper piecing supplies.  Which normally reside in the paper piecing supply box, however I found it in the bag of tools in a project bag.  That is a huge problem - do I keep the tools in the project bag so when I was to "grab and go", everything is there?  Or do I put it back in the supply box for paper piecing and double check all projects being worked on outside of my studio to see what tools/supplies are needed?  Or do I put this kind of stuff in a big tool box and pull from it when I'm home and take it with me when I am away???  This is a dilemmna that we all face and I'm not sure how I will end up storing things.

Small rotary cutter is perfect for paper piecing

Currently stored in a bag with other tools/supplies

 Let's look at the 45 MM cutters.  This is the cutter that I originally purchased.  It's the middle one. Yep - there's even a BRAND new cutter there.  The silver one is my travelling rotary cutter. The rest were in the drawer.  No idea why I ended up with so many.

45 MM rotary cutters

I'm always afraid of getting to work and not having a cutter with me, so I could leave ONE of the spare ones at work. I don't like the ones we have at work.  Oh yes - I'm VERY picky about my rotary cutter.

 I even found an extra case in the drawer.

Extra rotary cutting case

 So I picked the pretty rotary cutter and now it's ready to go to work and stay at work.

Rotary cutter and case for work!

 I also have TWO of the 60 MM cutters. I purchased a second one because I wore out the first one. I like the big one for trimming quilts, but so used to using it at home, that I now use it all the time.

You can see in the picture below that the hole in the one on the right hand side is much bigger than the one on the left.  Yes - that hole wore out and the screw won't stay tight.

The right hand one is worn out!

 I decided it was time to tidy up, so I tossed it in the garbage.  Then I noticed this writing on the packaging of the brand new one I have.

Guaranteed Forever - hmmmmmm..............

 I dug it out of the garbage and will be contacting OLFA.

OK - so things are shaping up - just the blades left to sort out.  Yikes - look at all those blades.

Rotary cutting blades!

There is a small container that is marked USED, so I'm guessing the rest of these are brand new!  OK - so I can afford to change that blade more often than once a year (or whatever ridiculous time frame I use).  All I can say is that I don't change the blade often enough.

I even found a blade wrapped in a piece of paper.  Does that mean it's new???  I'm guessing yes since there is a plastic case that is marked USED.  Would it have killed me to write on this paper????

Assuming this is a new blade

 And let's not forget the circle cutter.  I don't use it often, but when I do - it's a dream to cut circles.

OLFA circle cutter

 I notice it also says Guaranteed Forever on the packaging!!!!

And once everything was sorted, tidied up and squared away, I put everything back in the drawer.

Drawer is all sorted out

The fact that all supplies for these three items were in the same spot made cleaning up, finding, sorting, resorting a snap!!!   It took me longer to edit the pictures than it did to sort through this drawer!!!   That's the beauty of organization and now if I could just apply this skill to a few other areas - I'm actually not in bad shape with tools.

On that note, I have pictures edited for the rest of the week - well almost.

Nothing to do today!!!   OK - who am I kidding!!!   I don't have any commitments to anyone or anything (OK - Lexi wants to go to the dog park), but I have the entire day to just veg out - I mean cut and sew and cut and sew.  I'll give you an update on that project later this week.


Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!