hi...i am new here too. but have moved a lot with hubbys construction jobs. so have had a few issues ....and one thing i have found is if the cutting mat gets hot...warps and then sorta wrinkles...it won't flatten out again. it seems to act like metal in that way...it is, i guess, stretched???....at anyrate...when mine did that i finally gave up and got a new one. but....if there is enough of a flat area...you can cut a small cutting mat to take with you to quilt group/guild meets...you won't have the measures but you have a small cutting surface to take with. good luck!