Hi , I am new here. Did anyone see the Simply Quilts show, on Monday or Tuesday of this week. There was a woman on that was demonstrating her techniques. She had a turntable rotary mat; to trim her blocks on. and a clear ruler? to trim off her blocks to get a true 1/4" seam allowance at the point. Does any one know where to get these 2 items at? Thanks Elaine

I have seen them also and would imagine the fabric store would have them The owner of a quilt shop here in NC has 30 min demos on th 3rd Sat of the month and she uses one. I saw th mat at a quilt show recently and it was about $30. Hope this helps.

I am from southern MN. I looked at our One quilt store here, and they said they can't carry everything -it costs too much money. I would think they would make more money if they carried more variety.

Try Nancys Notions or Keepsake Quilting. Both have catalogs on line. I saw it in one of tose just the other day. Hey if the staff is going to be snotty like that, buy on line if possible. Don't give them your business!

where did you find a rotating cutting mat for as little as $30? i've wanted on for ages but haven't found one for a price i'm willing to pay. this could be the one. :-)

to find out about supplies, patterns, quilters featured on the SQ episodes, go to hgtv.com, "on tv", "shows A-z", "Simply Quilts". you can get information for recent and upcoming episodes or acces the whole list of every episode. they almost always have at least one link to the experts' websites or to sources for the tools, etc featured on the show.

the specific episode you're talking about is here: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_qlt/article/0,1805,HGTV_3876_3108510,00.html

follow this link to find the Triangel in a Square Ruler she used.
http://www.quiltinaday.com/

lots of other interesting stuff at quilinday, too. my piggy bank is getting skinnier by the minute. :shock:

This was a small mat on like a lazy susan and I saw it in Hampton Va for like 29.99. It would hold like one block of a pattern. The lady at the quilt shop used a small one to demonstrate a new method to make flying geese. I have a big mat that I bought at Michaels, and even with the 40% off coupon out of the Sunday paper it was over $20.00. :!:

I knew I hadn't lost All my marbles just yet :!: I found both the 12" mat and the 17" mat in the Clotilde catalog. Both are rotating mats and the 12" is 29.99 and the 17" is 69.98. I am soooo glad I still have a few marbles left. :!: I was beginning to wonder.

that kills me. more than twice as much for larger size, but it isn't even twice the size of the smaller one. not to mention it's a really wierd size.

I bought one that was 16 by 22 inches that folded in the middle for "EASE" in carrying and storage. Well to make a long story short it broke right down the seam line. I got it taped together but when I measure more than 11 1/2 inches it's not quite accuric (misspelled). The lesson in this story. DON'T BUY A CUTTING MAT THAT FOLDS. That's my 2 cents worth.

I thought I wanted a rotating mat but decided I could buy the smallest cutting mat and turn it myself! :lol: It works and is a whole lot cheaper and easier to store when not in use.
My biggest concern, really, was ME cutting on a ROTATING surface! :mrgreen: Didn't seem like a good idea :!: Fun! but not safe!!!

well if yer gonna factor safety and common sense into the equation, yer gonna take all the fun out of it.
:lol:

I'm sorry! :oops: Don't ban me from the club. Please :!: I promise to spin my mat faster while using the rotary cutter at full speed ahead with both machines going as fast as they're little wheels can spin! :P :P

Debbie Murry.....PLEASE write to the company that made that item.
We should not put up with products that do not hold up or work as they are intended to work.

I know that Fiskars will replace or refund. They have been very good to give new products. Find them on the web. They should not be selling inferior products but they will never know unless we tell them.

June

while making me a chicken salad sandwich, i hope.
:wink:

June 6995 my mat is 4 years old and it's been in use quite often. I think it's time to buy a new one. Mines alittle ratty anyway. All the cutting lines have deep groves and fab stick all the time. Thanks for your suggestion but I doubt if they'll give me a new one.

My first mat was a fiscars, it was scarred after the first use. In a months time it was a mess. I went to the fiscars web and contacted them. I didn't get as much as a sorry from them. There are several discussions on rotary mats here; almost everyone recomends olfa. You can read through them......click on search and type in cutting mats ect. Good luck and sorry you had such bad luck :(

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you had just made the purchase.

Something you can do is write to the manufacturer and ask about the proper care of your mat. Fiskars told me to "roll" the mat to open the cuts and use a brush to brush out the lint from fabric. Elsewhere I read that using dull blades and putting too much pressure on the cutter, can and will make deep grooves in the mat. This can be remedied only by changing blades. I found I was tightening the nut on my rotary cutter too tight, and the blade did not roll freely. Another hint...you can use the other side of your mat since it is the same material all the way through. Get double your usage if you don't use the lines on the mat for measuring.

Then, if you want a good buy on rotary cutter blades, here is an idea:

http://www.houseofhanson.com/lpsharp.html

I have used this service. I sent 10 old blades and got 10 new OLFA blades (not resharpened blades as they were in sealed packages) I bought mine about a year ago and paid $27 for 10 45" blades. I think the price has gone up. But still, as sharp as those blades are, I was afraid to throw them out in the trash, so saving them in a container proved to be a good idea.

June

I usually shop at www.connectingthreads.com most of their items are deeply discounted.

Did you notice the Quilt In A Day has some pretty good prices on her sale fabrics too? I'm going shopping!

been there, done that. might have left something for you. couldn't swear to it. LOL
8)