What works for me!

I have a favourite ruler.  It happens to be the first one that I bought.  I made my first quilt from charms squares and didn't cut anything.  It was perfect.  I learned how to sew a straight line and nest my seams.  My seam ripper came with my machine and I "borrowed" (as in no intention of giving it back!) a pin cushion from my mum.

For my second quilt I bought a Schnibbles pattern Little Houses and around the same time signed up for Deborah Moebe's quilting e-course which involved making blocks and cutting from fat quarters.  So I bought a beginners set from the Sewing Shed in Kerry that included an 11 x 17" cutting mat,  a 45mm rotary cutter and a 4" x 14" ruler.  Luckily for me they were out of stock of the 11x17 and I changed to a 12x18 mat - I won't say no to an extra inch of cutting board!

Possibly this ruler is my favourite because I'm so used to it but I think the reason I reach for it so often is because, really, it doesn't slip.  This thing sticks in place with a little pressure.  It's perfect for cutting binding strips and sashing, has well marked lines on the 0.5" and the 45 degree line for diamonds is really easy to use.  It has also been really handy for the paper piecing blocks I've been working on lately.

For the craftsy block of the month I bought a 12.5" square Omnigrid ruler andI did eventually add more inches in a 6.5"x24" quilters ruler and a 16"x24" mat which seems ginormous in comparison to what I started with.  The new 6.5"x24" ruler is a good size for cutting from yardage but it has a life of its own sometimes. 

I bought a roll of Invisigrip by Omnigrip from Quilters Haven which is a plastic sheet that sticks to the back of the ruler and grips the fabric through static cling.  It did help and I do walk my hand up the ruler only cutting a short distance at a time but I'm wondering about adding a hand grip and must look into those.

The invisgrip roll has lots of mileage on it and I added it to an EZ Dresden ruler and a 60 degree triangle ruler I have yet to use.  Great purchase that!  You never know maybe there's a triangle quilt in my future it could be good for.

Finally a small plastic tupperware style container is my latest addition as a thread catcher.  It was left over from a lunchbox set  I bought last summer.  It works great for catching snipped off threads and I just tip it over the bin and voila empty - nothing sticks to it.  Though it hasn't quite cured me of the habit I have of wiping the little thread remnants after cutting fabric onto the laminate wooden floor below and sweeping up later much to my mum's dismay!  Well that's what works for me.  What works for you?