Those sticky clothing rollers also work to clean the crud off your cutting mat.

eileenkny wrote:
I know it sounds crazy, but I use duct tape!!! I got desperate one day and the roll was sitting in the workroom. I just loop it around my hand and rub it across the surface firmly but not too hard because I don't want to leave behind the goo. It grabs all that fuzz and stuff. When one section has lost its stick I just rotate to another and continue - one loop usually is all I need. Just think ladies - guys use duct tape to fix anything, so why shouldn't we!

Eileen, maybe this is what you are thinking about?

http://www.quiltersbuzz.com/2006/06/post_40.html

I remember some tool for cleaning rotary mats, but can't bring it to the front of my mind. Can anyone help me? It's something you rub over the surface of the mat to get all the tiny bits of batting,etc out of the grooves.
eileenkny

That's a terrific idea Kathy - almost like a homegrown EQ6!

I use my digital camera to take photos of blocks then I paste them to my paint shop and "copy & paste the photo several times" to get the look of a finished quilt. You get a vision of the pattern and color.

sharpen rotary cutter blades is a good idea, I go through lots of them. I need to invest in a blade sharpener. I just had to buy all new safety pins,they dull up pretty fast. Though the soap thing is a great idea for safety pins for awhile.

I'm helping Fransisco pin his quilt,"we forgot to add trim". Oh well, we didn't notice untill after the quilt was measured out with backing & batting. He was thrilled to get it all pieced together.
Kathy is slipping

I'm not sure that he's in the blade sharpening business any longer, but you can EXCHANGE your rotary blades at:

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

LP Sharp stands for Little Pines Sharp. This is Tom Stevens, husband of Marcia Stevens who is the founder of the Machine Quilter's Showcase. The web site links to lots of info for long-armers, too.

I will repeat this from time to time, in case there are other folks out there who have an old treadle or hand crank machine for which needles are no longer made. I get the Clotilde catalog, and in the one that came in January, I found a purple needle sharpener. I ordered two, and put them in the drawers of two of my treadles. I had about 40 needles for one of the treadles that had gotten dull, so I used the sharpener to sharpen all of them. I was so pleased to find this thing, and it was only $9.95, I think. Now I don't have to worry about running out of needles for my old beauties.

Pat in Rockport, TX

I think it was Pat who has all the antique sewing machines who mentioned how she sharpens her needles..............can't remember how, tho. ????

And I have used the blade sharpener and does a good job. When on sale or coupon at JoAnns, not too bad.

I haven't tried that yet, about turning the blade over.
BUT I always wait until JoAnns puts all their quilting notions or just their Olfa mats and cutters on sale, and then stock up with as many as I can afford at the time I am there, or as many as they have on the hook, which ever is less. Since they usually put them on sale at either 30% or 40% off, it's a great time to stock up.
I think the last time I stocked up, they had them on sale at 40% off, and then had a coupon for 10% off your entire purchase, even the sale items. That is when I try to stock up on all the things I can.

Diane in Colorado Springs, who was just at JoAnns yesterday and noticed that they had quilt books on sale at 40% off, and the Olfa mats and cutters at 30% off.

I never used to take pictures even though I had an expensive SLR but my digital is always in my hands. I can't believe all the uses the camera has.

Good suggestion Mandy. When Mark Lispinki (?) was on Simply Quilts, he suggested that when you go to change your rotary cutter blade, instead of throwing it away, you should turn it over, apply a drop of oil (and then presumably wipe it down) before reinstalling it with the reverse side facing outward. He says it works like a new blade so you get double the use out of your blade. I haven't tried it yet but I will the next time I need to change my blade. Those pesky things are expensive!

I saw somewhere the suggestion that you use the digital camera to take pictures of each step when you change a rotary blade, that way you make sure to put it back together correctly.

That is so cool!!!! I never thought of doing something like that with my camera.
eileenkny

I was watching Simply Quilts the other day and had a brainstorm. I don't have many of those anymore so I like to share them! I always record the shows onto my DVR so I don't have to worry about missing them plus I can watch a technique over and over again.

That still isn't very helpful when I want to try something at my machine since the DVR is in a different room. However, my digital camera recently came back from the hospital and blessedly works again so I tried freeze framing the technique step by step on my TV and then used my camera to take a picture of each step I needed. I uploaded them to my computer which is next to my sewing machine and then printed each step because with my old eyes it is far easier to look at the paper than focus on the screen.

Voila - Alex and guest instantly become my personal quilting coaches at my machine!