Review Tuesday-Block Loc Rulers

If you've never heard of the Bloc Loc ruler, go to their website and read all about them.  The rulers I have are square rulers with an indentation on the backside.  They are made for squaring up half square triangles. I understand they also have rectangle rulers for flying geese.

My sister gifted me a set of three rulers for my last birthday.  I'm now the proud owner of a 2 1/2 inch, 4 1/2 inch and a 6 1/2 inch square ruler. 

I don't make half square triangles too often, but when I do I've been using my new rulers and I have to say I love them!

I have to admit, every time I use one, it takes me a bit to remember how to use them.  Once I do, it's so easy.  In the pic above, I'm squaring up my half square triangle to 3 1/2 inches.  I place the ruler so it's locked on the seam so it's a little past the 3 1/2 inch mark.  I trim up the two sides.

Then I simply slide the ruler down the seam, line up the two sides I just trimmed to the 3 1/2 inch mark and trim off the other two sides.

And BAM!!  I have perfect 3 1/2 inch half square triangles!


I love the Bloc Loc rulers.  They make it so easy to get perfect cuts every time. 


The Bloc Loc rulers get  💜💜💜💜💜!    I can't recommend these rulers enough.  I honestly feel they make a huge difference in my cutting accuracy.

Do you have these rulers?  Do you love them as much as I do?

Happy Sewing,

Lori

Review Tuesday-Olfa Rotating Mat

I purchased my Olfa Rotating mat several years ago with a coupon at Joann's.  I don't remember the price I paid.  Initially I was excited and thought I was going to love it.

It's 12 inch square...And that's the problem, it's SQUARE!!!

Every time I turn it, a corner either hits me or catches on something sitting near on the table.

If I put it near the edge of the table, where it's at a good spot for me to work, as soon as I turn it, I have problems.

This is definitely a case of don't try to save money and buy a cheaper square one.  Invest in a ROUND rotating mat!!

Maybe one like this  Martelli mat with an ironing pad.   Or this one looks good also.  I like it because it's my favorite color, pink!

Every time I pull out my square rotating mat, I cringe.  I know I'm going to fight it every step of the way.  Maybe I'll put one of the ones I listed above on my Christmas wish list.

The Olfa Rotating Mat gets just 💜💜out of five.  It does work fine as a regular small cutting mat, but not good for a rotating mat.

Do you have a rotating mat?  If you do is it round or square?

Happy sewing,

Lori

Review Tuesday -Dritz Quilter's Slip "N Grips

Of course I'm always late...This was supposed to be posted last Tuesday and I didn't make it.  Time gets away from me so easily.

Today I'm reviewing the Quilter's Slip 'N Grips by Dritz.  I'm not sure where I purchased them.  It was probably JoAnn's or Hancock's when they went out of business. The price on the back shows $3.99

They feel like sandpaper with sticky on the back.  Each dot is approximately 3/8 inch across.  They are easy to peel from the backing and they stick to my rulers and templates fine.  I've not had one come off yet.  I peeled one off and it came up easily with no sticky residue. I was able to re-position it stick it back down.

I've placed two on the back side of the Sue Daley 1 1/2 inch Hex template.

Initially one of my biggest concerns was because they aren't clear, would they get in the way of seeing the fabric.  I think for the most part those fears were unfounded.  Unless I'm fussing cutting something, I don't think this will be a problem.

So my initial review would be these work great...but....I recently watched an episode of The Stitch TV Show on You Tube where Lynn and Pam happened to mention sandpaper grips.  It was just a quick blurb at around the 23:48 mark in episode 308.  They briefly discuss not using the sandpaper grips because it can damage the fabric fibers.  I never thought of that, but it makes sense.  Now, I don't go rubbing them around on the fabric.  I try to place them and not move them so I'm not sure how much damage I'm actually doing, but I'd rather not take the chance. 

Because of the fear of damage to my fabric I'm rating these 💜💜💜 out of 5. 

Let me know if you've used the Slip 'N Grip and what you think of them.

Happy Sewing,

Lori

A New Feature-Reviews!

I don't get to sew often enough to feel like I have something to post each week or even every month!  So, I decided to try a weekly post reviewing a sewing/quilting item or pattern.  These will all be things I have purchased or received free for a minimum purchase.  I will attempt to post each week on Tuesday.  I plan on using purple heart emojis to rate what I'm reviewing.  I'll go from 1 to 5 hearts 💜💜💜💜💜, one being the worst, five being the best.

The first item I'm reviewing is something I received for free from Fat Quarter Shop.  I ordered several Sue Daley items to try my hand at English Paper Piecing (that will be the subject of several future posts) and the Ruler Grip was a free item.

I wasn't expecting much for a free item and when I received it, it was smaller than I expected.  I kind of wondered if it would even work.  It is approximately four inches long.  It has one suction cup on each end.

I put it on my 21/2 inch by 121/2 inch Creative Grids ruler. It was easy to attach and comes off easily by squeezing the suction cups.

It is the perfect length to hold between my thumb and middle finger.

 I love how it makes it much easier to pick up and move the ruler.  I chain pieced blocks for my Phoebe's Flower Box quilt and the grip made cutting the chain pieced blocks apart much easier.


I ended up really liking the Ruler Grip.  I think it will work best for smaller rulers.  I'm not sure it would stay attached to a larger, heavier ruler, although I did try it with my 5x15 inch ruler and it worked fine.  So maybe it's small but mighty!

I was pleasantly surprised.  I may actually purchase another one in the future. I'm giving the Ruler Grip from Fat Quarter Shop 5 hearts! 💜💜💜💜💜

Let me know what you think of your ruler grip.  And if you have ideas for future reviews, comment and I'll try to review it soon!

Happy Sewing,


Lori