A Shout-out to Olfa

Taking a break from a clothing pattern that I’m designing and been doing some quilting. So many quilty ideas twirling around in my head.  Throughout my life, I’ve mostly sewn clothing. Quilts are so much easier than designing and sewing clothes. [does anyone else feel this way?] Don’t get me wrong, I’m a very accomplished garment seamstress, from skinny jeans to swimsuits (and everything in between). It’s just that garments utilize a ton more techniques and you have fit and ease to consider.  I had incorporated patchwork into a lot of projects over the years. But for the last 3 years or so, I’ve really submerged myself into quilting. Before that, I had only made a handful. Quilts are mostly about math, geometry, color, and sewing that scant 1/4″.

Lately, I’ve been working on some new quilt designs using scraps. I finally broke down and bought myself an Olfa rotating mat. I’ve been considering one for a very long time, but just never had a strong urge since my cutting table is centered in the room. I usually just move to the other side of the table.

Can I just say, I’m so crushing on this thing. I love it. I bought the small one (12″x12″) and it’s perfect. It works beautifully with my 12 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ ruler. It made cutting my small shapes from scraps so much more fun. And fast. I also used it for cutting up fat quarters and 1/4 yard pieces without trouble. Instead of moving the fabric or me moving to the other side of the table, I just give it a little spin. I didn’t think it would make that much of a difference, but being able to move it 360° makes a huge difference when you’re cutting small pieces. (strips the wof not so much)

As far as a review, I see only pros. I don’t see anything negative about it. It can be placed right on top of a larger cutting mat or directly on a table. It turns easily, but doesn’t slip or move while I cut on it.  It’s self-healing and the same great quality as my larger Olfa mat. [I’ve had mats made by other brands and they are not as good of quality as Olfa]  It’s small enough that taking it with me to class won’t be an issue and I can see it working extremely well at classes when I’m teaching.

I grabbed some buckets of scraps and I ended up cutting for much of my day. And after dinner, I moved my set up into the living room, so my daughter and I could watch Dr. Who while I kept cutting away.  I wish I had bought this years ago!

It was also great for trimming half square triangles. I felt so productive. Unlike some…Here is a picture of our cat, Fat Louie.

Have you ever seen a cat sleep in this position? He sleeps like this all the time. If you scratch his belly, he raises his arms as high as they will go. Silly cat.

Today is the final day of the 4-H skater workshop I’m hosting. I ended up drafting a pattern for each girl, since the only patterns I could find were circle skirts, which is not what the store-bought skater skirts are. I can’t wait to share pictures of the finished knit skirts. Until then, happy sewing!