As a fairly new quilter I always seem to be drawn to the latest must have gadgets and tools, this can be very costly if you make bad choices!
Whilst watching some tutorials I noticed that when trimming blocks that some people used a cutting mat that could be rotated, I thought that this was an awesome idea. When I trimmed some blocks or was cutting half square triangles I had to move the whole block after each cut and then it would take time to realign all the pieces before I could make my next cut, this was so frustrating. So when I saw the rotating cutting mat I decided that I simply had to have one.
I went to the Quilting show at the Excel Centre last year and I found a stall that was selling the cutting mats. I bought a largish one, that was square and it rotated, there were none out for you to try and the one I bought was in a sealed clear cover.
When I next needed to do some trimming / cutting I got it out and was so excited that my job was going to be much easier. I made the first cut and went to rotate the mat and it wouldn’t move, I found that I had to lift the corner of the board away from the base slightly before I could rotate it and in lifting the top all the pieces of the block moved. The mat was not fit for purpose and I was so disappointed. I put it away and haven’t used it since……yet another costly mistake.
Later in the year I was watching a MSQC tutorial and the lovely Jenny was using a rotating cutting mat and it was fantastic, it spun just like a Lazy Susan and I knew that this was the mat for me.
I was lucky enough to visit MSQC last year and in one of the stores they had the mat that Jenny was using, it was a Martelli cutting mat and came with the base, the rotating mat and an ironing pad. It wasn’t cheap at $150.00 but after trying out the one on display and checking that it spun well I knew that it was perfect for me so I bought it. When I got home from my trip I tried it out and I have to say that it is one of the best investments that I have made since I begun my quilting journey. I use it all the time and it always works well and rotates smoothly.
Over Christmas MSQC put the Martelli mat in one of their special weekly buys for $100.00 and after doing some research online and finding the mat for sale for over £200.00+ for delivery to the UK I ordered it from MSQC and I now have a spare one in case the original one passes away.
Squaring up is still one of the things that I least enjoy about quilting but at least I now find it easier to do!
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