Tuesday 24 June 2008

TLC (65)

First job today - a little TLC for my sewing machine. After sewing so much wadding together yesterday it needs to be thoroughly cleaned and oiled and needs a new needle. I also need to change the blade on my rotary cutter. It was getting blunt and cutting all the wadding just about finished it off, so I need to change it and send the old one off to be sharpened. My cutting board was in such a state afterwards that I took it in to the shower with me to wash it! Nowhere else big enough. I fear that I'm going to have to buy a new one soon though - how long is one supposed to last do you think? I've only had mine for about nine months.


11 comments:

Lori said...

Amanda
If you are referring to the cutting matt.. I wash mine with a damp cloth then a dryer sheet picks up the dust or lint. Make it smell pretty too.
Love your kitty!

Amelia said...

Amanda, the cutting pad should last longer than 9 months...or at least mine have.

The addition of the kitten to your side bar is so cute...he looks so real.

Have a fun filled sewing week.

Helen in the UK said...

My current mat is 2 years old and there isn't a mark on it. If yours has lasted less than a year, there must be something wrong - did you buy it from a quilt shop?

scraphappy said...

Check out the backside of your cutting mat, some of them can be used on the other side when you don't need the lines. They also last longer if you try to move around on the board rather than always cutting on the same spot.

Julie said...

Wow! I have had my large cutting mat for at least 5 years. They are too expensive to have to replace them very often. Good luck with yours.

Arlette said...

Good job with piecing the wadding together. I'm sure it feels great to not waste something that you've paid good money for.
My cutting mat has seen better days too. I use mine every day. The previous one that I had was used so much that I cut right through it. I usually have to replace mine every 2 or 3 years.
Nine months seems rather short but I guess it largely depends on the amount of cutting that you do.
Take care.
Aloha!

~Niki~ said...

Won't you come join my growing quilter's list!? Thanks for participating!
http://justusquilters.blogspot.com/

Amy said...

Amanda
You down-right cracked me up with this post! I had never though of washing a cutting mat in a shower! I've had mine since Christmas, and the 1/2 inch spots are so worn you would swear they came marked on the original mat! I'll need to turn mine over pretty soon---it's a nice large dual-sided one that my sister bought me for Christmas.

Also, I hadn't thought of sending my blades out for resharpening. We have sharpening tools available at the LQS, but I haven't invested in one yet. I probably should, because these blades are so expensive!!!

Carla said...

Your cutting board should last longer than 9 months, I would think. Does it have a lot of threads stuck in it? There's a thing that you can buy that's made to scub them off without the shower but I found that I can use the net shower puffs and they work just as well plus much cheaper.

Carla

Brenda said...

I did the same thing a few days ago; we have to take care of our wonderful sewing machines! Your blog is interesting and fun with fabulous projects and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Brenda

Rhonda said...

I don't know why we wait so long to change the blades in those rotary cutters....well, yes I do. I pay so much for a blade that I expect it to last at least 5 or so quilts.......LOL