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Thursday, February 12, 2015

If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

When I first started quilting, I bought a June Tailor Quilter's Cut'n Press II.  I've been using it ever since, and it shows.  I've thought about replacing it, have had one in my shopping cart with my Joann's coupon in hand, but there's always something more enticing to spend my hobby money on, and what I've got works.

Just because it's embarrassing in tutorial photos doesn't mean I have to replace it, right?  I can take the pictures against something else. Like the worn out cutting side.

This week, while we were on Teenage Daughter's latest thrift store mission, I found half  of one. Just the pressing side. (To make it odder, there were two of them, both just the detached pressing side.)


I hesitated, because it was only half there and it was a little bit dirty. There's a water stain that you can barely see on the lower left hand edge. Then I convinced myself that at the rate I'm going, I'm never going to buy a new one and that it's better than what I've been using.

That was before I saw them together. Yuck. How can something that only comes into contact with clean fabric get so filthy?!


I wasn't going to post the picture, then I realized that most of the before shots from Jo's ironing board challenge were just as bad.   I may Frankenstein the new pressing half to the cutting mat for my old one (which is just as desperately in need of replacement.) Or just use it the way it is..... or I might actually dig out one of my other cutting mats and try using something that still has lines on it! (And I may check the thrift store next week to see if the other one is still there, because for $1.95 each, I could probably use a backup. You know this one isn't going to stay clean.)

Do you use your quilting tools until they're past their prime?

3 comments:

  1. LOL!!! Too funny! But these are such great pressing mats aren't they! Mine is a bit stained as well, but I keep using it anyway! I've wondered if it too was too ugly for pictures, but have not replaced it yet. The hardest thing to replace is rotary cutters...and then I always wonder why I didn't do it sooner!!

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  2. Oh my goodness, why do we do this to ourselves? I have my original rotary cutter from 1988! It works just fine even though I hear there are more ergonomic ones that would probably be better for my now arthritic hands. Sometimes I just can't bring myself to spend the money on things like this it feels like buying new tires - all go and no show lol.

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  3. I put a pillowcase over mine, and wash when it needs it. And if the pillow case just won't get clean, I get another one.

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