tessagin

I have a thick metal yardstick and tsquares that I use when cutting large strips and squaring up yardage. I use my sm 28mm rotary instead of a seam ripper especially for long seams. I have about 7 seamrippers and always losing them. Just like an ink pen though when it quits doing its job, it goes into file 13.

cindyb

I am getting annoyed at the thread cutter on the side of my sewing machine. It always cuts one thread and not the other. Any solutions for this?

grann of 6

I take a small piece of a sticky back label and write the date on it and adhere it to the handle in a visible place. That way I know how long I have been using that blade.

Yooper32

This is a story that refreshes itself constantly as I am sure almost every one of us does the same stupid thing and waits and waits until we have to use more arm pressure than most wrestlers have. Haven't decided if it is thriftiness, laziness or stubbornness.

toverly

Yooper32, you hit the nail on the head, I only change when my arm gets sore from pressing too hard. But oh what a relief to use a new blade.

Aurora

I have gotten in the habit of changing blades and needles more frequently as it makes cutting and sewing more fluid and accurate.

BettyGee

If it helps I do the same thing and will, no doubt, continue as the years go by. Just two days ago I was cutting pieces and muttering to myself that it was going to take all day if the cuts didn't go more smoothly. Put in a new blade and what a difference. I don't know if it is that we think that they are not dull and just have encountered tighter woven fabric, or that it couldn't possibly be time for a new blade, don't want to be a quilter who wastes perfectly good blades or just stupidity. For my part I believe it is a combination of all of these and will, once again, make a mental note to change the blade more often.

bearisgray

I think it is one of those things that happen so gradually that we don't really notice until one day - that we do notice enough to do something about it.

Bree123

I think the fact that my mom never ever got her knives (or scissors) sharpened when I was growing up & I was constantly cutting myself helped me learn that:
Dull is Dangerous.
Sharp is Safer.

I truly believe that most of the rotary blade injuries are due to dull blades. I've yet to nick myself with a rotary blade, but I change my blade with each new project; sometimes even mid-project if I do a lot of cutting or nick my ruler. My old blades go into a container marked "Used" that I repurpose for cutting papers (parchment, butcher block, fusible, pattern).

I'm starting a checklist for myself so I remember to change out the machine needle, change out rotary blades, oil my machine, oil my scissors. And twice a year I send my Ginghers out to be sharpened/retooled and give my cutting mats a bath. There's so many things to remember to do that I'm finding without a checklist to follow, I skip things. I like gran of 6's idea about writing the date on the blade. Of course, that's only a back-up because it really depends how much I'm using the blade -- on a quilt retreat it might last less than a day.

citruscountyquilter

I doubt I will ever learn. I have the same malady when it comes to needles too.