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k8orlando2

QotD - 1/20/12 Ruler Storage

K8Orlando
12 years ago

Marsha's post about her 12.5x12.5 ruler brought this question to mind. I know we've talked about it before but we have several new quilters on the forum recently.

> How do you store your rulers?

> How do you keep them from getting buried beneath mounds of fabric on your cutting table? (or is this just MY problem because I generate chaos so quickly?)

> Do you have a way to keep them all handy and within reach of your cutting table?

Pictures would be very helpful for those of us without a good system!

Kate

Comments (19)

  • mary_c_gw
    12 years ago

    Kate, I'm so sorry to say - but this is completely your problem!

    My rulers all hang on my pegboard, well, except when DH buys a new hacksaw and can't find room on his own stupid pegboard!!

    Then all bets are off.

    Then rulers tend to disappear, LOL:

    To help save what ever face I have left, the DH and DS shoved all my (ahem) organized fabrics to that side of the table, so they could do their Christmas gift wrapping. Other projects have delayed my clean up. Yes, yes, that's clearly what happened.

  • msmeow
    12 years ago

    My friend's hubby made me a nice holder...a 2 X 6 about 2 ft long with slots cut in it. You can buy something similar at JoAnn's. I keep my "normal" rulers in that holder; my "special" ones (Companion Angle, Tri Recs, etc.) hang on a pegboard above the table with the wooden holder. Sorry - no pic handy! :)

    I don't have much trouble with losing them, but I'm one of those people who has to clean up frequently and keep everything neat or I go insane.

    Donna

  • toolgranny
    12 years ago

    OK, don't make fun of me. I didn't buy them all retail. I haunt thrift stores and garage sales.

    My new sewing room has this shelf that wasn't really good for anything but African Violets and I knew they'd never get watered. So, I put up three ruler racks, found a fourth at a thrift store last week, and have them sort of organized. Long rulers on left, square up rulers next, small square up rulers third and oddballs on right. I like the way the light shines through them, so inspiring!

    No, I'm not drinking, just in a good mood because I actually finished something today.

  • K8Orlando
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I love this window set-up and I'm soooooo jealous! It's perfect. I have a window in the sewing room but can't get to it. And if I could reach it I would have to do battle with the cats for ownership!

    Mary - that looks just like my table!!! LOL

    Donna - you know, you don't live that far from me; if you feel the need to do some quilt room cleaning and organizing I would be happy to let you practice at my house!

  • beth7happy
    12 years ago

    Rulers? I have one! It's 6" x 24"-called: Easy Ruler II. :) and then...I don't know if this is a ruler, but it's a big 16" square by Creative Grids that says, "square it up and fussy cut" (my sister gave to me)(and I don't have a clue how you'd use it!.... Both of them hang on a nail (yep...a nail!) by my washer - not far from where I sew. They share a nail with my drafting T-square and a painter's palette and a heart-shaped cookie cutter. I'm impressed by that window display by toolgranny, but I tend to really identify with the second picture by mary_c.

  • rosajoe_gw
    12 years ago

    Donna I'm like that about the rest of the house, but not the sewing room lol!!!!

    I just went in and took this pic - there are 4 rulers that I am using the 2&1/2 is hiding somewhere on the table.

    When I finish with this project I put them in a drawer.

    I love Linda's setup! But I don't have enough space to hang them or for a rack to hold them. Not all of them have holes for hanging.

    That's a good idea Mary!

    I spend a lot of time looking for them BUT I just think of it as exercise LOL!!!!!!


    Rosa

  • barbara_l
    12 years ago

    My son made me a 2 ft. long with 6 slots to put rulers in and I keep them out on my cutting board all the time.The other specilty ruler are the jacket cases they came in - in a basket near the sewing storage area.

  • nannykins
    12 years ago

    I have something from the office supply store, a rack that I guess is used for file folders. It sits at the back of the cutting table, but sad to say the rulers often don't make it back home but end up in the same place that I see in your pictures, buried under fabric. But when I do clean it is a good place to store them.
    Theresa

  • sandlapper_rose
    12 years ago

    I store mine in pillowcases, one inside the other to make it fairly sturdy. They are cheerful pillowcases - pink with flowers on them. I have lots of rulers and they all easily fit in the pillowcase and I keep it next to my sewing table up against the wall. It doesn't really take any floor space. Of course, the three sizes that I use frequently are usually on the sewing table unless I get in the mood to really clean up!
    Jeanne

  • ritaweeda
    12 years ago

    My work area looks just like Mary's when I'm doing a project. I have 2 rulers. Why, I don't know because I always wind up using only the one that is the oldest. When I don't have a project going on, I hang them on a nail along with my large and small cutting mats. Again, don't know why I have 2 of them because I always use the big one. But I do have a large work table, (one of those long banquet tables) with the sewing machine at the far end. So the ruler is usually somewhere there, if not on the ironing board, or on the small table, or on the drafting table, or ..... ;)

  • cannahavana
    12 years ago

    I have all my rulers and sewing tools in a craft case made by Fiskar. I bought it back when I started quilting consistently back in 2006. I call it my sewing room in a suitcase because I don't have a designated area in my house to sew. I have it in a closet, pull it out and I'm ready to go! I store my long rulers and large cutting mat behind my dresser.

    Rebecca

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fiskar craft case

  • calliope
    12 years ago

    The hacksaw cracked me up. What is it with fellas? Mine does not put ANYTHING into my private domain, he sucks it out. Gone are my compass, my good mechanical drafting pencil,and my big old magnifying lens. They end up in his woodshed, for the most part.

    Yes, I have a place for my rulers, grids and templates. I have a stereo component system sitting on a bookshelf near the machine and ironing board. I tuck all that stuff into a space on end between the stereo and one of the speakers. Not very high-tech. I usually will use at least three different ones every time I am up to cut or trim and I put them down and lose them at least a dozen times a day. I guess maybe because they're all mostly transparent, and my old eyes just see the cloth beneath?

  • geezerfolks_SharonG_FL
    12 years ago

    A reminder about rulers: The edges need to be checked at least once a year to make sure they are still straight. Standing the edge you use the most of the ruler against a table, if a postcard or piece of paper can be slid between the ruler and table, the ruler has been worn and won't give an accurate reading.

    Just an FYI......

    SharonG/FL

  • luvtosharedivs
    12 years ago

    toolgranny,
    That window storage system is awesome!

    I SO enjoy reading about the storage spaces you have all come up with.

    I have a very small sewing room, that is combined with a music instrument storage room, but I have lots of shelves and cabinets. But no place for the rulers in the cabinets/shelves...all is filled with music books, instruments, fabric, sewing books, etc.

    I have a wall in a corner next to a cabinet that is out of the way, and pretty much out of sight when you first walk into the room, so I pounded a few nails in the wall one day, and hung all my rulers...sometimes two or three on a nail. Every ruler has its place! I also hang my two cutting mats on one very strong nail.

    Julie

  • murphy_zone7
    12 years ago

    Little late but Command Hooks makes some little stick up hooks that go just about anywhere and can hold several rulers. I think they hold about a pound each. I stuck a couple on the inside door of a cabinet, on the outside of a cabinet and when not on my cutting table they are stored out of the way. I like the stick up hooks because they don't require a nail hole in my furniture. Well one of my cabinets is one of those plastic storage units and the hooks work great. Also, if using on furniture they are very easy to remove with no damage.
    Love those little hooks, I even use them in the kitchen to hold potholders.

  • susan_on
    12 years ago

    I have four rulers, and I hang them on a nail on the end of my sewing machine table. When I start a project, I have to dig a tiny bit to get the one I want, but it's tidy and it's an easy place to put them out of the way when I'm done.

  • susan_on
    12 years ago

    Oh, and I meant to thank you for that tip, Sharon. I'll check my rulers today.

  • geezerfolks_SharonG_FL
    12 years ago

    You're welcome, Susan. If one side of your ruler is ok and the other isn't, place a strip of narrow masking tape or painters tape on that edge or maybe some nail polish as a reminder of the worn side so the ruler can still be used.

    I usually check mine on National Quilting Day.

    "NQA began sponsoring National Quilting Day with a resolution passed by members attending the 22nd Annual Show in Lincoln, Nebraska, in June 1991. The third Saturday in March is officially designated as National Quilting Day, but quilters are flexible and we love a celebration � especially when fabric is involved! So over the years, observance of National Quilting Day has unofficially been expanded to the whole month of March."

    Here is a link that might be useful: Free project for 2012 National Quilting Day

  • susan_on
    12 years ago

    Again, great advice. I love tips like this. That's a great project on the link you posted too!

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