I often mention Creative Grids Rulers in my blog posts, but tonight I thought I would go into a little more detail about them, and why I love these rulers so much.
My first ruler when I started quilting about 7 years ago, was the standard 6"x24" Olfa ruler that my mom gave to me. It was a great ruler and served me well for a long time. I didn't think anything was wrong with my ruler, sure it had a piece missing in the corner, probably from being knocked off my table one too many times, but the numbers and lines were still mostly all there. Then a fellow quilter told me that rulers can cause knicks in rotary blades, I went home that day and ran my finger down the edge of my trusty ruler and it was like washboard on a gravel road. The old ruler was retired and a Creative Grids ruler made it my table, and it was love at first use. The old ruler was turned into a decor piece for my sewing room.
Creative Grids rulers are made in the USA, and all of them have easy to read markings and lines. The back of every single ruler is covered with built in grips, so there is no slip while cutting!
Creative Grids has a basic range of rulers and a specialty line. The basic range consists of a variety of sizes, and they are all fantastic. I personally love the rulers with the extra 1/2", one side of the ruler has white whole numbers, and if you turn it 180 degrees there are black 1/2 numbers to
make cutting those 1/2" cuts so much easier, no more counting lines to make sure you are cutting on the right one and not accidentally making a 1/4" cut instead. My favourite size used to be the 6 1/2" by 24 1/2" size but that has recently changed and now my go to is the 6 1/2" by 18 1/2" ruler, as I rarely cut a full 21" piece of fabric at home, and the shorter ruler is easier to handle.
The Specialty Rulers are just that, special rulers for specific blocks. Some of the rulers are made for one specific block and one size while others will make multiple blocks with one ruler. The thing that I love, is that most of the time the instructions on how to use the ruler are printed right on the ruler itself, there is also a pamphlet that comes with for a little more detail(which can be downloaded for free if you ever happen to lose yours), and many youtube videos for demonstrations or new
ideas. Some of these rulers can look a little overwhelming or confusing but in reality they make a tricky or difficult block so much easier! My log cabin blocks are so much nicer now than they were before, and my square on square and snail trail blocks turn out perfect, which is definitely not the case when I don't use the ruler! More and more pattern designers are using Creative Grids as a basis for their patterns as well. Esther and I have both used many of the rulers, but there are new ones being made all the time and Chicken Feed Quilts is working towards getting all of them. We currently have over 60 different Creative Grids Rulers in store, and we are continually ordering and trying out new ones. If there is one that we don't have but you would like let us know we will order it! If you have questions about the rulers or would like to see them for youself come in store. I will also be doing a demo on these rulers at the Festival Quilts in Lethbridge next week, more details to follow.
Kayla
