The latest quilt I’m working on is at a stage where some fiddly trimming of each block is needed before I can sew it to its neighbor. No one’s forcing me to do the trimming, of course–I could take a more relaxed approach and just slap the suckers together and go. On some quilts I’ve done just that, but this one isn’t for me, nor it is for a baby who’s going to wear it out long before future generations of quilt police get a look at any wobbly seams and lumpy centers. This one I’m taking my time with so it’s as un-wonky as I can get it, which means trimming the blocks after assembling them so they’ll all be the same size and thus fit together like they were meant to.

Which brings me to the nifty notion: Omnigrid Glow-Line Tape. This is good stuff. I use it when I’m going to be cutting a lot of pieces the same size, especially if it’ll be done over a few days or weeks. I only have to figure out the right measurement once and then mark a ruler with the tape at the appropriate spot. I don’t have to recalculate every time I get back to a project or worry about finding some note I made for myself about what I was doing. I also don’t have to squint at the little marks on the ruler; the bright pink or orange or yellow tape is a lot easier to see. With the blocks I’m working on now, the tape is lined up with the tiny 1/8-inch marks, so I’m more grateful than usual for this notion. When I’m done with a project, I just peel the tape off; it’s never left sticky icky stuff behind.