Why You Need That Calculator!

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post; an explanation of why, exactly, you need one (or possibly two) calculators in your sewing room! In addition to using the tool for quickly adding up quilt edge measurements when you're calculating binding length (always add 10" to that total) how about using it for assistance when it comes to the decimal equivalent for a fraction? 

.125 = 1/8

.25 = 1/4

.375 = 3/8

.5 = 1/2

.675 = 5/8

.75 = 3/4

.875 = 7/8

You can even print this handy reference guide out and mount it to the back of your calculator, that way you'll always know where it is. These decimal equivalents will aid you in fabric yardage calculations. For instance... you know from consulting a pattern that you need 5 yds. of fabric. You have three pieces on hand: one is 1/8 yd., the second is 2 5/8 yd. and the third is 2 1/4 yd. Do you have enough? By adding up .125 + 2.675 + 2.25 you learn that you actually possess 5 yds.; yes, you do!

Or, another example: you have a 7/8” finished square measurement called for and what you need to know is how big to cut your pieces, including the seam allowance, 875 + .5 = 1.375 or 1 3/8”.  

I'm sure you can think of many other applications, these are but a few; now you know why I had to buy a replacement calculator right away; and why I'm keeping it even though I found the original, misplaced, one! Life's just too short to be scribbling math problems on scraps of paper... wouldn't you rather be stitching? I know I would.

Life is Good!

Thanks to Quiltkeemosabe, my #1 sidekick and advisor, for suggesting this post topic.

It Figures!

"No sewing room should be without a calculator,"  that's what Quiltkeemosabe told me one day as she handed this one to me. Up until that time I had muddled through somehow, probably scribbling down simple math problems on scraps of paper; I don't remember. Ever since then I have quickly and effectively used this calculator to figure out every sort of meaasurement a quiltmaker could possibly dream up. I have thanked her, in my mind, each and every time I reached for it. And then, suddenly, it went missing. I was lost without it. For some reason I kept returning, over and over, to the same place where it should have been; only to find that it was still missing! What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results; if that's the case I must be insane. Finally I decided it must have been pitched out with a pile of scraps that had been mounded up on the cutting table. I made plans to replace it. Mr. Goodneedle kept reminding me that the misplaced one would, eventually, turn up; however, I was determined to find a replacement. I had a feeling that if I actually bought one the lost calculator might just magically reappear. Why does that always seem to be the case? That same calculator-giving friend once reminded me that the universe releases lost objects on its own time; obviously it wasn't time yet.

Here it is: my new sewing room calculator. I removed it from the shopping bag yesterday afternoon and set it down on the counter; as I did so I had immediate recall as to where my original calculator was! I walked straight to the tote bag, hanging in a closet, and retrieved it; that calculator had accompanied me to a recent church committee meeting! Somehow the physical action of holding the newly purchased item freed up my memory. You probably knew where this story was going all along... didn't you? 

"No sewing room should be without a calculator", Quiltkeemosabe's words still ring in my ears. But, really, does any sewing room need two? She tells me "yes"! Looks like I now have a back-up; or, keeping in mind the way the universe works, it's inexpensive insurance that I will never misplace the original calculator again!

Life is Good!