The smallest of things put a kink in my sewing day!

This is driving me crazy.

I helped my daughter with a school project. We did some color blocking on a tee shirt. She did the design and the planning, and I did the sewing. We both did cutting. Along the way, I needed 1" strips, so grabbed my handy dandy 1" x 6" Omnigrid ruler.

You probably have one or something like it that you use often. I have a 2" ruler, a 4" ruler, a 6" ruler (all widths); a curved corner template; wedge rulers; diamond rulers; 4" square ruler; and others. Each is used from time to time, often enough that if one disappears, it's the one I need right now.

Okay, back to the school project. I've taken to cleaning up after a project or cut out immediately so I don't have to face the mess in the morning. If I leave it too long, it becomes invisible and just lives wherever I left it. I know I'm the only one who does that, right? I gathered up scraps of fabric, papers bias tape, and other remnants of goodies left on my table. 

The next morning, I went to grab my 1" x 6 " handy dandy Omnigrid ruler and it wasn't where it is supposed to live! Argh. I made do with what I had on hand - a sort of 1" wide ruler. It wasn't the same. The wooden substitute was a bit wider than an inch and I had to eyeball the correction. It was probably 1/16" inch too wide. 

Then the "woe is me" set in. My handy dandy 1" x 6" Omnigrid ruler was gone. I don't know if I threw it away with the fabric scraps from the school project or if it was hidden behind something, but it's nowhere I can find it; that's for sure. 

God forbid I cut a thick piece of cardboard an inch wide. That just wouldn't do. 

It's a small piece of my sewing arsenal, but man, it is missed. It's like my last Clover seam ripper took a walk. I can't sew without that little gem being handy, even if I don't use it. I have 3 spares!

As I continued to obsess about my 1" x 6 " handy dandy Omnigrid ruler's disappearance, I decided it was time to fix this dilemma. Guess what I ordered this morning? I'm going to chain it to my table. And I will never do a school project with my 30-year-old daughter ever again. I'm sure there's a way to turn this around and make it her fault.