New invention, hailed by the quilting community, is on its way to NZ

Hot on the heels of having won the People’s Choice Award on Australia’s ABC program, The New Inventors in July 2008, Leonie West’s invention, an Adjustable Ruler with Locking Fabric Guide will make its NZ debut at the NZ Craft & Quilt Fair on September 18 – 21, 2008 at the Claudelands Events Centre, Hamilton.

Leonie, a former truckie and part-time racing car driver turned quilter, had for some time been looking for the tool that could provide consistently accurate cutting. It seemed she was not alone – she constantly heard others lamenting in quilting forums that they needed a ruler that would cut accurately.

Leonie explains, “Quilters are constantly faced with the challenge of difficult maths and precise measurements, and cutting 1,200 identical bias strips can test anyone’s patience. There had been no change to this process since the rotary cutter was invented in 1979, so I felt it was time to address the issue.”

After realising how determined Leonie was to find a solution to this age-old quilters’ problem, Leonie’s husband Bill soon joined her in the garage, teaching her to cut Perspex - helping make her ideas a reality.

Two years, and many prototypes later, Leonie came up with the perfect design – a ruler that replaced the old adage measure twice and cut once – with a whole new, time saving approach, measure once and cut 1000 times!

With Leonie’s Straight Ruler with Locking Fabric Guide, quilters can simply set the desired strip width and lock the guide and cut. The last size will be the same as the first, every single time! Her range of corner, half and quarter square rulers, negate the need for spending time and calculations getting triangles accurate. The measurements have been calculated to give the size of the desired finished block with seam allowances built in.

The road is no longer a focus for this former truckie, Leonie now faces the challenge of manufacturing the product both domestically and internationally – demand is that good! Leonie has now set up a factory close to her Mt Evelyn home in Victoria where she is producing a range of 14 products for distribution around Australia and New Zealand, while setting up off shore manufacturing to produce rulers for the international market. Leonie plans to launch her products in Australia and New Zealand through the Craft & Quilt Fairs and in the USA through the Houston Craft Fair.

When Leonie won the ABC New Inventors People’s Choice Award, with a massive, 65.54% of votes, her husband rejoiced that he might be able to look forward to a home-cooked meal from Leonie in the near future; while, Leonie herself says, she is looking forward to some time to sleep.

Don’t miss your chance to see this revolutionary new product in action at the Aussie Patches stand at the New Zealand Craft & Quilt Fair. For a sneak peak before the Fair, visit www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2287744.htm to see Leonie explaining her invention.

Where & When: Claudelands Events Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand
Thursday, September 18 – Sunday, September 21, 2008
Open: 9:30am – 4:30pm daily
Tickets: Tickets available at the door or online at http://www.craftfair.com.au/hamilton08.php
Groups: Pre-booked tickets are available for groups of a minimum
of 10 people at a discounted rate.
To arrange a group call 0508-272389 or 0508 CRAFTY (free call)
Information: Visit http://www.craftfair.com.au/hamilton08.php or 0508-272389 or 0508 CRAFTY (free call).