It’s National Tape Measure Day. As I look at the above picture I realize almost everything we touch, use, or like, has something to do with size. The tape measure, according to whether it is made of flexible metal, plastic or cloth, can tell us the of size a whole lot of things.

People need to know their measurements in order to buy clothing, especially out of a catalog. Men want to know ladies measurements to see if they “measure-up” to their ideal dream lady. Now that’s a sexist comment, but the truth. Ladies want to know how men “measure-up” in all sorts of situations. I’m not sure you can measure those situations with a tape measure, it has more to do with manners and sensitivities.

Builders have to know All the measurements in any building they build, whether it be the size of the doors to be used or the square footage of a closet. Everything has a measurement in the basic planning stages to figure out how much the planned building will cost to build. I know that because that is what my husband does at work. It’s detailed and exact.

I live in potato growing country and machines with varying size screens on conveyor belts are utilized to sort the potatoes. They don’t measure the potatoes individually, but the screens have specific measurements so the smallest fall through first, and then the next size, etc. Different sizes are used for different things.

Being a quilter, I measure the repeat of the design on a fabric. Some patterns call for a specific number of repeats to cut pieces to make a new pictorial. I also have to figure out exact measurements when I put a t-shirt quilt together because all the logos on the shirts are different sizes. In order to make an eye-pleasing mosaic it takes knowledge of the formulas of triangles and patience to get it right. I like the challenge.

brooke's quilt

This is my great-niece’s high school graduation gift. It’s not yet quilted. You can see the pieces are not all the same size or shape. Rulers help me with all the math, and a tape measure tells me how big the finished quilt is. Yes, I use all that “useless” math I learned in high school. In my life, a tape measure is a must.