Monday, March 11, 2013

I Made An Ironing Board Cover

    Slowly but surely my craft space is getting upgraded, and I'm so excited because it means I'm taking myself more seriously. With renovations happening this Spring, maybe I'll have a whole room for crafting soon!


    For Christmas my Mom gave me a fancy new iron (from Amazon).  It's super sleek looking, heats up remarkably fast, and it's cordless!  Unfortunately, the pristine condition of my new iron only accentuated the 'features' of the ironing board I've been using.  The mechanism that lets you stand up and collapse the ironing board doesn't hold anymore, so sometimes it will just release and everything ends up on the floor.  I haven't a clue how long that stain has been there and the olive green frame(you can see part of the stand at the top) is suspiciously reminiscent of the 50's.  Perhaps my Mom inherited it?  If that's the case, my sister can have it next.


    I thought the new iron deserved a better partner, so I went and found a suitable replacement for my Mom's old ironing board.  Before now, I had no idea there were 'dorm' or 'apartment' ironing boards, which are half-size table-top ironing boards.  They are perfect for what I do because I mainly use less than half a yard of fabric at a time, so I don't need a huge surface to iron on.  Full size ironing boards are probably necessary if you make bigger projects which use yards and yards of fabric.


    My new small ironing board (from Amazon) is a great space saver, and is my new best friend.  I threw together a new cover for it because, let's face it, sometimes too much white is boring.


    The fabric had been in my stash untouched for almost a year. I wasn't saving it for anything in particular, but sometimes that's the reason something sits for so long.  I love how well it matches my new iron, it's as if I planned it!


    The downside to having a colored/patterned ironing board cover is that it makes it difficult to see the loose threads that get on it.  Luckily I've always had a lint brush on hand while sewing, since back in the day when I didn't have a craft table and would use my bed instead.  The sticky lint rollers (from Amazon) are perfect for crafters because it's a quick and easy method for keeping your work space tidy.  You can tell that I use mine a lot because the roll is getting near empty.


    How long have you been using your ironing board and what condition is it in these days? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for stopping by :)

~LQ~

Friday, January 25, 2013

High Spirits and Organization


    During Winter I have to look for the smaller signs of life in order to keep my spirits high. 

Cardinal, Jan 23rd 2013
    This bright Cardinal should do the trick! Although buds on our Magnolia tree isn't what I want to see when the end of Winter isn't quite in sight yet. I'm afraid to see how excited the pear trees got last week when we got that freak Spring weather in January. Buds are delicate; any typical Winter weather can freeze them and make all the energy put into making them a waste.

    Well, it's a new year... and I'm going to put my energy into getting organized. And making sure I keep my sewing things organized as I take on more projects in 2013. Luckily I scored some awesome plastic storage solutions on sale at Michael's.


    The large bins are so great. In each one I keep everything I need for a project, so I can easily be working on multiple projects at once without things getting mixed together. I think these clear Iris Project Cases(on Amazon) were originally created for scrapbook-ers but they work as wonderful storage for small/medium sewing projects and supplies.


    I've been using these clear 17 slot Bead Storage Box (on Amazon) since I was pretty young. They were perfect for storing the embroidery floss collection I had for making macrame friendship bracelets. I picked up a couple more during Michael's after-Christmas sale, but I could probably use a few more still. I have so many small items in my craft clutter... sigh. At least now the sewing section is super neat and spiffy!

Praying Mantis, Oct 4th 2012
    Here's a little friend from last Autumn, just for fun. Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear how you deal with the grey, dreariness of the Winter months  :)

Comments/Criticisms welcome.