Once I had the big Memory Quilt project out of the way….
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and once I caught up on some housework….
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I worked on a few pieces I wanted for my new studio. Plus by this time, Phil had finished planting and could at least breathe on the weekends. Well, I thought that meant working for ME, but he was then out from 7:30 – 2 on Saturday helping a mission place spruce for spring and 3 – 8:30 Sunday helping a friend. I got his work for me in bits & pieces. Which resulted in….
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My new big board ironing board!
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I’ve wanted this forEVER but had no room in my sewing room. Since the buffet got nixed from being our TV stand in the living room, I’ve adopted it for the time being for my studio. (and now in reading the original buffet redo comments, I see that Michelle suggested this back in January! I forgot but way to implant on my brain!!) The debate still continues if I’ll bring in the other buffet and paint it a fun color for my studio or keep with this one which goes better with the living room colors. Of course, then I’ll need a new top cover piece to coordinate with the new buffet color. Oh. my.
The drawers are going to hold my long-arm rulers (and much etc over time, I’m sure).
The ironing surface is a piece of 3/4″ plywood. I was going to ask for a piece 26″ x 52″ but then decided on 26 x 48 for better use of the 4′ x 8′ piece of plywood. That doesn’t fit in my car now even w/ the 26″ piece cut off. So Phil went to the store another day with his truck to bring it home. He found they sell already cut 24″ x 48″ pieces!! I could have bought it myself afterall! So I went with that size. Easier for Phil to get and no waste.
I lightly sanded the edges of the plywood.
I put a layer of insul-bright on the bottom and Phil stapled it to the wood. (I find that at Joann’s. It is on a bolt; near the interfacing and fusible batting on bolts.) We wrapped around the board and there are a few inches on the back of each side. I added a layer of felt next. I would have also wrapped the felt but what I had wasn’t quite big enough. In a frugal effort to make-do, I cut it to just fit the top. I spray glued it to hold it in place while we worked.
Then I added a layer of cheap (but coordinating! 🙂 ) fabric to the top, wrapping it around to the back and holding in place with staples.
To keep the board from scooting and scratching the top of the buffet, I bought a few packs of the carpet non-slip foam-type-of-stuff from the Dollar Tree. A good cushion! 🙂
That same weekend, we hauled the pieces of my workbench to the driveway. I lightly sanded it by hand. Then used a scraper thing to get off the melted wax bits and other miscellaneous raised debris. I washed it with Wood Wash which cleans without raising the wood grain. Then we hauled it back to the basement. I rubbed all the pieces with a wood polish. I’m not sure how much the polish helped but it did look better and seemed that the polish took off more “stuff”.
Phil put a frame on the back of some peg board so we could attach it to the back of the workbench later. I painted the pegboard and decided that was a dumb idea. 😦 Holes!!! (I have poked out any paint from the holes I want to use with the peg hook.) After all was dry, Phil screwed the pegboard into the back of the workbench.
I bought a variety of hooks for the pegboard and have started to use it. I am seriously OK with the plain ol’ hooks from the 70’s. These new ones are so new-fangled!! LOL!
I used long ones to hold some wooden boxes/drawers I have from my dad’s workshop. One drawer has more hooks to be used and one has various tools that came with my long-arm machine.
The workbench is near & dear to my heart. ♥ I asked for this when my parents were downsizing and Dad was no longer really using his workshop.
At our 227 house, we used this as a kitchen island. Mom mixed bread here as it was the perfect height and not as tall as the counter. I mixed chewing gum here, too! (LOL!! Yes, I was the youngest and asked to buy the chewing gum kit from a magazine ad. 🙂 ) Mom stored the big sharp knives in the tool rack along the back.
Later, Dad reclaimed the workbench for his shop. Neither 1325 house had room for an island in the kitchen.
But farther back the storyline, Dad got the workbench from his Uncle Albert. My great uncle. Uncle Albert & Aunt Goldie were like grandparents to me. They lived in Ashland and we went there for Thanksgiving dinner. They had color TV before we did; in a console even!! I loved being able to see the NBC peacock on their TV. On one Saturday, Dad, Bruce, & Nancy (+ others?) rode their bikes to camp (ack!!) and Margaret & I got to go to Aunt Goldie’s for the day. She made puppets with us!! 🙂 I wish I had them but I think the moths (or others) got them in the attic. Fabric from her scrap box, cutting, gluing… ahhh…. 🙂
As I washed the workbench, I found (and then remembered) where Dad had marked which side of the legs went to the back. Later I also found where Uncle Albert had marked the rear as well. I SHOULD HAVE taken photos of those spots! Anyway, I love having this in my studio. It is great having my extra long ruler & a rotary cutter there and in sight! I’ve used the top a few times for a bit of trimming with a small cutting mat. More use to come. 🙂
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and sew on... 