Had the same problem a few weeks ago, purchased a Rowenta travel iron through Amazon. Love it, small, gets very hot and has a fine point for getting into small areas. A few years ago a friend made me one of those fancy boards you see at quilt shows. It is made from light lumber, and padded. It is rectangular to fit over your ironing board...expecially good for ironing large pieces. I recently found it it fits perfectly over an odd-sized table (longer than a card table but smaller than the banquet size) I had gotten at Costco. The board fits perfectly over the table and gives me lots of surface area for working. I use a vintage Singer machine...so everything fits. I keep my supplies I am using at the time in a frisbee saucer dish....one dollar from Walmart. My area is compact but very efficient for me.