I like this idea - I sometimes just put the ironing board and iron in another room just so I can move. I chain sew for a while and then go iron and snip apart. I also can set up the ironing station right beside my machine and do that when I'm constructing blocks or strip sets.

I have both but I like the big iron because it is hotter. i just made an ironing table to fit on top of the treadle machine so it is just a couple steps away. I sew all I can then I iron and sew again if need be. I put a titanium cloth on top of plywood and a rack to hold the iron so it isn't in the way for wide things.

I have a regular ironing board set up behind my swivel sewing chair ( I use a horn sewing table) and when I am ready to press a seam after sewing, just swivel around, press and don't have to get up. ( Not like I don't need the exercise.) :mrgreen:

Works for me!

You can also buy one of those travel irons at Walgreens for under $10 and make your little ironing table by using a TV tray with an ironing pad on top of it [could be stapled onto it, if you got a wood one [i picked up one at Goodwill for 99cents..

I made "colapsable" table for near my machine out of a tv tray table.
I covered with batting and then good weight home dec material and stapled on underside (like i was re-covering the top)
It is the most used creation I have ever made!
I can move anywhere near me and put in closet when done!

You have to try it!

I have my ironing board right next to my sewing table and put down to the same height, also have a rolling office chair so not even getting up, makes it quicker for me :wink: .....

I bought both kinds of the travel irons at Walgreen's, tried them out on the fabric and they didn't work worth a hoot. The plate of the iron was rough and I was afraid I would ruin the work I had already done. So I returned them both, am sticking with what I have now, a Sunbeam, which I am not particularly keen on either, auto turn off. Turns off when I need it the most. I think I will ask Santa Claus for a really nice one, just for my quilting! I would appreciate knowing what a really good iron is - but not one that we would have to mortgage the house for. Also, I have rearranged my sewing area. I am looking out the window, I will have the bird feeders up shortly and I think I will have the sweetest little sewing area and I can swivel in my chair whichever way I want to go, iron here, cut there, sew wherever. I am so content!Thanks. Edie

Sorry the irons didnt work out for you - I had got one long ago. Do you leave the bird feeders up all winter? we moved to Minn from Wisc. last summer, but winter down in Chandler, AZ, so I feed the birds down there. Hope Santa gets you the iron you want..

I put out the bird feeders around the second week in October and putthem away when the ground is soft enough for them to forage for themselves. Little buggers! My favorite is the Chickadee. Why, you ask? Because my Mother calls it the Edie Bird and my name is Edie and if you listen to it it says "Edieeeee". Honest, you'll never forget that! Where in Wisconsin are you from (we have rellies all over Wisc) and where in Minnesota are you now? Are you one of thems that are caught between the cheesehead and the Viking horns? Glad you moved to Minnesota. We need all the help we can get! Edie :D

Hi, We moved from Brookfield Wi to Maple Grove, MN. Have hooked up with a quilt group that meets at the comm. center, so I get a full day of quilting twice a month. They are great ladies and very helpful with suggestions & ideas. I too am glad to have moved here, tho I miss the friends back in Wisconsin.

We feed the birds while we are here during the summer - grandson loves to watch them & we have a chickadee nest in the tall evergreen by the house.

We are in St. Paul. Every time I turn around a quilt shop closes. So I have to be content with JoAnn and Hancock! I found an exceptional quilt shop that quilts. It is called Quilt Yourself. It is located in Savage. You can either have them do the quilting for you or you can rent the machine and take a few lessons on how to do it! I'll just let them do it for me. I just took in a quilt a few days ago. I found some fantastic fabric - batik multi colored. My mother says that she heard Vern Yip (he's on HGTV) say that something looked like Rainbow Throw Up. Well, it's spewed like that, but it matches every color I used. My plan was to not use any fabric at all, except for the sashing, backing, border and binding, more than once. I kdid just that. I made a sampler quilt with 35 different blocks - 5 across/7 down. And then when I got to the shop I wasn't sure on a thread I asked if they had a variegated thread. She hauled one out and that was it! It matched every color in the border. I'll get it back on November 15. Can't wait. I have the binding all put together, ironed and ready for when I get the quilt.

Now I am working on a quilt for my husband and I. It is a Floating Star Scrappy quilt. I am using up more of my stash.

Got my bird seed, so I am all set to go.

Are you young or old like I am! Not at the doddering stage yet, but getting there. GO SEW! Edie

HI - your quilt sounds amazing.. make sure you post the pics for us to see. AND also the one for your hubby. I heard about the the quilt shop that lets you use their machine, but they were a tad pricey for the lessons $150.00 - I can understand them wanting one to take lessons and charge, but by the time you do that, and then pay like $25+ per hour, you might as well let them do it.. just my opinion!! [ inexpensive as it may sound]
I decided to use my Singer embroidery machine to do quilt designs on the stack and whack quilt I just finished for my daughter.. Im terrible as free motion quilting, but am determined to get better...Practice, Practice I hear.
I am retired and will be eligible for medicare in a couple years..

I paid $130.00 to have our son and dil's quilt done. I know I couldn't do it and it is cheaper than taking the lessons. I have a friend who bought the quilting frame from JoAnn's and she is doing a king size Double Wedding Ring quilt by hand for her daughter and sil's 25th anniversary = 2 years from now.

I just turned 71 - I feel young except when I wash floors on my hands and knees. I got the old art-ritis in the big toe and when you bend that puppy, it hurts like sin :( But I keep right on a'scrubbin'! Sounds dumb, but I get a lot of thinkin' and prayin' done on my hands and knees!

I had the notion to do some baking today, so I got a loaf of zucchini nut bread, banana nut bread and a pumpkin pie made for dessert tonight. Tired as all get out, but it sure smells good in here.

You have a good evening. I am going to make a few blocks tonight. Edie

:D [b]Hey, there. Just wanted to say that I have a regular ironing board next to my sewing machine, and simply turn it sideways next to me when I am sewing.

deleted by me!

sorry about the deleted post - figured that it was more a PM message than a public message!
anyway, I tried those little irons and didn't like them at all. Last year I bought this at the Sewing/Quilting Expo here in MN. I dont really use it unless I am on my quilt retreat since my iron at home is set up fairly close to my machine (and like others, I chain stitch so i can go awhile without having to iron). I love the hobby iron (make sure it has been recalibrated for pr specifically made for quilting) and is a gadget I would have a hard time giving up for retreat!

http://www.softexpressions.com/softw...ns/hobbico.php

how do you do a pm?

I don't even know what you mean! PM - Edie

PM is private message. If you want to send a private message to someone, click on their name above their avatar and it will bring you to "their" screen, and under their name/avatar is a button that says "PM" - click on that and you will be able to send a message to them!

Shelly, I had to laugh when I read your post. I was working on a large quilt and had to get up and iron every few minutes. The next day my thighs were sore and I couldn't remember what exercise I had done to deserve that. I still keep my ironing board a few feet from my sewing so that I have to get up. Maybe I can count it as aerobic?? LOL

Goodness me, what a neat idea! On my way to give it a try.

My setup is this way due to the size of the room. Actually it is part of the bedroom. I have a six foot table with the sewing machine on the right, the cutting mat in the middle and the iron on the left end. The ironing board is a miniature that stands next to the television. I just put it on the cutting mat when I need it.

One thing....this house is so old that I have to turn off the air conditioning before I turn on the iron, so I have to get up also. Anyone remember "Green Acres"?

I have my ironing board set up to the left of my machine, so all I have to so is swivel around in my chair to do the pressing. On the right I have a table to do the pinning and trimming on. It is set in a U-shape. Very comfortable.

My oslo iron is in the next room, but I have a craft iron (those 4" little guys) beside me on a 24" square covered board, that is covered with a pillow case. I stretch out my chain stitched pieces and press quickly to the darkside. I also am a glue baster for some perfect seam/point matches and the pillowcase protects my iron board/surface from getting yucky. but when the block/row is done.....off to the serious steam press and starch, then block and trim.

Got a chuckle out of this. Green Acres, too funny!

I have a travel iron and use the June Taylor thing on my cutting table which I have to move to cut anything over about 15." Not the ideal setup. I really like the tray table idea. I think I'll be on the lookout for one. I've always thought it was a good idea to get up and move too but this is not working for me. Thanks for all the tips. You gals are great!

Tried to have the iron beside me, but couldn't get used to it. I'd rather just get up and down to use the regular ironing board I guess.

Watson