Getting Back to Work

My Blog-cation is over.  We went to Seattle to celebrate the high school graduation of a granddaughter.  We had a great visit and loved driving across the country.  Wyoming was a green, patchwork sprinkled with antelope and angus cattle.  The desert was even green.  The drive home took us up one range of mountains and then down into desert, then back into high country and down again onto the flatland several times.  The western USA is an oversized roller coaster with endless, stunning vistas!   A good time was had by all, but it is nice to be home.

Unfortunately my poor house is in chaos right now with stuff all over the place.  Empty suitcases are still in the living room.  I am back to refinishing my mother's trays, but now that it is warm enough, I moved all the painting paraphernalia out of the sewing room and into the garage where I will continue to work on it.  Nice to get that mess out of the way.  Now my sewing is strewn all over the room to bare the table for a plywood top.  I work on a rectangular folding table, which generally works well, but it dips about 1/4 inch or more in the middle, which means my sewing machine tips away from me as I sew, and it bounces when I really get going. I tried a piece of wood under the back edge, which helps, but DH noticed the problem one day and suggested a plywood top, which is now under construction.

You are probably familiar with this kind of folding table.

Meanwhile we purchased annual flowers and they must get planted in my containers before they wilt.  The Golden Years of Empty Nesting!  Where are they?  The nest just fills up with other things, but not gold!

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Later:  The board is done and fits on the table perfectly.

5/8 inch plywood on top supported by the substantial edges of the table.
It is heavy enough that it won't slide.

I covered it with some flannel-backed plastic tablecloth material that I discovered in my stash.  When on earth did I buy that?  Anyhow, it is the perfect material with which to cover the plywood...sort of like upholstering it.

Fabric ready to put on the board.  Styrofoam to sit behind the machine.

I also covered two pieces of 1-inch styrofoam cut to fit around the back of my machine.

Styrofoam covered.  

The raised surface prevents my quilts from falling off the back of the extender table and hanging up on corners when I am quilting.  Even 2 inches behind my machine makes a tremendous difference.The wrinkles in the tablecloth fabric from years of being folded have already relaxed and will not be an issue.

Completed table top.

I thought to take a picture of it all set up ready to sew, but the new surface didn't show enough after I put the extender table on the machine and set out all my tools and stuff, but I know it is done, and it will make sewing easier.  

TIP:  Sometimes a solution takes time away from quilting, but it is important to have your equipment fit your work style, so in the end it is worth it.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish a comfortable surface on which to work.