Side board solutions

A few months ago I saw a posting on Nextdoor.com selling a side table. I made Scott go with me that night to haul it home. It was a couple over in the Springs section of East Hampton. They were asking around $95 so I offered $70 and they took. It just fit in the back of the Jeep. 

I needed a place to cut fabric that could also double as an 'ironing board', something long and not too deep, as there's not a lot of space in that small room. This was the perfect solution. It also had two small drawers to stash supplies and a shelf underneath.

I bought a thick wool ironing mat on Amazon that would go on one side and my cutting mat would go on the other. Add two task lights and I was in business. 

I soon learned that it was a tad low for working on, so then I went back to Amazon and ordered some plastic furniture risers. I wanted them in brown to match the wood but no luck, only  white or black was available in what I needed. I got the white ones and with a couple of coats of brown spray paint all was good. 

Next I got a piece of wood at Home Depot and some L brackets to add an extra shelf underneath. I stained and polyurethaned it first. Then I got some under shelf baskets from Home Sense to give me some added storage on the bottom, this way I could sweep underneath. 

Lastly, I got a multi outlet cord to mount on the side. It makes it way more convenient to turn the iron off and on instead of bending down the the wall plug behind the shelf. 

All in all, it's pretty functional piece now, I'm super happy to have it.

A hex on you

 Since I started the quilting thing I've been wanting to make an old fashioned hexagon quilt. But researching them I found they're pretty tricky to make, not the best undertaking for a beginner (it's joining all those "Y" seams that's tough). But then I stumbled upon a way to make them that's much easier: you assemble the hexagon with HALF hexagons and just use straight line quilting. It requires a lot of planning before you start sewing. You have to make sure everything is placed exactly where you want it because once you start sewing the rows, it's not easy to undo mistakes. 

The first step is to lay out all your cut half hexagons on the floor (I lay down a sheet so as not to dirty the fabric pieces). 

Here's a close-up of a practice piece I did...I eventually turned it into a small throw pillow. You can see how the half pieces make up the whole hexagon....and how you sew the rows across. 

Here's an 'in-process' shot of how I attach the backing to the quilt top with the batting attached to it. Oh how I wish I had a huge work space with a big work table to lay out everything, it would make life so much easier. 

And finally the finished piece...I love it. It's exactly what I envisioned in my head. I wanted a vintage 1940's vibe to go with the age of the house. I call it "granny chic"...very Todd Oldham, a modern take on an old-timey idea. 

Here's a close-up shot of the detail in the quilting...

I wanted this quilt specifically for the day bed in the craft room. It got a cabin-y Adirondack-y feeling so I thought this would work well in there...and it does. The first picture above was shot in the bedroom for better lighting, here's the quilt in the craft room. A perfect place for afternoon naps or curling up with a good book...

Lastly, here's a look at the back, the "after quilt" as one YouTube tutorialist call it. It's a terrific way to use up scraps of fabric. This all have a floral and/or fruit pattern and they're all in the colors of the front, yellows, golds, oranges, greens, burgandies, etc