Today, in the studio

Next to my scissors and sewing machines I think my ironing equipment is my most used tool in my studio. I am pretty hard on them, with all the gluey, fusey stuff I use and I needed a new iron, so instead of going to a thrift store and buying a second hand iron that I don't feel guilty about ruining, (which is what I usually do) I ordered a fancy new iron with a titanium sole plate that was highly recommended by my internet friends on the SAQA list.

The utter loveliness of this iron pointed up how gunky and crummy my ironing surface was looking. (One thing always leads to another doesn't it?) You might remember that I made this ironing table, using an old kitchen corner cabinet with lazy Susan shelves inside. The notched out corner has a hinged door that accesses the shelves. It has turned out to be very handy. The ironing surface, itself is a piece of plywood I padded and covered with that silver ironing board cover fabric. The plywood worked okay, but wasn't sturdy enough to keep from bending into that notched corner.

So before I recovered it I reinforced the outer edges by screwing 1x2 boards all around. I love using power tools!

I also added some little support boards that fit just inside the new "frame" on the bottom of the plywood so it won't slide around. This will be a big improvement.

Then I covered the old cloth with new, clean un-gunked ironing fabric. The top is so much more solid now and worthy of the new iron.

Checked that one off the to-do list.

I have had this moth hanging on my design wall for a couple weeks.

I made it thinking it would be my donation for the SAQA auction this year. But it seemed kind of unfinished. Today I finally had an inspiration.

I think that background stitching was what it needed.

Also checked off the list.

Then the mail arrived, with a book I ordered on a whim last week.

I came across this, on the Internet, while looking for something else. It is 25 years old, printed in Italy and not expensive, so I ordered it. It is mostly a picture book and pretty delightful. I'm happy.

My favorite thing are the old prints and illustrations depicting scissors.

A good day in the studio.

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