The first project on my Rest-of-December To-Do List was to make a gift for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild Holiday Swap.
Last month, we all brought baggies full of fabric with the idea that each baggie would be randomly given to another member. The member who got each baggie would then make a gift for the person who packed it, using that member's own fabric.
This is the baggie that I got.
To make the gift, we were allowed to add one additional fabric. Since the bag I got had only prints, I wanted to add a solid and chose Essex yarn-dyed in Flax. (I also decided not to use the green piece of fabric that was in the bag.)
The rules say to add only one fabric, which I interpreted as not including utility fabric, interfacing, batting, notions, etc. (I added all of those too.)
I get a lot of use out of my machine-side pressing table, particularly at guild sewing days, so I thought it might be fun to make one of those. In making it, I tried to add useful features and fix "problems" that I have with my own.
I also made an iron cozy, lined with heat-resistant fabric, to make transporting a hot iron easier.
The strap loops through a rectangle ring and has velcro to hold it in place.
The bottom (the part that will be in contact with the iron's plate) is a quilted sandwich made with heat-resistant fabric, heat-resistant batting, cotton batting, and a patchwork panel.
To the side of the table, I added a little caddy for small tools and a detachable bag for strings and scraps.
The raw edges on the bottom of my table bug me so, before I put the cover on this one, I bound all of the raw edges of the fabric with duct tape. I also gusseted the corners of the batting layers, so they fit around the corners without being too bulky.
Another thing that bugs me about my mini table is the way it flops around when I'm moving it. For this table I made a little bag/cover to keep the table folded in place when it's being stored or moved.
When it's tied onto the table, it's easy to move by using the crossbar on the table legs as a handle.
I can't be there to give it to her in person tonight, but I've passed it along to someone who will. I really hope that she likes it!
