When I was a youngster, I grew up hearing stories from my great-aunt who lived during the great depression in the United States. She taught us how she and her husband survived by bartering services and exchanging goods. She also taught us the value of keeping usable goods that may be used in the future when needed.
She ended up with more usable goods in her older years than she could ever use. My family called it the "depression era syndrome." My great aunt was 111 years old when she died. She had saved gold coins in a jar in her house or in her yard that were never found. I guess she found a great hiding place.
There is a balance that has to be reached betweem hoarding and saving. I have been doing more sewing than pottery or my other arts and crafts like knitting, crocheting, charcoal drawing, and painting.
I needed a suitable work table that would not turn my whole house into a factory setting. I have already turned my one car garage into a pottery studio and resorted to parking my car outside on the driveway. I don't like leaving my car outside all of the time, because it ruins the finish. But I digress.
I went to Home Depot to buy a 2 X 4 piece of 1/4 in MDF to use as a cutting surface for my sewing. While I was out, I stopped by a local thrift store and saw an ironing board without the fabric or cushion for $5.99. It occured to me that it would make a wonderful "waist high" base for the MDF.
Originally, I had planned to paint a one inch grid pattern on the MDF using painters tape and paint that I already own. As I was putting away some of my patterns for sewing, I noticed a grid pattern printed on canvas that I had saved. To be honest, I don't remember if this canvas came with one of my knitting machines or if I bought it separately. Either way, it was perfect for my "makeshift" sewing table.
I wanted something that could be easily stored and put away without taking up a lot of space when not in use. I used large paper clips to clamp the canvas to the MDF. I don't want to cut it right now because I may end up using the whole thing later. I decided not to screw the MDF into the holes in the ironing board which had been my original plan. Keeping the MDF and the ironing board separate gives me more flexibility with storage.
I am ready to go to work now and I can easily put my sewing table away and keep my house neat when I go back to my pottery studio in the garage. Sometimes, we have to think outside of the box. I still donate and give away a lot of stuff that I don't need and haven't used in years. I have also learned from my great aunt's teachings, not to give away everything. You never know what you might need in the future, expecially with these uncertain financial times during this pandemic.
Enjoy your day!
