Weekend Project

Have you been following the "Where I Sew" series over at Pink Chalk Studio?  It's better than Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!  I'm very lucky to have a large dedicated space with lots of natural lighting for my quilt studio and while functionally it's working pretty well for me, I've been inspired to do a little sprucing up.  So as my good friend Megan would say, "It's time for a Do-Ovah!" 

First up, my sewing table with a how-to in case you want to try it also.  I rescued this nasty looking thing from beside the dumpster at my kids' school.  It had been rained on so the wood is kind of bumpy, plus the institutional gray isn't really the fashion statement I'm trying to make.  What I do like about it is that the legs are set towards the back so it doesn't get in the way of my knee lift and foot pedal while I sew.  I enlisted my DH's help since I have a fear of the staple gun but it was super easy and we were done in under an hour.  My table is 30"x36" and the top is about 1 1/2" thick so I needed:

• 2, 24"x48" rolls of bulletin board cork from Lowes.
• 1 1/2 yds. Jennifer Paganelli Queen Street laminated cotton.
• Wood glue
• Staple gun

We peeled off the trim that was coming off anyway and then covered the entire top with a layer of wood glue.  I stuck the cork on, lining up the top and left side flush with the edges of the desk.  You have some time to move it around.  Then I did the same with the second piece of cork, butting the edge up against the first piece.  You can easily cut off the excess with an exacto knife.  I weighted it down with the Twilight saga while it dried to keep it from bubbling.

From there I cut my laminated fabric 35"x41" so I'd have some overhang, centered it on the table, and DH went to work with the staple gun.  I tried to pull it fairly taught so the surface would be smooth and did the rounded corners like I was wrapping a present.  

My theory is that the cork will help absorb some of the vibration and the laminated surface will help my quilts glide while quilting.  In any case, the final result is a huge improvement!