EXTENSION TABLE FOR TOYOTA

A few days ago I mentioned I had phoned Toyota about an extension table. Well, it arrived yesterday.

This shows the machine I've used for the last 10 years or so and the area I've worked on - it measures about 9 1/2" x 7". For years I'd used a cone of thread with a cotton reel stuffed in the underside so that it would fit onto the 'spike' then discovered I could get a cone holder (I think it is called)- what bliss! My daughter-in-Holland's partner also bought me one so now I have one for bobbin cotton, too. You can just see them like twin masts behind the centre of the machine. I've used magnetic pincushions for years and the little tin is an idea I got from Kath in which I collect threads and small offcutty bits which then all go into the bin rather than on the (carpeted) floor.

And here's the machine with the extension table attached. What luxury!! This sewing space measures about 20" x 11 1/2" so I should be able to improve my machine quilting non-skills...

When I moved here the room had been a baby's nursery and I was in such a rush to get everything sorted that I didn't bother with decorating, hence the frieze. I did find time to glue sheets of polystyrene to one wall and then staple an old flannelette sheet to it for my design wall and it's served me very well.

Ah, the joys of living on your own when you can do what you like to your house, though it would be useful to have a man to, say, put up shelves or shift heavy furniture. It takes a lot of reminding to get my son to come and do something I can't manage, but to be fair, he has an awful lot on his plate.

I went into a charity shop yesterday and bought two mens' shirts to recycle, one purple with tiny white lines in both directions and a black one with lines slightly wider apart plus a boy's shirt in blue plaid. They're flapping on the line at the moment, then a cutting up session...