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| Brynwood Needleworks - My Steam Station |
When I was a kid, I used to see a commercial with a woman who stood at her ironing board. She looked exhausted, with messy hair, and she'd say, "I'm Gertie Schmertz, and I iron shirts 'til my fingers hurts." I have no idea what the commercial was actually selling, but obviously, it left an impression on me. (I'm not even sure why!)
I was about ten when my mother taught me to iron my dad's white work shirts. He was a school teacher, so he had a clean shirt for every day. Not only did I learn to do his shirts, but I got really good at it, too. I enjoyed ironing shirts just for him. All these years later, I still think of Dad when I iron a white shirt. Handsome wears white shirts when he performs music, but he also loves wearing cotton shirts.
These days, I'm certainly no Gertie Schmertz at the ironing board. I have a number of irons, but when it comes to ironing shirts, I use my Rowenta Steam Station. It has a water reservoir, so I'm not constantly refilling the iron so I have constant steam when pressing those cotton shirts.
You'll notice that the steam station is sitting on top of a cart. You've likely seen these carts somewhere before, as there are a lot of places that sell them. Here's one from Amazon to give you an idea.
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| Brynwood Needleworks - My Ironing Cart |
Usually, the top piece is inverted from how I'm using it. It's another compartment for art or kitchen supplies, but that's not what I needed. I needed a platform to hold my steam station, so I flipped it over to make that surface.
I keep the rest of my ironing supplies (starch, pressing sprays, and linen sprays) in the bottom two compartments. In addition to those sprays, I have my pressing forms, and a couple other irons. Then, when I need to use my iron, I just roll the cart out of the studio closet and take it to where I need it.
That's what I did yesterday. Handsome had some shirts that needed pressing, and there were table cloths and napkins that were used over the holidays. I love cotton and/or linen, and they always need to be pressed after they're washed. It didn't take that long to do my work, and I watched a couple recorded shows (Home Town - home reno, and The Curse of Oak Island - about treasure hunting) while I worked.
The result was a room that smelled heavenly from my Cotton Linen spray, and all my ironing caught up. It's always such a satisfying feeling being caught up with my ironing. I have a tendency to put it off, but always feel so great when it's done.
I'll get back to working on my embroidery today. I'll have a much more enjoyable time knowing that my tasks are caught up. Now I can just play again.
Great ironing station!
ReplyDeleteIroning reminds me of my Mom.
She loved ironing.
She would put the radio on & iron away.
Do you remember the pant stretchers?
She also had those to crease pants.
She hung them outside to dry & sometimes if it was colder, they would be stiff as a board.
A great memory though. :)
Marilyn
Oh, Marilyn! I can see those frozen pants! We used to have frozen sheets in the winter. If it was sunny outside, stuff was hung outside. brrrrr!
DeleteThanks for the memories, my friend.
xo
Donna
I can remember playing under my mom's ironing table She would put a stack of records on the turntable and iron away. I like to iron, myself, altho not near as often as I used to when girls were home. Now just "farmer" and I so doesn't get used that often. But very enjoyable still for me. Do you make your own linen spray or is this a product on the shelf. Thnks.
ReplyDeleteHi Judi:
DeleteIsn't it fun walking down Memory Lane? I can just imagine you as a little, listing to the music playing, and your mom ironing away. Do you hear any of those songs and immediately return to that memory? Music does that to me.
The linen spray I use was discontinued by Bed, Bath & Beyond while we were still in Florida. This particular scent was my favorite and then discontinued. I purchased all they had before it was gone. I'm pretty stingy with it, and only use it on Handsome's shirts now. But, the last time I was in the store, they still had it in other fragrances.
Thanks for leaving a note today, and for sharing your memory.
xo
Donna
I guess I'm lucky in that my DH only ever wears a shirt to weddings and funerals so I rarely need to iron them. He's a t-shirt guy, primarily because he's very long in the torso and rarely can buy 'proper' shirts.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm a fan of 'Home Town' too - that couple is so sweet together. There's another show I like and for the life of me can't remember the name of it, but it features a couple with the last name of 'Mars'. They're a fun couple too.
Hi MA:
DeleteWatching Ben and Erin on Home Town almost makes me want to move to Laurel, MS! Then, I see how much Ben perspires in the MS weather, and I remember how I whined about the humidity in Florida.
I have to admit, when we lived in Florida, Handsome only wore cotton shirts, and he especially loves the Columbia shirts with the venting on the back. They're hard to iron well...so I might have complained a little. lol T-shirts as regular attire would have been a welcome change of pace!
xo
Donna
Oh - and after I sent the previous comment I read Marilyn's and laughed at her stiff as a board about drying laundry outside. My dad (a farmer) used to wear long underwear which, along with all our other laundry, was dried outside. It would freak me out to see his underwear standing all by itself in the corner of the living room...and would freak me even more if I happened to be there when it warmed up enough to topple over.
ReplyDeleteMA-
DeleteBAHAHAHAHAHA! I read your comment to Handsome and he laughed out loud! (I did, too!) Thanks for brightening our day. What a hoot.
xoxo
Donna
I thought I was the only one who remembered Gertie Schmertz! I used to say this to my kids, and they would laugh . I don't remember what the ad was for, but the jingle stuck in my head. My mom would "sprinkle" things to be ironed with a pop bottle that was fitted with a perforated lid. Then, she would put the bag of ironing in the fridge and iron on Saturdays while watching TV. I used to think,"I'll never do that!!", and I never have! We've come a long way with ironing sprays and permanent-press clothes, haven't we?
ReplyDeleteHey, Girlfriend! I've been thinking about you. Why am I not in the least bit surprised that you remember that jingle, too? lol Mom did the same. It was an old, glass Pepsi bottle with the metal and cork sprinkler. She'd do the sprinkling, and eventually, she taught me to iron all of Dad's white shirts so he looked crisp and professional to teach his students. What I wouldn't give to relive those days.
DeleteI hope you and Tim are well. I still need to send "Wooly Critters" to you to quilt for me. Let me know when you have a break in the action!
Miss you lots.
Big hugs,
xoxo
D
Love the idea of the cart for your steam station. I assume you use it for your wool applique too? I live my steam station and may have to use the cart idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb:
DeleteIt really is handy for rolling out or around when I need to use it. Yes. I use it for my wool applique' with the wool pads to really help steam-set the pieces. The carts aren't real expensive (you can get them for around $30 - available at Target or through Amazon), and I think they're worth every penny. I don't think you'd regret the purchase.
Thanks for the note!
xoxo
Donna