My new ironing board

While I was at quilt market, I bought a new ironing board. It's something I've needed for while, but have just kept putting off because I hadn't found exactly what I wanted.

I had done some research on some different brands a couple months ago and then looked up the vendors that were selling what I was interested in when I was in Houston. I wanted something that would be sturdy, hold up for years to come and would be large enough to press large pieces of fabric such as long, wide borders and quilt backings.

And I found it - the Longboard from Reliable Corporation. One of my requirments was to have metal mesh under the board padding. Not only is this better for steam ironing, as it allows the steam to seep through the padding and through the holes in the mesh, but I also have a Iron Pals extentions arm.

The extention arm and sleeve can only be attached to a mesh backing ironing board. This extenstion arm and sleeve holds your fabric if you are pressing large pieces instead of letting it crumple in a heap on the floor.

I've had extention arm for months, but have been unable to put it on because my very ancient ironing board does not have the mesh backing. But I can't complain. That very ancient ironing board had pressed all my quilts and projects ever since I started sewing. Although I have gone through multiple irons! :)

I'm really excited about this new Longboard because I can switch the ends of the board so I have a normal, narrow end or I can have a longer, wider end as pictured above. The longer, wider end is easy to attach and will make pressing large pieces so much easier!

Plus there is a heat and fire resistant insert on the end - it's the black you see above. And it also has a metal support on the end to hold my iron, which should give me room on the board. As an added feature, there is even a shelf below the board!