The Wall

We don't need no education

We don't need no thought control

Oops! Sorry, wrong wall.  The wall I want to share with you today is the design wall in my sewing studio.  I put it together and DH installed it for me and I love it. 

I started with two 4' X 8' sheets of 1/2" foam insulation board.  This is the kind used in home construction and available at the home improvement store  I cut 6" off the vertical measurement of one of the boards making it 42" wide then attached the two boards to each other for one big piece of foam.  Now getting the two boards to stay together was a challenge.  First I glued the edges together.  That worked okay but wasn't perfect.  Next I stapled the two boards together over the glue seam.  That worked a little better but it still needed help.  Finally I put duct tapeover the glue seam and the staples.  The duct tape did the trick though the board was still awkward to raise off the floor where I worked on it.

Next I seamed together two 45" widths of white flannel that were 3 yards long.   I cut one panel in half verically and sewed the halves on each side of one 45" wide panel.  Then I laid a cheap polyester queen size batting on the floor and laid the board on top of the batting.  The batting was pulled tight around the board and stapled on the back.  I repeated the process using the flannel panels pulling the flannel as tight as possible.

DH then attached 1" X 4" boards to the wall where the board is installed.  We then attached Velcro to the boards and the back of the design board.  DH was careful to align the Velcro on the wall with the Velcro on the design board. Using Velcro allows me to easily remove and re-cover the board when necessary or take the board down and move it somewhere else.  I also use the board for a photo backdrop so the seperation between the board and the wall allows me to change out backdrops easily.  Once the board was up he did use a small finishing nail in each corner to help secure it to the boards. 

As with any project there is something I would do differenly if I do it again.  With this board I would certainly use either clear or white duct tape so it won't show through the cover fabric.  The flannel I used  was $1.00 a yard sale flannel from JoAnn's and it has a lot of stretch to it.  I will likely re-cover the board with felt later.

 

Here is the finished product and I love it.  It is the biggest design wall I have ever large enough lay out a queen size quilt. 

Okay, I know I really neglected this blog for a very long time. But it’s a new year and I want to give it a go again. One thing that kept me busy was the construction of my new sewing room. We built a three car detached garage with a bonus room above the garage. The bonus room is my sewing studio and it is a beauty. Seven hundred square feet of nothing but sewing space plus another one hundred fifty square feet of closet storage. I can’t believe it’s mine.

I’ve been moving in a bit at a time . Most all of my sewing stuff and fabric has been in storage for the past four years. It’s good to get it out and know what I have so that I stop buying duplicates because what I need is packed away. What you see here is the tip of the iceberg. That 150 SF of closet . . . well, let’s just say it has certainly come in handy.



The room is getting organized and looking more like my room. I need some more furniture – shelves, chests, chairs, cabinets – but all in good time. My favorite thing is the fabulous design wall we made. I will write more about that next time.

It's Been Interesting

Well we made it through Christmas, New Year, and the fabulous January shoe sale at Dillards undeterred but not without a few bumps and bruises along the way.  Our early Christmas trip to the in-laws was good in spirit but not good on the old body.  The first night there I stepped off the front deck, rolled my left ankle and suffered a high ankle sprain.  I've heard of football players having high ankle sprains but never really knew what that meant.  What it means is that rather than injuring the ligaments that connect the ankle to the foot bones as in a regular sprain the ligaments that connect the ankle to the tibia and fibula are torn loose leaving the ankle virtually unattached and unable to bear weight or move. I spent the next four weeks in what I called my bionic boot, the past two weeks in a light ankle brace and for the first time yesterday I wore my favorite boots with NO BRACE. 
Needless to say the injury put a different spin on Christmas at our house.  While I was able to stand and walk with the bionic boot, extended time on my feet was not only tiring but very painful once the boot was off.  That meant that whatever cooking, shopping, etc. that was not already done probably didn't get done.  The family was very good and we made it just fine.  New Year was game night at home with the kids and kids-in-law.  The fabulous January shoe sale at Dillard's had to be foregone this year but there is always next year!!!!
I've got a few projects finished and started and will catch the blog up on those in the next few days.  See ya then.

Look What I Did

Well I have be hard at work on Christmas gifts and I have finished two of them.  The first is a scripture quilt.

The pattern - Guiding Stars - and pre-printed blocks - Comfort of Psalms II - are from Block Party Studios.  The scripture quilt was never supposed to leave my sewing room.  I put it together four or five years ago and even quilted most of it but I wasn't happy with the results.  But that was no problem, it was meant to help me remember patience while quilting.  I put it away and figured I would re-work it some day.  Then my DMIL got sick.  I remembered my scriptue quilt and thought it would be comforting for her so I got it out and started the re-work.  Yes I picked out all of that quilting, added two more borders, and sent it out to the longarmer.  I really turned out beautifully.  I know she is going to love it. 

The second quilt was made using the free pattern titled Union Blue by Chloe Anderson and Colleen Reale of Toadusew for Windham Fabrics. The fabric is from the Windham Fabrics collection Washington's Legacy. I purchased it in kit form from Common Threads Quilting in Waxahachie, TX. My DDIL admired it greatly when I showed it to her soooo . . . I'm thinking it would make a nice gift for her. Now everyone has to promise to keep all of this a secret so they will both be surprised on Christmas. 

Close-up of quilting

Here's a close-up of the quilting.  Aren't those some lovely colors?!?

Now I have to get busy on the rest of this stuff that has to be done by Christmas.  Guess what I will be doing over Thanksgiving Weekend!!

Free Fabric Woo Hoo!!

Check out the fabric giveaway at Above All Fabric. While you are there do a little shopping as well.  Use the code JAYBIRD to get 15% off your order. Good through 11-13-10.

Accuquilt Go! Giveaway

Be sure to visit Lavender Ridge blog for a fabulous giveaway of an Accuquilt Go! and three dies. Click on the title of this post to go directly to Lavender Ridge. Good luck everyone!!!

Here's Your Chance

Quilters are such a social group! I think we were social networking with quilting bees, guilds and blogs way before the Facebook and Twitter craze happened. Not only are we social but we like to share our stuff too.

There is a great giveaway going on over on Little Miss Shabby's blog http://littlemissshabby.blogspot.com/. Go on over and check it out now.