Putting up a Design Wall in the New Sewing Room

 It is crazy to think that we moved over 6 months ago from a small 1400 square foot 2 story house in the city to a 2000 square foot ranch with 3 acres in the country. I am still unpacking and and trying to balance work with sewing. It may take me another 6 months to get it all finished, but it will eventually get done. Summer is coming and my work hours will be less so I can spend time on projects at home again.

Over the last 4 or 5 weeks I have been studying how to create a design wall. There are tons of great ideas on Pinterest which seems to be my go-to site lately. I gathered some ideas, made my shopping list and headed to Lowes to get my supplies. Joe did not think we should get the flimsy 4x8 insulation boards because it was a rather windy day and his short bed would not be long enough to get them home in full sheets. So I settled for the 13 1/2"x 48" 6 pack and got 2 packages. So I got 12 panels all together. I grabbed some packages of the Command Picture Hanging Strips also.

We stopped at Joann Fabrics on the way home to get some Warm & Natural Batting. I got the King size package for this project. I usually have a 90" x 40 yard bolt at moms for our batting orders, but she was running low so I did not want to bother her for any at the time.

Lastly I got some duct tape to tape the batting on....I read this blog and really liked her simple instruction so I thought I would give it a try as well. I loved how it turned out.

I wanted something large enough for king size quilts so it took up 8 feet wide by 6 feet 11 inches tall of one wall in the new sewing room.

First 2 panels up. My TV had to stay put during this project so don't mind that!

Four panels up and had to try it out! I am amazed how easy this was to do and how easily the blocks just stick to the batting.

Second half going on.

Ah the power outlet. Do I leave it or not?

The last panel I cut in 2 pieces. Then measured where the outlet cover would be.

Checking for a good fit.

What it looks like on the back. Duct taped the batting on.

I forgot to take pictures of the Command Strips on the back, but they held up nicely. I put 2 on each panel.

Finished! 

The rest of the sewing room is going to be finished as soon as I can get it done. The closet is being turned into an office area so stay tuned for that project soon! The wall opposite of the design wall is going to have enough cubes to hold my huge fabric stash. I also have some peg boards going up for equipment storage. I can not wait to share it all! This is my dream sewing room coming to life!

Update on Hexagon Hand Piecing

I have been stitching away at the Grandmother's Flower Garden Hexy quilt top this week. I took this picture a couple of days ago showing the pink and purple flowers that are stacked up and ready for adding to the rest. I sewed them together first and will be adding both rows to the top in the next few days.

This next picture shows the top with the pink and purple rows before they are added.

Check back for more updates.

Hand Piecing

Many years ago (about 15) I started this hexagon quilt top. I admit that it has sat and left unfinished for long periods of time over the years. It seems I have had other things get in the way of me finishing it. During our recent travels I took it with me to work on. Now I want to stick with it and get it done. My pictures are not really great -my camera needs a major adjusting. 

Anyway I have a stack of purple and pink flowers sitting here to finish those rows then on to reds. 

All the fabric in this top is vintage, some feedsack, and some definitely out of date!  

When I woke up this morning snow had arrived here in East Central Indiana. I am not a fan of the snow, but will enjoy having the sun warm things up here this week -and the snow will be gone until the next time.

Merry Christmas 2011!

The last few weeks have been busy rushing around getting Christmas things done. I had one sewing project to do for mom.....she loved her new quilted sweatshirt jacket I made her. My brother was most interested in the fact that I used a new sweatshirt to make it....he works on cars, so the "taking apart of things" perked his interest. 

The homespun string quilt block making stopped at 24 for now. The blocks are sewn together and will become a lap quilt soon. I sandwiched the 3 layers together last night and will have that to quilt up soon.

Homespun String Quilt Blocks Progress

As you can see I am making some progress on my Homespun String Quilt Blocks. The stack in getting higher....and my scrap pile is getting lower! I have 12 blocks done so far.