Progress

Slowly but surely, slowly being the operative word.....I'm making progress. In between moving my multiple piles of stuff, I'm actually starting to check a few things off the list.

 I was able to reuse my multiple panels for creating the design wall or should I say design walls (what can I say, one can never have enough design walls).....I had stacks of these panels sitting around, just waiting to be put up.

Having a black design wall, as well as a beige one is really helpful when auditioning fabrics for a project.

 With the two left over black panels, I created a display board for smaller finished pieces (sort of artsy, don't you think).

 A new door was put in (by my handy husband) letting lots of lovely light into the long arm area. Since there are no windows in this part of the basement this door is just the answer.

Naturally, I couldn't resist putting the rest of the panels in here. We even managed to get the long arm up on the frame and all wired up again.

Oh, and take a look at that fancy lighting!!!! These lights used to hang above the pool table at the old house. The pool table was donated to a good cause and we thought these lights would be wonderful above the long arm!!!

Trust me, there is still much to sort and organize but progress is being made!!

Clearly, I'm Design Wall Obsessed!!

Forty one  design wall panels (14 1/2"x 48" each) later.....
and I think most of you would agree, I'm just a tad obsessed.

Maybe I should mention, I'm not quite done yet, in all fairness this is for two studios....does that make me any less obsessed?? I think not. 

I'm not even going to try and figure out how many square feet of design wall that makes, but I'm loving them.

I tore down my two old design walls and reconfigured them. This design wall was put up before my amazing discovery of  Command Strips

I'm almost embarrassed to show you the state of my walls, as a result of screws, Velcro and staples. 

 I had even resorted to using the glue gun...yikes, what a mess!!

 Here are the backs of the old panels, before I started using duct tape....those staple's were a pain to put in and they really didn't hold all that well.

I managed to reuse most of the panels and also noticed how helpful it was to use the temporary spray adhesive, another thing I didn't do the first time (in my defense, that was several years ago).....who knew.

 As you can see I've created quit a mess.

 

But, the mess was well worth it. I took two smaller design walls and ended up creating one large design wall, adjacent to a window....hopefully much better for taking pictures. 

In the old configuration the window was always behind me, resulting in unwanted shadows. 

As you can see, I've been up to my neck in my basement takeover as well, since coming home.
Just another one of my obsessions (moving things from one room to another).

Bulky couch and chair are gone and my computer has been moved downstairs....there seems to be chaos everywhere.

I'll keep you posted between trips up and down the stairs......and trips to the chiropractor (as I might have mentioned before, the one conveniently located, one block over, from the fabric store).

Think I'll Go Back to Alberta....

weather's good there in the fall....
So then why did they add the line....if I get there before the snow flies

Oh dear, it's always so hard to leave my beloved West Coast Studio.
I did make a few improvements while I was here.
I'm always amazed how moving a few things around can make all the difference, in how a work space functions.
 I think I've mentioned that this is my third attempt, but this time I think I actually got it.

Hanging the TV, freed up more space than I anticipated. 

 

 The cupboard that used to act as a TV stand is now beside the desk, creating an extra work surface...can never have enough of that.

That same cupboard with a much larger TV used to sit right here....now that's  it's gone ,there is one huge design wall.

The whole room is much more functional now. Of course, now that I've got it just the way I want, it's back to Alberta.

Four strong winds that blow lonely......good thing my adorable grand kids are there....

The Design Wall that Just keeps on Growing/Quilt Photography

 Now that I'm back in my West Coast Studio, I just couldn't help adding a few more panels to my design wall....and to my pleasant surprise, they were quite simple to move around.....those Command strips really are amazing.

 

By making the decision to switch the TV, in the room, to a smaller one, that can be wall mounted...I created more wall space, and you know what that means!!! The design wall now measures approximately 60 inches by 143 inches, and there's still room to go up higher, I'm still considering that.

 

Would you look at the size of that baby. It took moving stuff around several times, to get a layout that accommodates a design wall this large. I find work spaces can be tricky to get just the way you like them....you actually have to work in them, for a while to see if the flow is right. I think this is probably my fourth layout, for this particular room.

 

On photographing quilts....I'm going to try something new. I've decided to have a few of my quilts photographed professionally.

 

Many quilters don't think twice about sending their quilts out to be quilted, something I won't consider, because I'm just too much of a control freak. So I'm saving money there, right? See how I easily I rationalize to myself.

 

But in all seriousness, when I think of the all the hours that we put into making our quilts it would be wonderful to have a portfolio of professional quality. I would love to hear if any of you have taken this route.

 

I'm Taking Over The Basement....Gallery Style

In keeping with my belief, that our homes should serve us, rather than the other way around.....I'm making some changes. 

Spurred on, by all your positive comments regarding  yesterday's post I'm taking over....I mean really taking over the whole downstairs.....gallery style

Here is the TV area that nobody ever sits in. 

Our needs change as our families grow. When we first moved into this house about 12 years ago, our two daughters still lived with us....now it's just my husband and I. 

We prefer sitting upstairs, where's it's brighter and warmer, even though there is gas fireplace down here. These open concept houses can be a pain to heat in our cold Canadian Winters.  

Besides, my husband turned one of the rooms on the main floor into his man cave and the TV up there is bigger....that says it all doesn't it..... I mean men and their TVs. 

Here sits a lonely pool table that gets used a few times a year for an actual game of pool. 

Oh, and we did eat Christmas dinner down here last year....that works really well.

I use the pool table on a regular basis for laying out large projects etc. but the problem with pool tables is that they take up so much space, in order to actually play pool. Did I mention I've already taken over the two downstairs bedrooms??

I even set up a kids corner down here for my little grandchildren...but they are still to young to play down here alone. Some switching of rooms is going to happen....I think.

I thought I would start by taking over the wall space....that won't bother those rare pool players

The whole gallery type design wall is so addictive. 

Thinking it would be nice to make a large black one, I bought some black felt instead of batting and it seems to work quite well. 

Plus the felt was half price....I just can't resist a good bargain.

 

 

The fabric doesn't stick quite as well to the felt, as it does to the batting I usually use, but the black is just so striking.

It will be a great place to display finished quilt as well....but they will have to be pinned in order to stay up.

Projects look so different on a black background.

Maybe I'll make that one panel bigger....no sense wasting any wall space.

My next step will be to remove some of the bulky furniture, from the seating area and bring down my computer desk....then the majority of the toys can go up to the room where my computer is now. 

I hope some of that makes sense. I get tired just thinking about this, but I've been mulling over the idea for some time. I'll keep you posted if I actually get at it.

Out of Sight....Out of Mind

 When you're a multiple project type quilter......what does one do with all these ongoing projects?? Putting them all away in a bin doesn't work all that well for me. 

You know that old saying "Out of Sight...Out of Mind". That's exactly what happens when I pack things away, out of my line of vision.

My answer to this is....more design walls. 

We'll see if this actually works. I have a fair bit unused wall space around my  long arm...so I thought, why not put up more design boards. 

I often like to let projects sort of simmer, but if I put them out sight the simmering process sort of stops.

Now, I'm not really using these, as working design walls.....rather I'm using them more, as display walls, to keep me engaged. I  have a working design wall right next to my sewing machine but I only like having my most current project on it.

I might just have a few more empty spots in this room to put up a few more....what can I say, I really do have a tendency to get carried away.

But really, can one ever have too many design walls ???

And last but not least....a new addition to our family. 
My little granddaughter, Autumn Claire arrived this week. She was more than a week overdue, but was born on my son's birthday...how lovely is that.

Carried Away....as usual

I had so much fun making this design wall, the other day.....I decided to make another one. I know, I have a tendency to get a little carried away with these things, but one can never have enough design walls.

 A number of you commented that you just don't have the space for a design wall...what about utilizing the space behind the door?

 

Sometimes, I just throw fabric on the design wall to get my creative juices flowing....sort of creating a colour story if you will. 

Here is something a little brighter.
It's a great way to use your design wall.

Duct Tape......Who Knew!!!!/Design Wall Tutorial

Well, all you handymen, of course.....but was I listening, well frankly, NO.  I'm now officially a Duct Tape convert.

I've been putting off making this design wall forever.Why you may or may not ask....how hard can it be?? Well the answer is, there are two ways to do everything...the hard way and the easy way. I've made design walls before and trust me, I took the hard way. I came up with yesterday's floppy design wall because I wanted to avoid making the whole covered insulation type. But oh how I love a firm design wall versus a floppy one....alright take your minds out of the gutter. 

The reason I hated making this type of design wall, was that I actually tried gluing the batting to the insulation board with a glue gun....things melted...well dah!! My next approach was the staple gun, it got the job done, but a real pain to do.

Did doing the things the hard way end there.....well, what do you think? After covering these lovely insulation boards, they must be mounted....I thought sticky tape Velcro, maybe not. After stapling Velcro to the walls...to the boards and my fingers, the design wall was done and is still hanging...but not fun.

So after arranging and rearranging my West Coast Studio, in order to incorporate a design wall I was still trying to avoid the task of actually making one....a FIRM one, that you can stick pins in.....to combat that open window thing.


Last night I decided to bite the bullet and made plans to go to Home Depot. Just as I was about to leave,  Sandie emailed and reminded me of her fabulous tutorial on design walls. Rereading her tutorial got me thinking and reminded me of a few other tips I had read, since my earlier design wall fiasco. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed making my wall this afternoon and I still have enough energy, left over, to share what worked for me.

I bought a package of six insulation boards, 3/4" x 14 1/2" x 48". The larger boards with the tongue and groove edges in Sandie's tutorial, were nowhere insight...so I went with I had used before. 

Supplies:

505 Temporary Fabric Adhesive

Insulation Boards

Duct Tape

Command  Picture Hanging Strips

Level

Batting

 

Cut strips of batting large enough to wrap around the edges of the boards. I wrap each board individually.

Spray some of the fabric adhesive onto the batting....this is really helpful for getting the batting on nice and smooth. 

 

Smooth the batting onto the board. 

Turn the board with the attached batting over and clip the the corners. 

Turn the edges of the batting to the other side of the board....this is where you will really appreciate the adhesive. Here I'm thankful to Sandie for mentioning the use of adhesive, in the first place. 

And here comes the use of the magical Duct Tape!! Just tape the edges of the batting down with Duct Tape. I don't remember where I read this tip, but it is fabulous. 

 

 Another fabulous tip, that I read somewhere else, in blog land is...Command Picture Hanging Strips. They work like a charm. If I find my boards on the floor in the morning, I'll let you know.....maybe I should check if everything is still hanging.

 Note: Attach the command strips as in the photo....half on the tape and the other on the board. This is how I attach mine and haven't had any fall of the wall yet (Sept 2/2013).

Using a level, draw a line, on the wall, where you want the top of your design wall to be. 

 Then just keep mounting as many boards as you need. I mounted four and covered the remaining two boards, from the package and left them free standing, for small projects. To me a firm empty design wall reminds me of a canvas just waiting for someone to create on. The wonky ones just don't do it for me.



Strange...considering how much I love wonky quilts.



Floppy Design Wall....beside an open window

I've discovered hanging batting, from a decorative rod, makes for a very floppy or should I say unstable design wall. 
Although, it's fabulous for displaying finished quilts. 

Since I often use the QAYG method, my blocks are somewhat heavier.
Hmm, I really should finish that quilt.

My plan is to attach the batting directly to the wall instead, thus eliminating all floppiness.

P.S. I jut walked back in the room....help, things are flying off left and right. The design wall is beside an often, open window!! 

 I might need some insulation board as well. Things are never as simple as they seem.