While attempting to clean off my cutting table in my main floor studio I came across these 6 Kaffe scrappy blocks. I think maybe they should be spaced wide apart like this with a white background kid print for a baby quilt. I'll look for that print today.
One of my readers emailed me and asked if I thought a design wall was really important. I answered her that I was introduced to the design wall concept in 1985 in a Nancy Crow workshop and I have had a design wall ever since. A lot of my pieces are art to hang on a wall and they should be viewed in progress the same way they will be displayed when finished. I use the design walls to design all of my quilts, even bed quilts because I have a huge variety of fabric in every quilt and I need to have a good visual when I am doing the layout. I think like an artist all of the time in my quilting.
I hear the complaint all the time that some people don't have any wall space for a design wall. I don't either in this spot. I have this wall leaning against a rack of fabric and I just slide it over when I need to get to that rack.
In my main floor studio I have these tall hot water system heaters so I can't lean anything against them. Since I did have a free wall here I put the boards on the top of the heaters. One is partially behind the edge of a tall bookcase and the other side has 2 Command hooks holding it in place. I pinned a little piece of fabric across the spot where the 2 meet at the top and bottom so that edge won't bow out from the wall. I have the 2 design walls here and 9 in the basement (because I have friends over to sew who use the design walls too). All 9 in the basement are leaning against something and the ones I don't use all of the time are stacked in front of each other. All of my design walls can be moved to whatever place I need them.
I decided I need some outdoor photos on my blog. The red Impatiens that I planted along the driveway have gotten big and bushy finally. They had a hard time with all of the 90+ degree days we had this summer.
My tomato plants are still producing although there was a week where nothing was turning color. Now I have several turning on 3 of the plants. The largest ones are still green though.
I agree with you regarding the benefits of a design wall. I particularly like being able to stand with my back to the wall, viewing it through a handheld mirror. This helps with my left/right orientation problems, but also often reveals a problem that I had missed through repeated viewings as the piece grew.
For a while, I used wide felt sewn with a casing at the top on a curtain rod that I hung up for a wall. I could roll it up if I had to store it. Now I have a board called homesote covered with white felt screwed to the walls in my studio and the wide felt is tacked on the basement wall next to the longarm. Can't live without the design wall.
I agree with you about design walls. But bed quilts should be designed for a bed view. I hate when bed quilts are only shown on a wall. They can look very different on a bed and SOMETIMES they don't work visually when they are horizontal and then go over the edge of the bed.
I agree with you regarding the benefits of a design wall. I particularly like being able to stand with my back to the wall, viewing it through a handheld mirror. This helps with my left/right orientation problems, but also often reveals a problem that I had missed through repeated viewings as the piece grew.
ReplyDeleteFor a while, I used wide felt sewn with a casing at the top on a curtain rod that I hung up for a wall. I could roll it up if I had to store it. Now I have a board called homesote covered with white felt screwed to the walls in my studio and the wide felt is tacked on the basement wall next to the longarm. Can't live without the design wall.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about design walls. But bed quilts should be designed for a bed view. I hate when bed quilts are only shown on a wall. They can look very different on a bed and SOMETIMES they don't work visually when they are horizontal and then go over the edge of the bed.
ReplyDeleteWanda, what do you use for your design walls?
ReplyDeleteDesign wall and working like an artist has been your forte and I can see why you have used your design walls all these years.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your impatience make you smile looking out your window or pulling into your drive.
JJM
I too am curious what you are using for your design walls....what exactly is under that batting? I need to make myself a movable design wall too.
ReplyDelete