Monday, December 9, 2013

DWM 12/9/13: the Piecing Group project and my favoritei non-traditional quilting tool

Here's what's on my design wall today. I'm linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times, where you can see other inspiring design wall projects.


This is the upper half of a project that my friends in Piecing Group have been stitching for me for 5 go-rounds. The story of this project is here. It's entirely hand pieced. We've been working on it since 2007. It's finally far enough along that when the girls were here for our meeting last week, we put the finished rows on the wall so they could see what they've been working on for me.

Vickie Welsh over at Field Trips in Fiber is hosting The REAL Studio Tour, about studios we really work in vs. magazine show spaces. Check out everyone's favorite non-traditional quilting tools there this week.

I love my sewing room. My favorite tool is the design wall, which as you can see is HUGE, 96"w x 90"h. DH made it for me from two 1" thick foam core boards which he attached to the wall, with a cut out for the outlet. Then I used a 3-yard cut of wide flannel backing, sprayed the panels with spray-baste adhesive, smoothed the flannel over the panels, and tucked it in around the edges with pins.

My favorite non-traditional quilting tool is this:

When I stand on the top step I can reach the top of the design wall. DH decided I needed one of these and he proclaimed it quilting equipment when he bought it for me. (It was actually only about the cost of two yards of fabric.) I also stand on the steps a lot when I take photos, especially tabletop photos where I need to shoot directly down on the fabrics or blocks. I love my stepladder. DH was pretty smart, don't you think?


8 comments:

  1. wow! I took my mum's ladder home after we emptied her apartment and I think of her every time I use it. It is in the basement and maybe I should find a spot for it on the second floor where I sew. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the quilt on the design wall! Thanka for the tip on the ladder - I need one like this as I am vertically challenged. I'll be shopping for one this week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the idea of the stepladder, but I have to admit that you won't find one anywhere near me. I'm absolutely terrified of heights! It IS a great tool though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I use a step ladder for taking photos, too. It is so much easier to get a good angle from above and I don't always want to use my design floor for photographing projects. I do sometimes have to use the floor and the step ladder for getting pics of larger projects.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I couldn't reach my top shelf of fabric without my ladder! Wish I had room for a larger design wall. In my next life.....

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love how you compare the cost of the ladder to how many yards of fabric can be purchased--glad I'm not the only one that thinks that! I happen to have a couple of different types of stools around our house and would be lost without them-the joys of being vertically challenged :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. DH was very smart!! Good idea for shooting photographs as well.

    ReplyDelete